Choosing Science: Stories of Perseverance, Humanity, and Success

Professor Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012)A developmental biologist who left an indelible mark on the field of neuroscience through her groundbreaking discoveries and unwavering dedication to scientific inquiry, despite being forced at one point to conduct her research from the confinements of her bedroom in Turin. From her pioneering research on nerve growth factor (NGF) (which was found to also be involved memory and learning, physical and mental illnesses, and led to antibody based therapies decades after its discovery),   to her advocacy for gender equality in academia, Rtia’s contributions continue to inspire generations of scientists worldwide. References https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1302413110  https://dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/la-fata-timpului/rita-levi-montalcini-o-artista-a-stiintei-2311088.html “Rita Levi-Montalcini and the discovery of NGf, the first nerve cell growth factor” - Luigi ALOE, Archives Italiennes de Biologie, 149: 175-181, 2011. DOI: 10.4449/aib.v149i2.1377 http://www.architalbiol.org/index.php/aib/article/view/149175/21701989 In praise of imperfection : my life and work. Levi-Montalcini, Rita. 1988https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1986/levi-montalcini/lecture/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612637/ Support the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

Fleming, Williamina Paton (1857–1911) A single mum, deserted by her husband in a time when women were second class citizens and weren’t allowed to get a higher education, Williamina Paton Fleming rose from the humble position of maid to one of the most famous astronomers in history. She supervised the cataloging of hundreds of thousands of stars, refined the star hunting method and changed the face of astronomy forever. This is the story of an immigrant woman that beat her circumstances and the system by choosing science.Email: choosingscience@gmail.comInstagram: choosing.scienceTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #InspirationSupport the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

Frits Zernike  Although he spent his whole life from birth to retirement in the cities of Amsterdam and then Groningen, his life was far from ordinary. Incredibly intelligent and gifted, having the rare combination of simultaneously being a fine theoretician and skilled experimentalist, Frits Zernike started his scientific journey in astronomy and then applied his findings in microscopy. Before his discovery was recognised and awarded a Nobel prize, the Nazis were the first to see the potential in Zernike’s achievement and popularized it, altough it was made public for more than a decade. This is the story of the man that made it possible to see what couldn’t be seen ever before. Support the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

Although now Lynn Margulis is as the historian Jan Sapp has said "as synonymous with symbiosis as Charles Darwin's is with evolution", she faced intense criticism in her lifetime. At the beginning her ideas elicited responses such as, "Your research is crap. Don't ever bother to apply again" and has been intitally rejected by 15 journals, in the end her passion and stubbornness prevailed. Strong in her opinions and unbothered by other people's vitriolic attitudes, she was also soft at heart and left a lasting mark on many lives. Lynn lived on one speed only, trailblazing and revolutionizing science and how modern scientist think about the basic biological unit of the eukaryotic cell and its origins. May we all have half of the fate she had in her ideas!Resources: https://www.sciencealert.com/10-inspiring-women-in-sciencehttps://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/discover-interview-lynn-margulis-says-shes-not-controversial-shes-righthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlhW12dGfFkhttps://www.thoughtco.com/about-lynn-margulis-1224847https://www.nature.com/articles/480458ahttps://www.edge.org/conversation/lynn_margulis-lynn-margulis-1938-2011-gaia-is-a-tough-bitch Email: choosingscience@gmail.comInstagram: choosing.scienceTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #InspirationSupport the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

Dr. Walle Nauta was not only a brilliant neuroanatomist and scientist of the 20th century, but also a selfless, brave soul. He revolutionised research tools in neuroscience, making it possible to better understand one of the biggest mysteries of humankind, our brain. Exigent, but kind, intuitive, but rigorous, and most of all, humble, he lived a life to remember.  List of interesting people: John Boren, JosephBrady, Boyd Campbell, Sven Ebbesson, Ford Ebner,Michael Fuortes, Robert Galambos, William Hodos, DavidHubel, Harvey Karten, JacSue Kehoe, John Mason, WilliamMehler, James Petras, George Moushegian, Enrique Ramón-Moliner, Felix Strumwasser, and Eliot Valenstein.Resources: Lecture- https://infinite.mit.edu/video/walle-j-h-nauta-gross-anatomy-human-brain%E2%80%9D-brain-dissection-course-mit-department-psychologyhttps://www.nap.edu/read/11807/chapter/16http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/nauta-walle-j-h.pdf https://righteous.yadvashem.org/?searchType=righteous_only&language=en&itemId=6748569&ind=NaNEmail: choosingscience@gmail.comInstagram: choosing.scienceTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #InspirationSupport the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

The short but fruitful life of Hilde Mangold produced one of the few doctoral dissertation that has ever been directly linked to a Nobel prize.  Hilde performed transplantations of cells from one darker newt embryo (type of amphibian) into a receiver lighter embryo in order to see if the transplanted cells will trigger the formation of parallel body axis that can be distinguished between them by colour. After hundreds of such delicate and complex transplantations, she managed to obtain such animals, proving the fact that thise specific cells were behind the rearrangement and fate specification of the rest of the cells in the embryo. These cells were coined as the "Spemann-Mangold organizer" after Hilde and her supervisor. These were remarkable findings that changed the trajectory of the modern developmental biology. Eleven years later this discovery was awarded the Nobel prize. Unfortunately, Hilde did not get to see this day coming.If you want to listen to the whole story of this gifted and determined woman, take a peak!Email: choosingscience@gmail.comInstagram: choosing.scienceTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW 1.       https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/hilde-mangold-1898-19242.       https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/jax-blog/2016/october/women-in-science-hilde-mangold#3.       https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1935/spemann/lecture/4.       Hilde Mangold (1898-1924) and Spemann's organizer: achievement and tragedyPeter E. Fiissler*, Klaus SanderInstitut ftir Biologie I (Zoologie) der Albert-Ludwigs-Universit~it, Albertstrasse 21 a,D-79104 Freiburg, Germany5.       Hilde Mangold, Co-Discoverer of the OrganizerVIKTOR HAMBURGER6.       https://veteriankey.com/development-of-important-model-species-ii-vertebrates/Support the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

Born just as slavery was abolished, Dr. George Washington Carver has managed to change the agricultural landscape of America through pure empiricism and perseverance and was one of the first African-American  pioneers and inventors who rose all by himself to popularity and international recognition. Take a listen to te biography of a man that has touched many lives only by being his humble but eccentric self and through his geniune admiration of all God's creation.  A man who was driven by pure curiosity and gratitude, who approched research as a way of being. Maybe his life will inspire you to look at every day as an oportunity to be in awe (of how beautiful nature is, of course, you little cynic).   #LivesToRememberA few resources1.       Biography “The Man who talked with the flowers”  by Glenn Clark2.       https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Washington-Carver3.       https://blackiowa.org/?s=carver4.       https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/george-washington-carvers-inventions.htmEmail: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW Support the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

Have you ever asked yourself who were the first women that had the courage to go against society's expectations and pursue "unfeminine" careers such as engineering?  (the only answer accepted here is "yes", sorry).Then you might be interested in finding out more about one of the first womn engineer, Eliza Leonida-Zamfirescu, a courageous woman who chose science in a time when following such interests were unheard of and frowned upon. She wasn't only gifted with a sharp mind and curiosity, but also with a kind and tender heart that determined her to serve as a nurse in WWI for her country and later on to donate her retirement money. Techniques and chemical synthesis methods developed by her are still valuable to this day, more than a hundred years later.I hope you'll enjoy this episode and please don't hesitate to leave me some feedback through my email or filling in the short survey, it'll help me tremendously! Thanks a lot!More info: https://www.europeana.eu/de/exhibitions/pioneers/elisa-leonida-zamfirescu Email: choosingscience@gmail.comSurvey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDWSupport the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration

For the pilot episode of Choosing Science, we are going to learn about a Nobel Prize winner in Medicine who by all accounts of his school teachers shouldn't have even be able to pass a science test. He is a great example of inspiring rebellion and wholesome self acceptance, combined with pure curiosity and scientific passion.I recommend watching the full interview given by Sir Gurdon at the Nobel Prize ceremony: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2012/gurdon/interview/ Support the show Email: choosingscience@gmail.comTwitter: @LivesToRememberSurvey of your opinion on the podcast: Survey: https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/LZDNHDW#LivesToRemember #Science #Biography #Inspiration