Episode

The Mouse Lady

Podcast: Lost Women of Science
Published: Nov 13, 2025
Duration seconds: 1781
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Canonical source: https://play.prx.org/listen?ge=prx_413_2fc6eb2a-ff52-4060-a519-9c8a991396ed&uf=https%3A%2F%2Ffeed.lostwomenofscience.org
Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/sblTq32fyWAjsHzze2LG/dovetail.prxu.org/_/413/2fc6eb2a-ff52-4060-a519-9c8a991396ed/Maud_Slye_-_FINAL_-_pt1.mp3
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Markdown: /podcast/lost-women-of-science-4474223/the-mouse-lady.md

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Summary

In the 1910s, a relatively unknown cancer researcher named Maud Slye announced the first results of a study with the loftiest ambitions: to identify what causes cancer. To answer that question, the University of Chicago geneticist had bred tens of thousands of mice, enough to fill a three-story building. She carefully documented their ancestry and their morbidities and performed autopsies. And to Slye, her findings were clear: vulnerability to cancer was hereditary. If we wanted to, we could eliminate it. But Slye made some crucial mistakes along the way—and a number of enemies. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices