HealthFebruary 13, 2025
This Researcher Discovered the Cause of Down Syndrome, But For 50 Years Got None of the Credit
Marthe Gautier speaks out about how she found the genetic cause of Down syndrome
Stories by Sophie McNulty
Sophie McNulty has worked for a wide range of podcasts, including Gardening with the RHS, Freakonomics Radio, and Safe Space Radio. She produced the first two seasons of Lost Women of Science: “The Pathologist in the Basement” and “A Grasshopper in Tall Grass.”
HealthFebruary 6, 2025
Who Discovered the Cause of Down Syndrome?
It took more than 50 years for Marthe Gautier to set the record straight about her discovery of the genetic cause of Down syndrome
Space & PhysicsNovember 14, 2024
This ‘Human Computer’ Created a System for Measuring Vast Distances in Our Universe
Visual artist Anna Von Mertens looks to astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt and her vision of the universe for inspiration
HealthOctober 17, 2024
Wonder Drug Explores Thalidomide’s Secret History and Harms in the U.S.
In her book Wonder Drug, Jennifer Vanderbes explores the history of thalidomide’s secret history—and harms—in the U.S.
HistoryAugust 22, 2024
In Early Science Journalism, These Women Were Writing for Their Lives
Starting in the 1920s female writers pioneered the field of science writing for the mass market, making it their mission to help ordinary people understand everything from astronomy to venereal disease
HistoryJuly 30, 2024
This Researcher Is on a Crusade to Correct Wikipedia’s Gender Imbalance
Physicist Jess Wade explains the importance of recognizing female scientists on Wikipedia. She’s created more than 2,000 Wikipedia articles to do just that
PlantsJune 13, 2024
Meet the Unknown Female Botanists Who Established the Field of Ecological Restoration
Historian and ecologist Laura J. Martin rediscovers the female scientists who established ecological restoration in her book Wild by Design
HistoryMay 2, 2024
The Poetic Lives of Lost Women of Math and Science
When poet Jessy Randall saw that so many female scientists weren’t getting their due, she got mad. And then she decided to write poems for as many as she could
Public HealthFebruary 29, 2024
The Untold Story of the Black Nurses Who Helped Develop a Cure for Tuberculosis
Black nurses worked through unsanitary conditions and racial prejudice to help patients through the debilitating disease TB before a cure was found—with their help