Semmelweis's reception and tragic aftermath

After bacteria were discovered, it took scientists 200 years to figure out that they cause disease. If scientists had made the link sooner, hundreds of millions of lives could have been saved. 

In his recent book So Very Small, Tom Levenson, a professor of science writing at MIT, tells the amazing story of germ theory, and argues that our worldview can prevent us from seeing what is right in front of us – even when lives are at stake.

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