A synthetic fertilizer that has allowed to feed two billion people. A vaccine against COVID-19 developed in record time. Surgical techniques that converted mortal operations into routine. Behind each of these advances there are names and surnames of scientists whose innovations have saved millions of lives throughout history.
The ranking that quantifies the impact. The Science Heroes website has created a curious classification that estimates how many lives have saved the main medical and scientific discoveries in modern history. From the synthetic fertilizers of Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch (more than two billion lives) to surgery for the blue baby syndrome developed by Helen Taussig, Vivien Thomas and Alfred Black. The site allows to explore the biography of each scientist and understand how their work transformed medicine and society.
Imagen: Our World in Data
Why do these figures matter. Although estimates are approximate and subject to uncertainty, these data make visible the impact that scientific research has on our lives. As explained from Our World in Data, “it is inspiring to remember that creative, entrepreneurial and tenacious people can contribute greatly to our lives.”
The main protagonists of the list. In the upper part of the ranking there are inventions that have saved hundreds of millions of lives: synthetic fertilizers that allowed the green revolution, blood transfusions, insulin for diabetes or penicillin. Also highlight more recent innovations such as the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Sarah Gilbert team, which according to estimates saved 6.3 million lives only in its first year.
Beyond the numbers. Science Heroes works as a kind of mini wikipedia focused exclusively on scientists whose research has had a massive impact on public health. By clicking on each name, users can access the biography of each scientist where they explain, in addition to what they discovered, how they did it and in what context. As they recognize from Our World in Data, “none of these scientists worked in isolation”, but their innovations were achieved thanks to collaborative efforts and the previous work of other researchers, hence it is difficult to quantify their success.
The difficulty of measuring saved lives. Quantifying the real impact of a scientific discovery is not simple. As the source itself warns, all these estimates must be taken “cautiously” due to the complexity of isolating the effect of specific innovation. However, these exercises help to understand the magnitude of scientific and medical progress. The most common is to tell the deaths, but it is also important to recognize the lives that have been saved, although calculating it ends up being more complex.
Cover image | OUSA CHEA
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