Science of The Day

On March 30, 1954, Toronto became the first Canadian city to open a subway system! Now why is this so exciting? Well subways are an amazing engineering feat that use steal piles, beams and timbers to create an entire transportation system underground! The Subway, mostly built underneath the extremely busy Yonge Street, had to be strongly supported, so first steel piles were placed vertically on either side of the street and then horizontal beams were placed on top to ensure t

On March 27th, 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Viagra (Sildenafil citrate). Viagra was the first oral medication for treating erectile dysfunction, a condition affecting millions of men in the United States. It is patented by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. The approval of Viagra was a significant milestone in the pharmaceutical industry, as it was among the first drugs approved for a condition considered "socially taboo." Viagra is reported to be Pfizer's

On March 26 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk marked a significant milestone in medical history. Dr. Salk announced that he successfully developed a kill-virus vaccine for poliomyelitis. Poliomyelitis (also known as polio) is disease that can lead to paralysis and severe muscle wasting, especially in children. His vaccine reduced polio by an estimated 60-90%. Wanna chat? Email Erin at er965821@ohio.edu , or follow her on instagram @ attitudesgenetic

On March 24, 1882, Robert Koch shared his discovery of the bacteria causing tuberculosis (TB). Robert started as a physician and studying anthrax but started his work on TB during a bad wave in Germany in 1881. He started by wanting to find the organism causing TB. First, he obtained samples of TB from patients and injected them into guinea pigs. Then, he created a new staining technique using alkali metals to visualize the shape of the bacteria. After discovering a bacterium

On March 19, 2018, the last male Northern-White Rhinoceros, named Sudan, died in Kenya from euthanasia due to “age-related complications”. Sudan lived to the age of 45, leaving only two, female Northern-White Rhino’s left in the world. There are five types of rhinos in the world: the White Rhino (northern and southern), Greater One-Horned Rhino, Black Rhino, Javan Rhino, and Sumatran Rhino. All five are quickly decreasing in population due to poaching (hunting animals illegal

On March 18, 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first person to walk in outer space! Leonov was part of the Soviet cosmonaut crew but was not actually the first one in space; another Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, launched in 1961. During Leonov’s travel, he was tethered and floated in space for about 15 minutes. On his way back in, he had to lessen the pressure in his suit and had to force his way back inside the airlock! Also, fun fact: the difference between a cosmonaut and a

On March 17, 1905, Albert Einstein published his famous paper on the Photoelectric Effect. The Photoelectric Effect is the phenomenon when the surface of a material rejects electrons when absorbing electromagnetic radiation! (AKA electrons leave when the material is hit with light) Electromagnetic radiation is usually in the form of ultraviolet or visible light. Now why is this so important?? This proves that light performs as a wave and a particle and the emitted electrons a

On March 16, 1926, Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-propellant rocket! Now what is a liquid-propellant launch? First a rocket is fueled using liquid oxygen and gasoline. Then the engines ignite, consume the oxygen and gasoline inside the rocket, and combusts and shoots up into the sky! While Goddard was technically the first to complete a successful launch, he kept his advances a secret for many years, convinced people would steal his idea. His work was unfortunately

On February 24th, 1925, thermite was used for the first time in the United States to break up a massive ice jam on the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, New York. Roughly 250,000 tons of ice began to shift only hours after three 90‑pound thermite charges were ignited. Thermite—a mixture of finely divided magnesium and red iron oxide—produces an intense, molten‑iron reaction when ignited. This method was developed by Howard Turner Barnes of McGill University and patented und

On February 23rd, 1997, researchers at the Roslin Institute revealed a groundbreaking achievement that transformed modern biology: the successful cloning of a female lamb named Dolly . She was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, demonstrating that specialized cells could be reprogrammed to develop into a completely new organism. Scientists used microscopic tools to remove the nucleus from an egg cell and replace it with the nucleus from an adult sheep’s

On February 22nd, 1984, twelve-year-old David Vetter passed away after spending nearly his entire life inside a sterile plastic isolator. Born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a rare disorder that left him without functional T‑cells, David had no natural defense against infection. Doctors hoped that a bone marrow transplant might allow donor stem cells to develop into the T‑cells he lacked. Despite extensive cleansing procedures, an undetected virus was present i

Want to learn about the FIRST U.S. Brain Surgery?

In 1996, a scientist discovered a ordinary nova... or did they?

Whoa, the discovery of Pluto happened on 2/18? Crazy.

On February 10th, 2026, NASA released photos of The Egg Nebula.

February 9 th  marks several important moments in scientific history. One of the most recent occurred on February 9 th , 1996, when Sigurd Hoffman and his team discovered element 112. Hoffman (February 15 th , 1944- June 17 th , 2022), Peter Armbruster (July 25 th , 1931- June 26 th , 2024) and Gottfried Münzenberg (March 17, 1940–January 2, 2024) were German scientist working at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Their initial experiment p