“In the Northeast of Brazil, a very brave scientist still lives today.” This is how the story that narrates the life and contributions to science of researcher Alzira Maria Paiva de Almeida begins. The book Stories to inspire future scientists (Free Editions/Oswaldo Cruz Foundation), released this month, tells the trajectory of the Pernambuco native in controlling the bubonic plague in Exu (PE). In addition to Alzira, 12 other researchers are featured in the publication.
Authored by Juliana Krapp and Mel Bonfim, the work is available for free in the Porto Livre platform and in the Arca repository. “We wrote this book to contribute to a larger initiative called More Girls and Women in Science, as women make up the majority of the world’s population, but only a third of the world’s scientists,” Mel Bonfim said at the virtual launch event. The production was presented during the National Science and Technology Week.
As the name of the book explains, the idea is to inspire children and teenagers. “We had the opportunity to learn more about the stories of women who built fabulous research and life projects. They are researchers who are different from each other, but who have at least one thing in common: they have dedicated their lives to science, to making discoveries, to discovering vaccines, to developing new fields, but they have also struggled to make Brazil a less unequal country, a place better to live for everyone”, said Juliana in the virtual launch.
In addition to Alzira, the book features Bertha Lutz, from São Paulo, who described more than 80 species of amphibians. From Rio de Janeiro, comes the researcher Christina Morais, who developed better and cheaper tests to detect the presence of pesticides in food. It was Miriam Tendler, leading a group on the Fiocruz campus, who developed the first Brazilian vaccine for schistosomiasis. These are just a few examples of the names honored. The work chronicles the careers of the scientists, brings curiosities and has illustrations by Flávia Borges.
O Stories to inspire future scientists received funds from the Fiocruz 120 years project and received consultancy from Editora Rebuliço. The book was made from a partnership between the Institute of Communication and Information in Health (Icict) and the Vice-Presidency of Education, Information and Communication (VPEIC), both from Fiocruz.
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