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X-ray crystallography of penicillin
Crystal-Clear Penicillin, 1945
Political activist and Nobel winner Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin pioneered X-ray crystallography to discover the molecular structures of penicillin and insulin.
Crystal-Clear Penicillin, 1945
Crystal-Clear Penicillin, 1945

Political activist and Nobel winner Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin pioneered X-ray crystallography to discover the molecular structures of penicillin and insulin.

Political activist and Nobel winner Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin pioneered X-ray crystallography to discover the molecular structures of penicillin and insulin.

history

An archeological dig site cordoned off
DNA Analyses Illuminate Origins of Farming, Ancestral Languages
Andy Carstens | Aug 26, 2022 | 3 min read
The findings suggest a new hypothesis of Indo-European language evolution.
white squiggles on black background
Opinion: Manuscripts and Art Support Archaeological Evidence that Syphilis Was in Europe Long Before Explorers Could Have Brought It Home from the Americas
Marylynn Salmon, The Conversation | Jul 13, 2022 | 5 min read
Multiple lines of evidence contradict the idea that the disease came to Europe via trans-Atlantic exchange.
Black and white photo of excavation<br><br>
Black Death Likely Originated in Central Asia
Andy Carstens | Jun 15, 2022 | 5 min read
Genetic testing of people who died in Kyrgyzstan eight years before plague reached Europe reveals an ancient strain of the bacterium Yersinia pestis.
stone panel depicting a horselike animal led by ropes around the neck
Ancient Mesopotamians Bred Horselike Hybrids
Chris Baraniuk | Jan 14, 2022 | 4 min read
A genomics study reveals the parentage of a long-mysterious creature called a kunga, the earliest-known hybrid animal bred by humans.
In one of the only known photos of Abraham Lincoln taken on the day of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln can be seen seated, hatless, just below and to the right of the flag. Lincoln began developing symptoms of smallpox on the train home to Washington, DC.
Presidential Pox, 1863
Annie Melchor | Dec 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Researchers continue to debate whether US President Abraham Lincoln was coming down with smallpox as he delivered his famous Gettysburg Address, and if he had been immunized.
Human blood in a plastic Intravenous drip bag, the tube running out of the image. Square crop. Horizontal with copy space.
Opinion: What the History of Blood Transfusion Reveals About Risk
Paul A. Offit | Sep 1, 2021 | 5 min read
Every medical intervention—even one with a centuries-long history—brings dangers, some of which become clear only later.
Opening of Leang Panninge cave in Indonesia
7,200-Year-Old Skeleton Offers Clues to Early Human Migration
Catherine Offord | Aug 29, 2021 | 2 min read
Analysis of DNA from remains found in an Indonesian cave provides new insight into human movements among the islands between East Asia and Australia.
Birth of Midwifery, Circa 100 CE
Lisa Winter | Aug 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Soranus of Ephesus’s manual shaped the way midwifery was practiced for more than a millennium.
two black-and-white microscope images, one with a few black dots, the other with many rod-shaped bacteria
Identifying a Killer, 1895
Catherine Offord | Jul 1, 2021 | 4 min read
A contaminated ham put bacteriologist Émile Pierre-Marie van Ermengem on the path to discovering the microbe that produces botulinum toxin.
Calcite crystals covered in small grains of pyrite, with pincers
Signs of Ancient Microbial Life Abundant in Earth’s Crust: Study
Catherine Offord | Jun 3, 2021 | 5 min read
Researchers report chemical and molecular signatures of microbial activity from millions of years ago in mineral samples from abandoned mines in Sweden and nearby countries.
a large campus building, Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall at Howard University
Leader of the Pack, 1903–1994
Lisa Winter | Jun 1, 2021 | 3 min read
Ruth Ella Moore had a trailblazing career, overcoming barriers of racism and sexism as she pursued her interest in microbiology.
Stamping Out Science, 1948
Catherine Offord | May 1, 2021 | 4 min read
Trofim Lysenko’s attacks on geneticists had long-term effects on Russian science and scientists, despite a lack of evidence to support his beliefs about biological inheritance.
Bile and Potatoes, 1921
Jef Akst | Apr 1, 2021 | 3 min read
One hundred years after its invention, BCG has stood the test of time as a vaccine against tuberculosis.
Book Club Discussion of Lulu Miller's Why Fish Don't Exist
The Scientist Social Club | Mar 26, 2021 | 1 min read
The Scientist Social Club talked to the author and her dad, Chris Miller. 
Identity Crisis, 1906
Catherine Offord | Mar 1, 2021 | 4 min read
A famous account of multiple personality disorder in the early 20th century foreshadowed a century of controversial diagnoses and debate among psychiatrists.
Seqenenre pharaoh egypt mummy ct scan paleoradiology hyksos murder
Scientists Reconstruct Warrior Pharaoh’s Murder Using CT Scans
Stephenie Livingston | Feb 17, 2021 | 3 min read
A forensic investigation of Seqenenre Taa II’s traumatic injuries suggests he died with his hands tied behind his back, perhaps the end result of fighting to liberate his kingdom.
Conch Horn Finds Its Song Again After 17,000 Years
Lisa Winter | Feb 10, 2021 | 1 min read
Listen to a musicologist blow through the oldest known shell horn.
Respected Medical Geneticist Sir Peter Harper Dies at 81
Catherine Offord | Feb 2, 2021 | 4 min read
The Cardiff University researcher was famous both for his work on genetic disorders and for his documentation of the history of his field.
Viral Discoveries, 1929
Max Kozlov | Feb 1, 2021 | 3 min read
The “mother of plant virology and serology,” Helen Purdy Beale, developed techniques to understand the nature of viruses that went unappreciated for decades.
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