Biology and Geology 3 SECONDARY Great Scientists
Biology and Geology 3 SECONDARY Great scientists
Great scientists is a collective work, conceived, designed and created by the Secundary Education department at Santillana, under the supervision of Teresa Grence.
WRITER Almudena García
EDITORS Adela Martín Virginia R. Mitchell
EXECUTIVE EDITORS Begoña Barroso Nuria Corredera
PROJECT DIRECTOR Antonio Brandi
BILINGUAL PROJECT DIRECTOR Margarita España CONTENTS
1 Aklilu Lemma...... 4
2 Alfred Wegener...... 5
3 Carmina Virgili...... 6
4 Evelyn Boyd Granville...... 7
5 Françoise Sinoussi...... 8
6 Gregor Mendel...... 9
7 James Hutton...... 10
8 James Watson...... 11
9 Kathrin Barboza...... 12
10 Margarita Salas...... 13
11 Mariano Barbacid ...... 14
12 Sarah Hertha Ayrton...... 15 1 Aklilu Lemma
Biography
Aklilu Lemma was born in 1934 in Jijiga (Ethiopia). He studied Science at Addis Ababa University. In 1960, he obtained a master’s degree from the ‘We have learned the hard University of Wisconsin. He did his doctorate (Ph.D.) in Pathobiology at the way that the root problems John Hopkins University in Baltimore, United States. of scientific research in Africa are not only the lack Following his Ph.D., Lemma returned to Ethiopia. He worked at Haile of facilities and funds but Selassie University. Lemma founded the Institute of Pathobiology, now also the biases of known as the Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology. individuals and organisations in In 1976, he worked as a scientific advisor to the United Nations. In 1988, he industrialised countries.’ was named Deputy Director of UNICEF's International Child Development
Aklilu Lemma Centre. Finally, he obtained a position at John Hopkins University. Aklilu Lemma died in 1997 in the United States.
Scientific work
• In 1964, Lemma discovered a natural treatment for schistosomiasis. This disease is also known as snail fever disease. It is a very debilitating disease caused by the parasitic worm Schistosoma which is spread by freshwater snails. • He discovered that the berries from the endod (Phytolacca dodecandra) plant where a strong, safe and cheap molluscicide. They could be used to prevent the spread of the parasite worm. • As a result of Lemma’s discovery, the Phytolacca dodecandra plant became the object of scientific research in many parts of the world. The plant continues to be studied as a larvicide against Anopheles arsabiensis, the main vector of Malaria in Ethiopia. It is also being studied as an antibacterial in the treatment of wounds. Phytolacca dodecandra
Interesting facts
• Lemma discovered the plant that became the cure for schistosomiasis in an interesting way. In 1964, Lemma was sent to northern Ethiopia to investigate a skin rash caused by schistosomiasis. While there, he observed some women washing their clothes using endod berries as soap. He noticed numerous dead snails floating in the water around the women. In contrast, there were many live snails upstream, away from the women. Lemma realised that the berries killed the snails which spread the parasite. • Aklilu Lemma has been recognized with various awards. Together with his research associate, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, commonly known as the Alternative Noble Prize.
4 2 Alfred Wegener
Biography
Alfred Wegener was born in 1880 in Berlin. He studied Physics and Astronomy at the University of Berlin. Later, he focused his studies on Meteorology. At the age of 26 Wegener carried out the first of several expeditions to Greenland to conduct meteorological research. He returned to Germany and worked as a professor of Astronomy and Meteorology. In 1912, Wegener published his hypothesis on continental drift, based on geological evidence, in his book The Origin of Continents and Oceans. In 1930, Alfred Wegener carried out his final expedition to Greenland, where he died.
‘As a meteorologist he revolutionised the Earth Scientific work sciences as much as Darwin, being a geologist, revolutionised biology.’ • Wegener based his continental drift theory on various observations. The similarity between the coastlines of South America and Africa, which fit Carlos Cingolani together like a puzzle, made him think that these continents had once been joined together. In addition, the different types of rocks on both continents matched. He also found similar fossil remains on both sides of the Atlantic. Wegener argued that in the Secondary Age, the present continents had formed a single land mass. He called this mass Pangea (from the Greek words pan: everything and gea: Earth). The single land mass divided due to the movement of the tectonic plates. This, in turn, produced the separation into continents. • According to Wegener, the horizontal movement of the tectonic plates explained the formation of mountain ranges, such as the Alps.
Interesting facts
• Throughout his life, Wegener was a hot-air balloon enthusiast. He carried out balloon ascents with his brother to study the atmosphere. • Wegener’s interest in Geography began when his university classmate received a world atlas as a Christmas present. Wegener was amazed by it. He thought it looked like the pzieces of a game, like unravelled Tetris blocks. • Wegener’s ideas where not well received by the scientific community. At that time, it was believed that the Earth was a solid and rigid body. It was not until 1950 that the Plate Tectonics theory was developed. This theory Pangea presented a dynamic, changing and living planet, a planet that Wegener simulation had already imagined.
5 11 Mariano Barbacid
Biography
Mariano Barbacid was born in Madrid in 1949. He did his doctorate (Ph.D.) in Biochemistry at the Complutense University. In 1974 he moved to Maryland, United States. There, he started his own research group and he discovered the molecular base of cancer. His work was awarded the King Juan Carlos I Research Award. In the late 90s he returned to Spain. From 1998 to 2011, he was the director of the Carlos III Spanish National Cancer Research Centre. After 2011, he went back to researching. Barbacid has published many papers in prestigious magazines. He has been distinguished with numerous awards by the international scientific community.
‘We need great ideas, but we also need to demonstrate Scientific work these ideas.’ • In their research, Barbacid and his team succeeded in isolating a human Mariano Barbacid gene for the first time. It was gene H-ras, a gene involved in bladder tumours. The team also discovered the gene’s activation mechanism. • In 1986, they succeeded in identifying and cloning gene TRK. This gene is essential for the normal functioning of the nervous system. • The team also studied the role of Cdk enzymes. They demonstrated that the Cdk1 enzyme was essential for cell division. They also demonstrated that the Cdk2 enzyme was not essential for the initiation of replication. • In 1995, Barbacid began a programme to develop targeted drugs. His contributions to the better understanding of the mechanisms of cancer have been fundamental in developing programmes to manufacture effective drugs against the disease. • At the Carlos III Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, they have developed an ´oncohip´. The ´oncohip´ will help reveal molecular alterations that turn a healthy cell into a tumour cell.
Interesting facts
In an interview, Barbacid stated: ´ When I arrived in Spain, I heard on TV how an NGO was asking for the Chromosome medicines that people had at home. They wanted to send the medicines representation to developing countries. I thought it was a wonderful thing. Then I asked myself: Why do people have unused medicines at home? There is no logic behind owning something that is not being used. It is a waste of a country’s resources.´
14 12 Sarah Hertha Ayrton
Biography
Sarah Hertha Ayrton was born in 1854 in Portsea, Hampshire (Great Britain). She studied Mathematics at Cambridge University. At the end of her studies she received a certificate, because at the time women were not allowed to receive the title of graduate. In 1884 she patented her first invention. In the same year she began to take private evening classes in electricity at the Technical School in Finsbury. Later, she began her research on the electric arc. Ayrton began gaining national and international recognition with her first publications. As a result, she was proposed as a member of the Royal Society. However, at that time women could not obtain this honour and it was her husband who presented her paper and published it in Proceedings magazine. She was commited to fighting for women’s rights. She held a leadership ‘An error that adscribes to a position in the National Union of Women’s Sufragge Societies. man what was actually the work of a woman has more Sarah Hertha Ayrton died at the age of 69. lives than a cat.’
Sarah Ayrton Scientific work
• Throughout her life she developed 25 important patents. The first one was in 1884. It was a useful drawing instrument that could be used in art, architecture and engineering. • Another of Ayrton’s lines of investigation was into wave patterns made in sand by the sea’s waves. This work allowed her to develop the Ayrton fan. This fan was used during the First World War to dissipate the toxic gases used by the enemy army. • In 1902 she published her work The Electric Arc, which allowed the arrival of electricity as we know it today.
Interesting facts
• The Hertha Ayrton Research Association was founded at Girton College two years after her death. It is still active today. • In 2010, she was named one of the ten most influential British women in the history of science. In 2015, the members of the British Society for the History of Science created the Ayrton Prize. • In 2016, Google dedicated a doodle to Ayrton on its homepage. The doodle simulated the movement of waves in the sand.
15