female scientists

Top 9 Female Scientists Rewriting Scientific Narratives

We can't help but admire these incredible women

by The Dope Lists
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Science has been marked by the success of many women. However, it seems like female scientists kinda stay in the background and are rarely brought up in the conversation. Women were mostly discredited for their work in the fields of math, informatics, chemistry, and physics for the last few centuries. 

Many of them have been impersonated by their husbands, claiming to have made their discoveries themselves. More surprisingly, women in STEM still have problems in the field and are often neglected on behalf of men. 

But here are some smart ladies who proved science is for women as well. 

Top 9 Female Scientists Revolutionizing Science

Marie Curie

female scientists

Naturally, when it comes to important figures in science, a lot of people first think of Marie Curie. Inspiring and revolutionizing this woman proved that females could make important discoveries as well. She is most known for her contribution to the world of chemistry and physics, specifically with her groundbreaking discoveries on radioactivity. 

Marie Curie’s Nobel Prizes are what makes her famous worldwide. She is not only the first-ever woman to be awarded one but is also the only person who has ever received two Nobel Prizes in different fields. She won her first award in cooperation with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel in 1903. The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for their work on radioactivity. Marie Curie’s discoveries were based on experiments, regarding radioactivity in uranium, that Becquerel had conducted. Therefore, she built on his ideas and went on to prove that other elements have radioactive qualities as well and it’s not a phenomenon. With this discovery, Marie Curie changed the world of Physics and Chemistry. 

In 1911, Marie Curie received her second Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the radioactive elements polonium and radium. Her biggest achievement is that the work on these elements led to the development of methods for the separation of radium from radioactive residues in sufficient quantities to allow for its characterization and the careful study of its properties. 

As the years passed everyone knew who is Marie Curie and she became widely renowned for her contribution to the world of chemistry and physics. She passed on her scientific passion to her daughter Irene, who continued researching radioactivity and making more groundbreaking discoveries. She continued working on different scientific projects until the end of her days. She passed away on July 4, 1934. It is believed that Marie Curie’s death was caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation. 

This female scientist paved the way for other women from that moment forward. Curie clearly proved that women also have their place in the science field and can make some important contributions to science. 

Mary Anning

female scientists

Mary Anning was one of the first female scientists. Born in 1799, Anning is a true icon of the 19th century. She was a pioneering paleontologist and fossil collector, making the first discoveries on what is now known as the Jurassic Coast

She was born and raised in Lyme Regis. The region was full of fossils and Mary’s father had a hobbyist collection of his own. Mary loved helping her father on his adventures and by the time she was six years old, she already knew how to take care of a fossil to clean it and preserve it correctly. When her father passed away Mary was encouraged to find more fossils to sell for her in order to help the otherwise poor family. 

What she didn’t expect is that during her searches she will stumble upon the first ever discovered skull and skeleton of an Ichthyosaurus. When she found it people considered it a crocodile because the idea of life before evolution was unthought of. Later on, it was proved that it was a marine reptile, that lived 201-194 million years ago.

12 years later Anning discovered the first Plesiosaurus skeleton as well! The specimen was also unknown, and many scientists concluded that the fossil was fake. Much like female scientists today, Anning was now credited for her discoveries, but she was finding more and more proof of prehistoric life. Her remarkable findings in the cliffs of Lyme Regis in Dorset, England, during the early 19th century, helped revolutionize the understanding of extinct species and the concept of deep time. Her legacy lives on in Lyme Regis, now called Jurassic Coast, where hundreds of people gather to look for the next breakthrough in the paleontology world. 

Henrietta Leavitt

female scientists

Our focus has mainly been on physics and chemistry so far, but there are many impressive ladies in other scientific fields. Henrietta Swan Leavitt is an amazing example since she is famous for her contributions to astronomy.

Leavitt had an interest in astronomy from a young age and in her senior year she became a volunteer assistant in the Harvard Observatory. A few years later, in 1902, she received a permanent staff appointment. At that time  Edward C. Pickering had just begun working on the observatory’s great project of determining the brightnesses of all measurable stars. 

Rising from routine work to a position as head of the photographic stellar photometry department, Henrietta Leavitt proves that everything is possible, when you work hard enough for it. 

In order to increase accuracy permitted by photographic techniques, which unlike the subjective eye were not misled by the different colours of the stars, depended upon the establishment of a basic sequence of standard magnitudes for comparison. The problem was given to Leavitt, who began with a sequence of 46 stars in the vicinity of the north celestial pole. Devising new methods of analysis, she determined their magnitudes and then those of a much larger sample in the same region, extending the scale of standard brightnesses down to the 21st magnitude. These standards were published in 1912 and 1917.

She went on to develop secondary standard sequences from 15 to 22 reference stars in each of 48 selected “Harvard Standard Regions” of the sky, using photographs from around the world. During her whole career, Leavitt completely determined magnitudes for stars in 108 areas of the sky. Her system remained in widespread use until advancements in technology allowed for more precise photoelectrical measurements. One result of her work on stellar magnitudes was the discovery of 4 novas and around 2400 variable stars, the latter figure comprising more than half of all those known before 1930. 

Despite facing challenges as a woman in science during her time, Henrietta Leavitt discovered that her hard work pays off and she continues to inspire future generations of astronomers and researchers.

Lise Meitner

Lise Meitner

Lise Meitner is often in the shadow of Marie Curie, but she was another lady, who made some key discoveries in the world of physics around the same time. She finished her doctorate at the University of Vienna in 1906 and went on to work with chemist Otto Hahn on research on radioactivity. Meitner and her colleague were among the first scientists to isolate the isotope protactinium-231. On the other hand, they dedicated most of their time to studying nuclear isomerism and beta decay. 

That led to the pioneering study of the products of neutron bombardment of uranium in the 1930s. Their investigation came to life with the help of physical chemist Fritz Strassmann. The three of them went on to discover nuclear fission in 1938. 

But Leitner didn’t have much time to enjoy her success. During World War II she was forced to flee Germany and found her new home in Sweden. She faced extreme discrimination both regarding her gender and her Jewish heritage. Due to that fact her male collaborator, Otto Hahn, received most of the recognition for the discovery of nuclear fission, and Meitner’s contributions were initially overlooked. 

Although Lise Meitner hasn’t been able to get the credit she deserves, she is still proof that women are just as capable to thrive in the science world. Her research and significant advancements in the field of nuclear physics show beyond doubt that Lise Meitner’s determination should be an inspiration to women in science and the broader scientific community.

Alice Ball

Alice Ball

Women in science have it hard, no doubt but imagine being a female scientist of color during the early 1900s. Alice Ball was a chemist, popular for her significant contributions to medical science. Her research in the field of leprosy was innovative and changed the course of medicine. She is also famous for being the first woman and first African American to receive a master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. 

During her studies, Ball researched chaulmoogra oil and its chemical properties. While chaulmoogra oil had previously been used for leprosy, however, Alice Ball revolutionized it and made it injectable by discovering the ester ethyl form, meaning that it was water-soluble and able to dissolve in the bloodstream.  

By creating a method to isolate and convert the oil into a soluble form, Ball’s treatment became the standard for leprosy therapy in the early 20th century, known as the “Ball Method.” Later on in the 1940s  sulfone antibiotics were proven to be more effective when curing leprosy. 

Although her invention was not long-lived and it is not widely used nowadays, Ball remains an impressive example of a female scientist, who revolutionized the medical field. She passed away at the age of 2024 and there are still a lot of speculations about how Alice Ball died. The two most popular theories are that she had chlorine poisoning due to her constant work in the laboratory. The cause noted on her death certificate was tuberculosis. 

Her untimely death was a great loss to the scientific community, and her groundbreaking research on leprosy remained unrecognized during her lifetime. It was only later that her contributions were fully acknowledged, and the “Ball Method” for treating leprosy gained the recognition it deserved. Today, Alice Ball’s legacy lives on as an inspiring figure, who overcame significant barriers to make a lasting impact on treating a debilitating disease.

Barbara McClintock

female scientists

There is another female scientist, who made a unique discovery in the field of medicine, and more specifically – an important contribution to genetics. Barbara McClintock made some of the most groundbreaking research regarding the specifics of chromosomes. During graduate school, she began to investigate the properties of corn chromosomes. In order to examine, identify, and describe individual corn chromosomes, she used a microscope and staining technique.

Later on, in 1931 McClintock and her colleague, Harriet Creighton, published “A Correlation of Cytological and Genetical Crossing-over in Zea mays”. This paper established that chromosomes formed the basis of genetics. At the time McClintock had no idea that this discovery would forever change the course of her life. 

In the 1940s she continued her research on corn genes. By observing and experimenting with variations in the coloration of kernels of corn, she discovered that genetic information is not stationary. She traced pigmentation changes in different kernels and isolated two genes, that are responsible for the color, and she called them “controlling elements.” These genes controlled the genes that were actually responsible for pigmentation. McClintock discovered that controlling elements could move along the chromosome and affect neighboring genes’ behavior. According to her, these transposable elements may be responsible for new mutations in pigmentation or other traits. This discovery was named “jumping genes” and it significantly changed how the world views genetics.

Despite facing skepticism from the scientific community initially, McClintock’s research was later recognized and earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983. Her innovative approach and dedication to understanding the intricacies of genetic inheritance have left a lasting impact on the field of genetics.

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson is another biologist on our list of influential women in science. She specialized in marine life and made some very important discoveries in the field. Carson is best known for her writings on environmental pollution and the natural history of the sea. But how did she come around to it?

Ever since she was a little girl Carson had a fascination with the natural world. That led her to pursue her dream and study English at the Pennsylvania College for Women. She wanted to become a writer but soon found out biology was he true calling and she changed majors. She got her Bachelor’s in 1929 and later on pursued a Master’s in  Johns Hopkins University. Spending years in academia it was only natural for her to become a faculty member and teach at some universities and summer schools throughout the USA. 

In 1936 Carson took a position as an aquatic biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, where she did some of her most influential work. For 3 years she was the editor in chief for the bureau’s scientific paper: The Atlantic Monthly. She used some of its publications to boost her own writing career, including them in her first book Under the Sea-Wind, published in 1941. 

Carson published 4 more books, as well as some scientific articles, but readers were always impressed by the scientific accuracy and thoroughness, combined with her unique prose style. Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” published in 1962 was her most groundbreaking success.  In this book, Carson included different case studies, which proved the detrimental effects of pesticides, especially DDT, on the environment and wildlife. Her research led to increased public awareness and the eventual banning of DDT and other harmful chemicals. In that sense, she is one of the founders of modern environmentalism. 

Rachel Carson will forever stay in history as one of the most passionate advocates for environmental conservation. Her legacy continues to inspire eco-activists and scientists all around the world to protect wildlife for future generations.

Marie Tharp

female scientists

When Marie Tharp joined the Lamont Geological Laboratory at Columbia University in 1948, little information was known about seafloor structure; it was considered mostly flat and featureless.

That was until a map she and her colleague Bruce Heezen worked on, proved that the seafloor consists of various lays. The scientists discovered canyons, ridges, and mountains on the bottom of the Atlantic. Their cooperation went on through time and they made some significant discoveries. They were the first to publish a world map of the ocean floor in 1977. Tharp’s maps were filled with mid-ocean ridges, as well as some mountain ranges that extend over 40,000 miles around the globe.

Marie Tharp truly changed the way the Earth’s ocean floor was viewed. Her discovery is considered one of the key pieces of evidence to support the theory of plate tectonics. That makes her one of the most respected scientists in the world nowadays. However, she still faced a lot of challenges as a woman in a male-dominated field during her time. 

Only men were allowed on the ships that collected the seafloor data. That means that Tharp was treated more like a laboratory assistant, rather than a rightful scientist. She used the collected data to create her maps, but even then most of her colleagues considered her research no more than simple “girl talk”. It took years for people around her to trust her work and it took even more time for some to give her the deserved credit. Dealing with heavy sexism in the workplace and still managing to give humanity one of its most important discoveries is exactly what makes Marie Tharp inspiring. 

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall

Jane Goodall is the only scientist on our list that is still alive today. This extraordinary lady made some breathtaking advancements in primatology and anthropology. She is best known for her research on chimpanzees. 

Ever since she was a little girl Jane found herself strongly connected to animals and she showed interest in animal behavior. That passion translated into her adult life and she went to Africa in order to assist paleontologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey. That cooperation resulted in Goodall setting a camp in Gombe Stream Game Reserve so that she could observe the behavior of chimpanzees in the region.

She discovered new characteristic traits in chimpanzees, as well as she debunked some myths about them. Goodall’s long-term study of wild chimpanzee behavior has provided unprecedented insights into their social structure, communication, and tool use. According to her research, those animals are omnivorous, not vegetarian; they are capable of making and using tools; and, in short, they have a set of hitherto unrecognized complex and highly developed social behaviors. These and many more discoveries and observations were noted in Goodwall’s books, articles, and lectures. 

She was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge for her work. What is more interesting though is that she is one of few, who received that degree without having first possessed an A.B. degree. 

Although she did not follow the typical science path, Goodall is a remarkable female, who raised awareness about wildlife conservation and environmental issues and inspired people to take action. It is Jane Goodall’s dedication to both science and advocacy in the fields of primatology and environmental activism that has made her an icon.

Famous female scientists today

Our list of female scientists won’t be complete without mentioning some of the women currently dominating the science field. Nowadays females face way less discrimination at the workplace but are still underestimated by their male colleagues. 

The least we can do is recognize them for their achievements! Some modern females are also changing the course of history. And molecular biologist Cynthia Kenyon is one of them. Her research can lead people to slower aging since she found a hormone that drastically slowed the aging process in worms and mice and believes it could be used on humans as well. 

Jennifer Doudna is another example of a phenomenal scientist. She is a biochemist and molecular biologist known for her pioneering work in the development of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. In 2020, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her groundbreaking contributions.

Sunetra Gupta also makes some unique discoveries in the field of epidemiology. 

Gupta’s core interest is in the infectious disease agents that are responsible for HIV, malaria, bacterial meningitis, and influenza. In 2009, she was awarded the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award for her research on the evolution of diversity in pathogens.

As a result of her expertise in infectious diseases and epidemiology, Gupta has become an outspoken critic of governmental responses to national lockdowns around the globe during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

These were some of the ladies, who made significant discoveries and were given credit for although some sooner than others. The world of science will be forever thankful that these women persisted through hard times and continued working towards their goals. Only God knows how many more female scientists were not given the recognition they deserve. let these examples inspire you that anything is possible and being a woman in science could be a great thing!

Don’t Miss to Read: Top 10 Scientists Who Are Still Alive

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