The first dedicated sleep laboratory was at the University of Chicago, where the "father of modern sleep science" worked. His students discovered REM sleep and started sleep medicine.
Playlist science
science
Why America Is the Only Country That Embraced the Lie Detector—and Chicago’s Role in Its Rise
Daniel HautzingerThe technology behind the lie detector is basic and available around the world, but only America has used it extensively over the decades, thanks in part to pioneering work in forensics in Chicago that attempted to address the city's notorious crime.
Tracing the ‘Intimate History’ of the Gene
Meredith FrancisExecutive produced by Ken Burns, The Gene: An Intimate History is a new two-part documentary that traces the history of the study of genetics and examines the ethical implications of new technologies. Plus, learn more about genes in a creative animated digital series.
"One of the Greatest Events in the History of Medicine": The Defeat of Polio
Daniel HautzingerDuPage county, outside Chicago, took part in Jonas Salk's polio vaccine trials in 1954, a successful nationwide experiment that led to the virtual end of a terrifying disease and was called "one of the greatest events in the history of medicine."
The American Astronauts Who Made History and Set Records
Meredith FrancisMore than 550 people from 36 countries have traveled to space. Beyond household names like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, dozens of Americans became celebrated "firsts" and set records, like the farthest distance travelled from Earth, the first person enrolled in a Native American tribe to travel to space, and the most number of days spent in orbit.
