I was looking for estimates of how many lives have been saved by vaccines and came across this excellent article. The other inventions that rank as high as vaccines include blood transfusions, synthetic fertilizers, and toilets. The graphic visualization is also very cool.
“For most of civilized history, life expectancy fluctuated in the 30 to 40 year range…By the 20th century, an explosion in new technologies, treatments, and other science-backed practices helped to increase global life expectancy at an unprecedented rate…What were the major innovations that made the last century so very fruitful in saving lives?
Using a NASA program that partners with university researchers, a group of elementary students were invited to test an idea of their own. Not even NASA knew that EpiPens become useless in space. I love stories like this.
Students from St. Brother André Elementary School’s Program for Gifted Learners (PGL) were interested in the effects of cosmic radiation on the molecular structure of epinephrine, a medication found in EpiPens used in emergencies to treat severe allergic reactions. The PGL students had their experiment accepted by the Cubes in Space program, meaning that it was sent into space with NASA. The John Holmes Mass Spectrometry Core Facility in the uOttawa’s Faculty of Science analyzed the returned samples to find the epinephrine sent into space returned only 87% pure, with the remaining 13% transformed into extremely poisonous benzoic acid derivatives, making the EpiPen unusable.
More than ever, we have to rely on the explainers who can help us understand new achievements in science and technology. In this episode, we'll hear from one of the most prolific science and tech journalists of the last few decades, David Pogue, to help us make sense of it all.
Over 5 million people in the US live with paralysis, caused by injury, stroke, or disease. A pioneering therapy clinic called Neuroworx is leading the way into life-changing treatment for people with paralysis. Learn from Dr. Dale Hull, its co-founder.
“The real trade secret was that there was no secret.”
Elizebeth Holmes—Founder of Theranos—raised billions of dollars in startup capital. The entire company failed to produce a functioning technology, putting customer’s lives in danger and defrauding investors.
Tyler Schultz recounts his harrowing experience as a young graduate
Do you feel like you have a calling in life? Is there something when you wake up each day that you feel you are meant to do? If you don’t feel like you do, this episode will help you find what you’re missing. We’ll learn from Prof.
