Laboratory safety is essential for aspiring scientists, yet often neglected due to complacency and external pressures. The tragic case of Professor Karen Wetterhahn, who died from mercury exposure despite following safety protocols, underscores the importance of vigilance and continuous education. Lessons from past incidents like Minamata Disease emphasise the need for strict safety standards.
During the Vietnam War, malaria surged, prompting Ho Chi Minh to seek help from China. This led to Mao Zedong initiating Project 523, where scientist Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin, a revolutionary malaria treatment. Despite initial secrecy, artemisinin's contributions to global health were eventually recognised, culminating in Tu's Nobel Prize in 2015.
The Fugate family's intermarriage amplified a recessive gene's presence causing the condition known as cyanosis - the blueing of the skin.
From 1993 to 2009, the German, Austrian and French police forces had a problem. There was a woman, moving around all of their countries, committing crimes from everything from burglaries to multiple murders.
Radiation is fascinating. In the early years after its discovery it caused untold horrors and life altering changes to those who knew no better.
The Japanese may have believed they were at the end of nuclear weapons incidents at the hands of the Americans, but less than a decade since the Japanese surrender, there was another first in Japan. The world's first death from a hydrogen bomb.
The International Nuclear Event Scale lists around six nuclear disasters at the top end of its Level 1 to Level 7 categorising system. At the top of this scale, Level 7, of course, sits the now infamous Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disasters occurring in present-day Ukraine and Japan, respectively. Some recognise others… Continue reading Britain’s Chernobyl: What Was The Windscale Fire?
Thomas Midgley Jr. Climate change can sometimes be filled with doom and gloom, but whilst progress may be slow it is still happening. There is a change in the air towards the environmental friendliness of battery-powered cars and renewable electricity to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels. This takes time and a lot… Continue reading From Leaded Petrol to CFCs: Who Was Thomas Midgley Jr?
In science, you often hear the phrase 'correlation does not equal causation'. It is a ubiquitous line in science that often requires a lot of explaining. One of the best ways to demonstrate correlation vs causation is a website by Tyler Vigen called Spurious Correlations. For example (see below), as the US government spends on… Continue reading The British Doctor’s Study: The Link Between Smoking and Lung Cancer
Today we look at science as the bastion of doing the right thing. Yes, there are certain recent developments that have questionable ethics, but after the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki human experimentation has since centred around 'informed consent'. The history of science has a dark past but if it wasn't for these past atrocities, significantly… Continue reading From Neglect to Outbreak: What is the History of Hepatitis at Willowbrook School?
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