Past scientific knowledge should be viewed in its historical context and not be degraded on the basis of present knowledge. Louis Pasteur discovered the process of heating milk to kill germs. Today, milk is pasteurized. All branches of science are interrelated. Science is based on evidence which could be obtained by other people working in a different place and at a different time under similar conditions.
Scientific knowledge is based on experimentation or observation.
The nature of scientific knowledge and the procedures for generating new scientific knowledge are unique and different from those in other fields of knowledge such as philosophy. Scientific knowledge is subject to change. It does not claim to be truth in an absolute and final sense. This does not lessen the value of knowledge for the scientifically literate person. Our views since 1900 of atomic structure have changed considerably for this reason.