Scottron was a . Try this: Experiment with the classic tin can telephone to learn more about how sound travels. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. "Leprosy Statistics - Latest Data." 1.. (July 7, 2014) http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/65/2/268.full, Houssay, Bernardo. An enduring early sex symbol, the Spanish-American actress, singer, and dancer starred in more than 60 films over nearly four decades. regional theatre auditions Heres why each season begins twice. (July 7, 2014) http://www.6911norfolk.com/d0lbln/105f06/105f06-wohl-alvarez.pdf, World Health Organization. Now, in the Internet era there are no shortage of Cuban entrepreneurs aspiring to overcome the technological drought. Their flight marked the first engine-powered manned aircraft. (July 7, 2014) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/383094/Cesar-Milstein, Encyclopaedia Britannica. He spent the rest of his career at Cambridge and held dual Argentine-British citizenship [sources: Chang; Nobel Prize; Telegraph UK]. After all that excitement, he retired from NASA in 2005 [sources: NASA]. However, Colevas cant know for sure if Nimotuzumab has fewer side effects than other drugs in its class, or how effective Nimotuzumab is compared to related treatments, because Bouffets is the only trial of the drug that has been completed in the U.S. Nicholas Gerbis With his robotics training, Fernndez has created a Roomba from scratch using processors brought into the country by his friends. (July 4, 2014) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/boalva.html, Smithsonian Institution. (July 9, 2014) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892770/. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. Finlay noticed that yellow fever epidemics roughly coincided with Havana's mosquito season, but his mosquito-transmission hypothesis was met with disdain for decades until he convinced American military surgeon Walter Reed (like the hospital) to look into it. Compared to other countries, America has filed the most patents in the life sciences, is conducting most of the world's clinical trials and has published the most biomedical research. (July 4, 2014) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/60347/Baruj-Benacerraf, Encyclopedia Britannica. Convits vaccines for leprosy and leishmaniasis are no longer in use, and the search continues for universally effective and acceptable vaccines for both diseases. In 1974, scientists F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Jos Molina argued CFCs were not as harmless as they seemed. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Houssay performed research in circulation, respiration, immunity, the nervous system, digestion and the treatment of insect and snake bites. "Luis W. He was prolific, but his best-known inventions include the incandescent light bulb, phonograph, and an early movie camera. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? "10 Hispanic Scientists You Should Know" "Csar Milstein -- Biographical." November 2007. However, most transactions between Cuba and the U.S. are still prohibited, which is why Cuban drugs face additional regulatory hurdles for testing and marketing compared to other drugs developed overseas. 6: Luis Alvarez (1911-1988) Father-and-son research team Luis and Walter Alvarez peer through a star dome, which shows the orbit and location, relative to Earth, of stars and constellations. Much as fad diets might tell us to cut them out, energy-packed carbohydrates are essential to most life, thanks to two opposing chemical processes: combustion, which allows us to break down carbs and release energy needed for vital bodily processes, and synthesis, which enables us to use various sugars to build substances we need to live. From illegally installing rooftop radio antennas to record American music to hotwiring antique cars, Cubans are ingenious at figuring out workarounds to barriers that would otherwise keep them decades behind their neighbors. When Major Lazer played a show in Havana in 2016, half a million people showed up. Vol. "Luis Federico Leloir." Born in Puerto Prncipe, Cuba, Finlay studied abroad before returning to Havana as a general practitioner and ophthalmologist with a penchant for scientific research. Vol. Read more about Cuban inventions in our Science Wednesday piece, How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers. . "Luis W. Alvarez, Nobel Physicist Who Explored Atom, Dies at 77." In a way, we are: The surfaces of our cells teem with a unique array of antigens that identify us and prevent our own immune systems, under normal circumstances, from attacking those cells. Though grouping such a diverse collection of people under a single rubric -- particularly the politically expedient but dubious term Hispanic isn't ideal, it does make room to explore their wide-ranging array of backgrounds and accomplishments. Known for: Marconi changed the way humans communicated by developing the first effective system of radio communication. The New York Times. Known for: Kids may not give a lot of thought to cataracts, but they should still know about Dr. Bath. Gloria Estefan. Learn more: Samuel F. B. Morse (Brittanica). 6. 1970. Molina is credited with discovering the chemical impact of CFCs on the environment. According to the Smithsonian, Victor Ochoa had a reward of $50,000 offered for his delivery dead or alive to Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico. The cost, around $2 an hour, is prohibitive for locals, but enterprising Cubans have figured out how to divide them up to sell in smaller allotments. His research in Oaxaca led to the excavation of Monte Albn, a major Zapotec city dating from about 500 BCE, and the discovery of Tomb 7, which contained finely carved objects and tools. "Bernardo Alberto Houssay." Known for: Any kid whos ever played with a Super Soaker or Nerf blaster has Dr. Johnson to thank! Now, with new technology coming into the country, these old cars are being revamped with mini-DVD players and stereo systems that blast out oldies in Spanish and the latest American pop. Learn more: The Legacy of Dr. George Washington Carver. Try this: Protect your stuff by learning how to build your own door alarm. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has authorized the importation of some Cuban medicines in the past, but only enough to conduct research and clinical trials, according to a spokeswoman for the Treasury. Photograph by Greg Kahn, National Geographic, Photographs by Greg Kahn, National Geographic. The drugs Cetuximab and Panitumumab, which are in the same class as Nimotuzumab but are available in the U.S., can cause unsightly and unpleasant acne-like rashes, while international reports about Nimotuzumab suggest its incidence of rash is a lot lower. Theater and dance were given to the masses for almost nothing. Ellen Ochoa was born in Los Angeles, Calif., and earned her master's degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. But she believed that one day theyd become more widely used and became one of the earliest computer programmers. Sure, politicized scientific issues like global climate change might instigate rancorous debate, but this smoke, though toxic in its own way, is nothing compared to the fire under which teachers, intellectuals and scientists have lived during many authoritarian regimes. Our final entry jointly honors two pioneers of space: physicist Franklin Chang-Daz, the first Hispanic-American astronaut, and engineer Ellen Ochoa, the first female Hispanic-American astronaut (see her picture on the first page). Known for: This Founding Father was an innovator in more ways than one, and he was among historys most famous inventors. "Award Ceremony Speech: Luis Leloir." Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. About 73,000 U.S. adults with diabetes had their lower limbs amputated in 2010, according to the American Diabetes Association. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. A new television covers the wall of an old home in Havana. As economic and diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba continue to normalize, here's hoping that these promising Cuban medical treatments can be investigated fully in the U.S. Americans have been waiting long enough. Learn more: The Farmboy Who Invented Television (Smithsonian Magazine). 8. It has no known side effects, and the shot costs the Cuban government $1 to make. "Award Ceremony Speech: Luis Alvarez." Dr. Eric Bouffet, director of the brain tumor program at Toronto's Hospital For Sick Children, is the only investigator to date who has completed a Nimotuzumab trial in North America. Like a subscription service, thousands of couriers deliver a terabyte of videos, movies, music, and games via thumb drive to half the islands population each week. More than 100 public wifi zones and 180 Internet cafes have opened so far. Many of the greatest Hispanic scientists are people you may not have learned about in school. Perhaps the most well-known Cuban innovation is the vaccine CimaVax. Alcohol and tobacco use, as well as human papillomavirus, are major risk factors of the diseases. 65, no. These drugs aren't as fully developed as CimaVax, says Lee, but they appear to have great potential. (July 7, 2014) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/26/world/cesar-milstein-74-who-won-joint-nobel-prize-in-medicine.html, Chinea, Eyanir. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. Try this: Find an old CRT TV or monitor and learn how cathode ray tubes work using a strong magnet. And while they definitely belong on this list, theyre just the start of the innovators and inventors that kids ought to know. She first served on a nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery, where she and a team of astronauts studied Earths ozone layer, then returned to space three more times, spending nearly 1000 hours in orbit. Similar, yet worlds apart; that's this list in a nutshell. Learn more: Alexander Graham Bell (Brittanica). Students who studied technology, like 34-year-old Yusnier Fernndez, find ways to put their skills to use. He also created the Tesla Coil, induction motor, and neon lights, among others. Water pump motors propel bicycles, clothes dryers are repurposed into coconut shredders. According to an article in the Harvard International Review, the country invests 1.17 percent of its GDP in technological researchmore than the U.S. and on the same level with Israel. (July 7, 2014) http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ochoa.html, NASA. Please check your inbox to confirm. Learn more: Biography of Johannes Gutenberg, German Inventor of the Printing Press (ThoughtCo). Occurrences of yellow fever have ramped up in recent years [sources: WHO]. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Miguel Angel Ondetti has been granted more than 100 patents, including U.S. Patent 4,105,776 for "Proline Derivatives and Related Compounds" also known as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to treat hypertension. A small laptop mounted in a 1955 Ford Mercury. Jenny Marder. (July 4, 2014) http://www.dailycal.org/2014/06/17/frank-asaro-uc-berkeley-nuclear-chemist-dies-age-86/, Milstein, Csar. Learn more: Grace Murray HopperA Legacy of Innovation and Service. The administration is also easing travel restrictions, allowing individuals to visit Cuba for "people to people" educational tours, whereas before Americans were only allowed to make such trips as part of a tour group. From groundbreaking biologists and physicists to innovators in the fields of medicine, botany, and environmental studies, here are 10 game-changing Hispanic scientists you should know about. Try this: Understand more about the anatomy of the eye by building a 3D human eye model. Known for: Though hes often said to have invented peanut butter, Carvers many achievements didnt actually include that popular product. (July 4, 2014) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/an.1971.12.4.3.4/pdf, BBC. Unfortunately, the resulting soup of B cells and immunoglobulin is unsuited to targeted research. Ochoa, who was honored with NASAs Distinguished Service Medal, served as the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, from 2013 to 2018. Experiment with the classic tin can telephone, Put together a blood model using beads or candies, Grace Murray HopperA Legacy of Innovation and Service, The Farmboy Who Invented Television (Smithsonian Magazine), learning how to build your own door alarm, Ralph H. Baer, National Center for Simulation, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Lemelson-MIT, deconstruct it with your class to learn about the pieces and parts inside, Ann Tsukamoto, Necessity is the Mother of Invention, Watch this video to learn more about stem cells, Check out this video to learn more about the Smart Grid, all the devices that use USB ports and technology, 16 wonderful women scientists to inspire your students, get all the latest teaching tips and ideas when you sign up for our free newsletters, 12 Tips, Tricks, and Tools for Creating Amazing Flipped Classroom Videos, 15 Memes That Show What Its Like to Teach the Week of Halloween. Standing a maximum of 60 to 70 centimeters tall, about 2 feet, the 11 cows bred by Hernandez can be kept in a small area, feed on simple grasses and weeds, and can provide enough milk for the average Cuban family. Researchers can test the drug for rare diseases in clinical trials, but it's not available to the general public. Before Argentine physician and biochemist Luis Federico Leloir did his groundbreaking research into the transformation of one sugar into another, combustion was well-understood, but synthesis remained a mysterious, largely guessed-at phenomenon. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. 2. This designation is granted to promising drugs that are not yet licensed in the U.S. The following year, he and Felix Bloch pioneered measuring a neutron's magnetic moment, that is, its tendency to align with an applied magnetic field (an important clue that the neutrally charged particle is made of electrically charged fundamental particles). Page. His inventions include the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin Stove. How a zoo break-in changed the life of an owl called Flaco, Naked mole rats are fertile until they die, study finds. Invention/discovery . A large weight is hoisted up and dropped to spin a flywheel to start motors around the farm. Photo by Ernesto Oroza. Cancer is not one disease, but a collection of hundreds of different illnesses. Vol. IUBMB Life. (July 4, 2014) http://www.usasciencefestival.org/schoolprograms/2014-role-models-in-science-engineering/1162-bernardo-alberto.html#sthash.RgOj4IzR.dpuf, University of Virginia Health Sciences Library. Many Cubans can't get parts to fix the old American and Russian cars, but adding electronic entertainment is becoming popular. Learn more: Benjamin Franklins Inventions. A new field of biochemistry opened up virtually overnight, and Leloir received the 1970 Nobel Prize in chemistry [sources: Myrbck; Parodi]. Dictionary of World Biography. Photo by Ernesto Oroza. Together with the linear accelerators that he helped pioneer, these revolutionized the discovery of elemental particles, which he and his team discovered by the truckload [sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Nobel Prize; PBS; Sullivan; Wohl]. Symptom reduction remains the only treatment; untreated, the disease has a 50 percent mortality rate. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Try this: With a few basic supplies, you can experiment with dry cleaning at home. These endeavors, combined with his contributions to cracking the Mixtec Codices, marked his best-known accomplishments in anthropology [sources: Anthropology News; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Gaillard; Smithsonian]. Joseph and John weren't the only black inventors involved in agriculture. The work earned him the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry, an honor he shared with Rowland and Paul J. Crutzen, a pioneer in studying nitrogen oxide effects on ozone destruction [sources: Crutzen; Nobel Prize; Nobel Prize]. The world will forever associate two names with leprosy, aka Hansen's disease: Norwegian physician Gerhard Hansen, who in 1873 discovered the bacterium that causes it; and Jacinto Convit, who created a new vaccine for the slow-acting, disfiguring and deadly disease by combining a known tuberculosis treatment with an armadillo bacterium in 1987 [sources: BBC; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Chinea; Yandell]. For this reason is it hardly enjoyable for anyone involved, Oroza says. She filed her patent in 1966, and it includes innovations still used today. Now, theyre opening Facebook accounts, listing their homes on Airbnb, and watching Netflix. Racotumomab is in phase two and three trials in Cuba (these clinical trial stages assess effectiveness, side effects and adverse reactions), while VSSP is in early clinical trials. Invented by researchers at the Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM) in Havana, CimaVax targets a growth factor in cancer cells in a way that can arrest the spread of the disease. Try this: Experiment by building paper airplanes to see which design performs best in flight. (July 4, 2014) http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1980/benacerraf-bio.html, Chang, Kenneth. Known for: When Hopper first starting working with computers, they took up entire rooms. Known for: When a medical condition caused her to lose much of her hair, Madam Walker invented a treatment system that completely revolutionized Black hair care. The most famous symbol of Cubas embargo-innovation balancing act are the vintage American cars. Can we bring a species back from the brink? Currently a faculty member at the Institute for Advanced Studies, he has been awarded the Fundamental Physics Prize (2012) and appeared on the Einsteins Dream episode of PBSs Big Ideas. "Role Models in Science & Engineering Achievement: Bernardo Alberto Houssay." 25. Nowhere is the old adage about necessity breeding innovation more true than in Cuba. The trade embargo is holding up research in some crucial areas. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Known for: Da Vinci was the original Renaissance Man. Try this: Put your students to work with these fun assembly line classroom activities. Known for: Gutenberg was the first European to invent the printing press. Cuban artist Ernesto Orza has spent the last decade photographing and collecting many of these creations. But barriers to access remaincontinuously testing the islands ingenuity. Try this: Learn Morse Code and tap out messages to friends and family. 17 July 2014. All rights reserved. Learn more: Thomas David Petite, Readworks. "Yellow Fever." Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. In 2001, she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for her work on behalf of people with HIV and AIDS. Houssay's research into the relationship between sugar metabolism and a pituitary hormone earned him the 1947 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine and, more importantly, marked a turning point in diabetes management. Perhaps the most well-known Cuban innovation is the vaccine CimaVax. "Seeking Signs of Compatibility." May 9, 2012. Routledge. A Julin Acua Gal C Fidel Castro Daz-Balart D Jos Daporta Gozlez E Ernesto Estrada F Carlos Finlay G Alberto Granado M Hctor Maseda Gutirrez Jos Carlos Mills Hilda Molina N Desiderio Navarro P Leopoldo Pando Zayas Javier Perez-Capdevila Later, he led fusion propulsion teams at MIT and Johnson Space Center (JSC) on projects with potential Mars mission applications. For any other drug that wasnt made in Cuba, Colevas said, that ratio would probably be reversed. Though Jobs went on to become more well-known, he and Wozniak worked together to build the Apple I, the home computer that launched a revolution. The Routledge Dictionary of Anthropologists. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. Michael ZagarisMLB/Getty Images. History and Culture. Learn more: Our Dad Invented the N95 Mask. Given the thousands of lives he saved and the decades of scorn he endured, we'd say he deserved them. In 2012, she was named JSC director -- the first Hispanic person and second woman to do so [sources: NASA; NASA]. Ideas, Inspiration, and Giveaways for Teachers. Read more about Cuban inventions in How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers.