If you thought the spirit of science in the Arab world is as dry as the desert, think again. The Golden Age of science in the Middle East may have run between the eighth and thirteenth centuries, but the region is still producing a brilliant few capable of leaving an indelible mark in the annals of history.
A prime example is the late British-Lebanese biologist Sir Peter Medawar. He was the first Arab Nobel Laureate, honoured in 1960 for his work on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance, both of which proved fundamental to the medical practice of tissue and organ transplants.
Then there is another Lebanese man of science, Dr Michael DeBakey, born Michel Dabaghi, who passed away in 2008. He invented the roller pump, an essential component of the heart-lung machine that permits open-heart surgery. Or consider Hunein, or John, Maassab, the Syrian-American professor of epidemiology, now in his eighties, who was the first person to develop an influenza vaccine in the form of a nasal spray.
Then we have Ahmed Hassan Zewail, who sadly passed away recently. Known as the father of femtochemistry, the Egyptian chemist was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work. And there is Charles Elachi, who headed NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2001 to 2016, during which time he sent multiple rovers to Mars.
Finally, let us take a moment to reflect on where we would be were it not for Rachid Yazami, the Moroccan scientist and engineer who invented the lithium-ion battery. Each of these figures goes to show that there remains a strong link between science and the Arab world, one that did not close with the medieval era but continues to shape the present.
Words: Nicolas Shammas & Karim Mounib
