Lost Women of Science

For decades, Ruth Itzhaki has pursued an idea that many in the Alzheimer’s research community were reluctant to take seriously: that herpes simplex virus type 1, the virus best known for causing cold sores, is also a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease in genetically vulnerable people. 
But as a different hypothesis became dominant in her field, Itzhaki found herself struggling to secure funding and recognition for her work.
In this episode: What happens when a scientist spends a lifetime pursuing an idea that most of her field doesn’t find convincing? And where does Ruth Itzhaki’s idea stand today? 

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In 1983, working with pencil and paper at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, Svetlana Mojsov spotted what everyone else had missed: the active form of a newly discovered hormone called GLP-1. After three years of testing, she proved she was right. That molecule is the basis of blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Despite her valuable contributions to endocrinology and peptide research, Dr. Mojsov’s name was reduced to a footnote in most of the stories about GLP-1’s discovery. Instead, the credit was given to the men around her. In this episode, we’ll explore how she fought back. 

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In high school, Isabella Karle had to take a science class to fulfill a prerequisite. She chose chemistry at random. Karle would go on to become one of the most important chemists of her time, doing groundbreaking research in the field of X-ray crystallography. Her discoveries in the mid 1950s are a key reason many modern-day pharmaceuticals are available on pharmacy shelves. But Karle’s collaborator–her husband, Jerome–would eventually receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work Isabella also achieved. 

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In this episode of Lost Women of Science Conversations, host Elah Feder explores the remarkable resurgence of I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman’s 1995 novel that went largely unnoticed for decades before becoming an international sensation. Harpman was a psychoanalyst and her training informed the book’s speculative fiction, dystopian, and science fiction genres.
Elah first speaks with award-winning translator Ros Schwartz, who translated the novel into English twice –once in 1997 and again in 2022, when a new edition helped introduce Harpman’s work to a new generation of readers.
Later, Elah is joined by Susan Watkins, Professor of Women’s Writing at Leeds Beckett University, to discuss the novel’s themes of resilience, isolation, and survival, and why this once-overlooked book is resonating so strongly with readers today. 

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En 1856, décadas antes de que se acuñara el término “gas de efecto invernadero”, Eunice Newton Foote demostró el efecto invernadero en su laboratorio casero. Colocó un cilindro de vidrio lleno de dióxido de carbono al sol y observó que se calentaba mucho más rápido que un cilindro con aire común. Su conclusión: más dióxido de carbono en la atmósfera da lugar a un planeta más cálido. Años más tarde, un científico británico llamado John Tyndall realizó un experimento mucho más complejo que demostró el mismo efecto y explicó su funcionamiento. Hoy en día, Tyndall es ampliamente reconocido como el hombre que descubrió el efecto invernadero. ¡Incluso hay un cráter en la luna que lleva su nombre! Mientras que Eunice Newton Foote fue olvidada por la historia… hasta que un historiador aficionado redescubrió su legado.

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