In her small white farmhouse in Granby, Massachusetts, Abbie E. C. Lathrop bred a variety of small animals: ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and, most notably, mice. In 1902, her mice became the first to be used in a lab for genetic research—and some still are today.
Not a trained scientist, Lathrop is often cast as a mere footnote in the history of cancer research, portrayed as an eccentric hobbyist who was oddly attracted to mice. But a closer look shows that she was a savvy business woman turned self-made scientist, whose careful and methodical mouse breeding helped advance modern cancer research and create a standard organism of science. Moreover, she published scientific papers on mice and cancer inheritance that set the stage for future cancer research.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
