Which scientist created the first injectable polio vaccine in 1955 and refused to patent it, forgoing what could have been billions in royalties?

Science & Nature

What was Jonas Salk's primary stated reason for declining to patent his polio vaccine?

The polio vaccine's creator Jonas Salk refused to patent it, potentially forgoing billions in royalties to maximize global access and production.

Science & Nature

What specific type of bowel obstruction in infants led to the 1999 withdrawal of the first licensed rotavirus vaccine?

The rotavirus vaccine was withdrawn in 1999 after causing bowel obstruction in infants, but a safer version later prevented millions of deaths.

Science & Nature

The word 'vaccine' derives from the Latin term 'vacca,' referencing Edward Jenner's use of cowpox—what animal does 'vacca' mean?

Smallpox vaccination created the term 'vaccination' itself—Edward Jenner used cowpox virus because milkmaids exposed to it never caught smallpox.

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Which scientist's unpublished X-ray diffraction images, shared by Maurice Wilkins, proved crucial to Watson and Crick's DNA model but sparked decades of controversy over credit?

Maurice Wilkins, who shared the Nobel Prize, initially resented Watson and Crick's credit, and his role in providing Franklin's data remained contentious for decades afterward.

Science & Nature

According to a landmark 2014 study published in the journal Science, which human sense has by far the greatest capacity to distinguish unique stimuli?

Your nose can remember and distinguish over 1 trillion different scents, far surpassing your ability to see or hear distinct variations.

Science & Nature

Unlike Marie Curie, whose two Nobel Prizes were awarded in different scientific fields, Frederick Sanger's two Nobel wins were both in which single category?

Frederick Sanger won two separate Nobel Prizes in Chemistry for determining protein and DNA sequences—one of only four people ever.