Good morning,

Enjoy this subscriber submission on Dr Frances Oldham Kelsey, who demonstrated integrity and basic stubbornness for the good of many:

Dr. Frances Kelsey took her stand against thalidomide during her first month at the Food and Drug Administration, on her first assignment. The task was supposed to be a straightforward review of a sleeping pill already widely used in Europe, but Kelsey was concerned by some data suggesting dangerous side effects in patients who took the drug repeatedly. While she continued to withhold approval, the manufacturers tried everything they could to get around her judgement.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_182.html

As a counterpoint, this article is about the dangers of inventing heroes.

“In well-intentioned pastiches of the past, scientific women emerge as cardboard cutouts – the selfless helpmate, the source of inspiration, the dedicated assistant who sacrifices everything for the sake of her man and the cause of science. On the other hand, over-compensation – glorifying women as lone pioneers, as unrecognized geniuses – also has its drawbacks.”

http://the-toast.net/2014/12/04/heroic-scientists-hagiography/view-all/

There is much to enjoy in this Shonda Rhimes speech, what I would like to call attention to is the fact that she uses the phrase awesome vagina in an awards acceptance speech.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/shonda-rhimes-delivered-the-most-inspiring-badass-speech-tod

Have a lovely day,

Alex.