Photos 2024 – Not a woman’s job?
Celebrating women who dare to lead, innovate and forge new paths in science and tech:
Tu Youyou
China
Inspired by an ancient Chinese medicine book “A Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies”, Tu Youyou established a procedure for extracting active anti‑malarial ingredients from Artemisia annua at low temperatures. In 1972, Tu’s team isolated the anti‑malarial active monomer‑ artemisinin‑ from Artemisia annua. In 1973, they created dihydroartemisinin, a new drug with higher clinical efficacy than artemisinin and a lower relapse rate.
© Institute of Chinese Materia Medica China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
