Part of the fun of the games is the discovery of all that is there. For many people, the fun is just playing the game and "beating it" (to put it in the contemporary vernacular).

For others, like me, part of the fun is discovering and enjoying (or even taking advantage of) the sandbox nature of the games. Most of the "extra" information that you'd like to see, such as specific game mechanics, is considered a proprietary facet of LDW's real-time game design. You can discover many of the answers you seek by observant play, however, which is (at least for me) like a game-within-a-game.

Some general answers to your questions:
As your scientists gain skill, they produce more tech points with each successful research attempt. Purchasing Science Tech increases the tech points produced by all of your scientists.