Saloni Dattani
Researcher and science writer; co-founder and editor at Works in Progress, formerly Our World in Data, and author of the Scientific Discovery newsletter.
A History of Immunology by Arthur M. Silverstein
I loved this book. I enjoyed learning about the early, often wildly speculative theories of immunity, how blood groups and allergies were discovered
on scientificdiscovery.dev · 28 Dec 2025
Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech by Sally Smith Hughes
This amazing book traces the development of genetic engineering, and how Herbert Boyer and Robert Swanson turned the science into a commercial product by developing recombinant insulin.
on scientificdiscovery.dev · 28 Dec 2025
The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris
Joseph Lister, the pioneer of antiseptic techniques in surgery, had a fascinating life that I didn’t know anything about until I read this book.
on scientificdiscovery.dev · 28 Dec 2025
The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
I mistakenly expected this to be a somewhat shallow, generic popular science book, but it was a very thorough account of how CRISPR gene editing emerged from decades of obscure basic research into bacterial immune systems.
on scientificdiscovery.dev · 28 Dec 2025
Everything Saloni Dattani recommends — not just books — on rcmnd →