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cover of episode Lost Women of Science Conversations: Air-borne

Lost Women of Science Conversations: Air-borne

2025/5/22
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Lost Women of Science
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Carl Zimmer
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Carol Sutton Lewis
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Carl Zimmer: 米尔德里德·威克斯-威尔斯是一位意志坚强的女性，尽管家庭经历坎坷，但她仍然在医学领域取得了成就。她在研究脊髓灰质炎传播途径时，敏锐地发现了空气传播的可能性，这与当时的科学共识相悖。尽管她和丈夫威廉·弗斯-威尔斯在空气传播研究方面做出了重要贡献，但由于他们的个性和当时的科学偏见，他们的研究成果长期以来被忽视。我通过查阅大量的历史资料，包括洛克菲勒档案馆的文件和零星的信件，试图还原米尔德里德的生平和工作，希望能够让更多人了解这位被遗忘的科学女性的贡献。 Carol Sutton Lewis: 米尔德里德的经历反映了当时女性在科学领域所面临的挑战。尽管她做出了重要的科学发现，但她的贡献却被忽视，甚至被贬低。她的故事提醒我们，科学的进步并非一帆风顺，而是充满了人性的复杂性和偏见。卡尔·齐默的这本书不仅是对米尔德里德的致敬，也是对所有在科学领域默默耕耘的女性的致敬。我们应该记住她们的贡献，并为创造一个更加公平和包容的科学环境而努力。

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This chapter explores Mildred Wells' early life, marked by family scandal and a strong will. It details her path to medical school and her early career in Washington, D.C., where she met her husband, William.
  • Mildred Wells born in 1891 into prominent Texas family
  • Family scandal involving embezzlement and abandonment
  • Graduated medical school in 1915, one of three women in her class
  • Met William Firth Wells in Washington, D.C.
  • Worked at the Hygienic Laboratory, studying bacteria

Shownotes Transcript

Air-Borne: the Hidden History of the Air We Breathe) by Carl Zimmer charts the history of the field of aerobiology:  the science dealing with airborne microorganisms.  In this episode, we discover the story of two lost pioneers of the 1930s, physician and self-taught epidemiologist Mildred Weeks Wells and her husband sanitary engineer William Firth Wells, who proved that infectious diseases could be spread long distances through the air. But the pair had a reputation as outsiders and they failed to convince the scientific establishment, who ignored their findings for decades. What the pair figured out could have saved many lives from tuberculosis, SARS, COVID, and other airborne diseases. Mildred and her husband’s contributions have been all but erased from history — until now.

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