On August 6, 1881, doctor and bacteriologist Sir Alexander Fleming was born. As a doctor in the British Army Medical Corps (WWI), Fleming relied on his own skills in titration, the continuous measurement and adjustment in balancing a medication or treatment. He noticed that the…
On June 21, 1868, English zoologist Edwin Stephen Goodrich was born. As a promising student at the Slade School of Art, Goodrich became interested in zoology eventually specializing in comparative anatomy – a study that uses the data and achievements of anatomy, embryology, and…
On June 16, 1902, biologist Barbara McClintock was born. McClintock studied courses in genetics before it was accepted as a discipline. Using maize cobs as her exploratory medium, she noticed colour spots on kernels that could not be explained by Mendelian genetics. Immediately attracted…
On June 14, 1868, Austrian-American immunologist and serologist Dr. Karl Landsteiner was born. Early in his research of blood properties, he had concluded that agglutinin, a substance that causes particles to aggregate in a thickened mass, varied between blood types. He demonstrated how human…
On May 17, 1749, English country surgeon Dr. Edward Jenner was born. In the 18th century, smallpox was a disease that killed about 20% of victims who contracted it and, if it didn’t kill, it often disfigured or blinded many survivors. When an epidemic…
Migrating birds connect us with their journeys. Their survival often depends on the role each of us plays in taking action to protect them. Each action we take to help them travel or feed safely, however small it might seem, adds up when we…
April 22, Earth Day, is celebrated around the world as tens of millions of people make time to attend their environment. Thousands of governments – from local to regional to state, provincial or federal – plan awareness campaigns and activities to encourage their citizens…
On April 5, 1815, the Tambora stratovolcano erupted after several thousand years in repose. This Indonesian super-volcano signalled its awakening with a few years of steam releases, tremors, and small eruptions until the April 5th explosion, heard up to 1,400 km (870 mi.) away,…
On April 3, 1837, writer/naturalist, John Burroughs was born. In his early adult years, he alternated teaching with studying at different institutions or colleges. The works of Wordsworth and Emerson inspired him to write from his personal vantage point – a man raised and…
On March 27, 1905, aeronautical engineer Elizabeth Muriel Gregory “Elsie” MacGill was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Attracted first to the red-hot field of radio, she became the first woman electrical engineering graduate from the University of Toronto. Working her first job at the…