ThinkHer

Science often serves the pursuit of curiosity, of the natural world, but for some, it also becomes a tool for driving societal change. Dr. E. K. Janaki Ammal was one such scientist whose contributions came at a time when India desperately needed them. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, recognized her extraordinary vision and invited her to lead the Central Botanical Laboratory. Under her leadership, she safeguarded India’s indigenous biodiversity, documented plant varieties, and developed new genetic strains of crops to combat famine and starvation. The story of this woman has to be reshared multiple times for her perseverance and the way she used her voice. Janaki Ammal, Photo Credits to Geeta Doctor Born in 1897 in Tellicherry (now Thalassery), Kerala, Janaki Ammal grew up in a large family of 19 children. Her father, a judge and naturalist, fostered her love for the natural world. She grew up in privilege in a large family that lived in a house called Edam, which served...

Who do you think was the first to be called a scientist? Albert Einstein? Issac Newton? Galileo Galilei or Nicolaus Copernicus? When we asked ChatGPT to generate an image of a scientist, it produced a depiction of a man wearing geeky glasses and a lab coat. The irony is, the term 'scientist' was first used to describe a woman, Mary Somerville in the year 1834. William Whemwell introduced the term 'Scientist' as a joke while reviewing the book 'On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences' written by Mary Somerville. It was her fourth book and one of the first books to be popular in the science genre. The reviewer, William Whemwell was marveled by its writing and described it to be 'Masterly'. Not so surprisingly, he couldn't get over the fact that a woman could write so fabulously about science. He writes, some women had even advanced so far in philosophy as to ‘ look with dry eyes upon oxygen and hydrogen, to hear with tranquil minds of perturbations a...

As women of the modern world, we understand the vital role that a support system of like-minded women plays in our lives. Historically, relationships among women have provided affection, attention, and camaraderie, especially in the face of societal oppression. This solidarity often forms the backbone of survival and success. Naturally, we were curious—who were the women who supported Marie Curie, arguably the most renowned female scientist in history? What we discovered is that her story, rich with triumph and resilience, also includes powerful moments of women standing together—a story that deserves to be told. Marie Curie, born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, experienced significant loss during her early childhood. Her mother, Bronisława, died of tuberculosis in May 1878, when Maria was ten years old. Less than three years earlier, Maria's oldest sibling, Zofia, had died of typhus contracted from a border. However, Maria shared a deeply meaningful bond with her sister Bronya. As a tee...

In the 1980s, Carl Sagan’s popular TV series  Cosmos  introduced a new generation to Hypatia of Alexandria—a remarkable scholar, philosopher, and teacher. Sagan reminded viewers of her brilliance but also of her tragic death in 415 CE, a story that has grown to overshadow her life and intellectual contributions. Hypatia’s horrific end, dragged from her chariot and killed by a mob, is o ften recounted as the symbolic fall of the rational, philosophical traditions of ancient Greece. Sagan, among others, saw her death as marking the decline of the intellectual legacy of Alexandria, giving way to centuries of religious dominance over thought, often referred to as the “Dark Ages” in Europe. Hypatia, as painted by Raphae l But who was Hypatia beyond a martyr or a symbol of lost knowledge? What do we truly know about her life and work? To answer this, we must turn our attention to her story—not as legend, but as history. Born during a period of political and religious turmoil in Alex...

"Ishango bone discovered in East Africa is one of the earliest examples of a lunar calendar indicating men's need to record days and months to understand seasonal changes for agriculture." When we read the quote, do we feel like looking it up and checking if this is a fact? How about this: "Ishango bone discovered in East Africa is one of the earliest examples of a lunar calendar indicating women's needs to record days and months to understand the menstrual cycle and the possibility of pregnancy." Now all the factual enthusiasts, including us, are curious to know if this is, in fact, true. This has been a debate going on for years now. This debate, far from being a simple academic squabble, underscores a broader historical narrative: the overlooked contributions of women to early mathematics, calendars, and agriculture. An illustration of Ishango bone Ethno-mathematician Claudia Zaslavsky argued that the Ishango bone originated with women’s need for a lunar ...