Science and Humanism in the Legacy of Rita Levi-Montalcini

Abstract

Rita Levi-Montalcini is one of the greatest figures of the 20th and 21st centuries, famous for winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1986, for having discovered the nervous growth factor (NGF) protein, which stimulates the growth of nerve fibers and is related to chronic diseases, such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's. Before she made that discovery, little was known about the development of the nervous system. Before he made the discovery of NGF, not much was known about the development of the nervous system; it was uncertain how nerve cells differentiated, how their axons established synapses and what was the nature of the chemical messages with which they communicate. Levi-Montalcini's discovery answered these questions and continues to do so with others. As with many women scientists, her style of work produced relevant changes that are expressed both in the structure of scientific institutions and methodologies, as well as in the scope of knowledge production and the way in which it’s returned to society.