For some, the at-home pregnancy test is one of the modern world’s greatest innovations. But it might not exist at all without the work of Jewish scientist Regina Kapeller-Adler.
In 1934, the Austrian scientist discovered a faster method than the established standard pregnancy test to detect the amino acid histidine in urine, which is present early in pregnancy. A “sensational discovery” and “significant achievement,” Kapeller-Adler’s groundbreaking work just might have saved her own life.
Four years after her discovery, Nazi Germany occupied Austria and Kapeller-Adler was ousted from school. Fortunately, her pregnancy-test fame landed her a spot as a professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Almost 30 years after her death in 1991, the Jewish scientist’s legacy prevails for her incredible contribution to the scientific field.
Learn more about her in this short video:
