Virtual Exhibits
Christian Anfinsen
Protein Folding and the Nobel Prize
This exhibition celebrates Christian Anfinsen's legacy by illuminating just a few of his contributions to science and society.
Michael Potter
The Work of Michael Potter
To Potter, science was driven by curiosity, not competition, and the only goal was to answer questions about the nature of life.
Marshall Nirenberg
Deciphering the Genetic Code
This exhibit explores the Nobel Prize-winning work of NHLBI's Marshall Nirenberg, who deciphered the genetic code in the early 1960s with the collaboration of his NIH colleagues.
The Stadtman Way
This exhibit highlights the work of Drs. Thressa and Earl Stadtman, distinguished biochemists, who began their work at the National Institutes of Health in 1950.
A History of the Pregnancy Test Kit
This looks at the history of the home pregnancy test and examines its place in our culture. Research that led to a sensitive, accurate pregnancy test was done by scientists in the Reproductive Research Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.
Human Genetics and Medical Research
Cracking the genetic code allowed us to study diseases at the molecular level, which has increased our knowledge of potential preventions and treatments for diseases. The study of genetics has become central to the science of medicine. This exhibit asks many questions: How do genes cause disease? Can gene therapy work? How do we manipulate genes and should we?
Martin Rodbell: How Cells Respond to Signals
This exhibit explains the work of Martin Rodbell and his colleagues in discovering a mechanism that transformed our understanding of how cells respond to signals. In a series of pioneering experiments conducted at the NIH, Rodbell studied hormones--substances which have specific effects on cells' activity. He could not have predicted the broad impact his findings would have.
The AMINCO-Bowman Spectrophotometer
In the 1950s the NIH's Dr. Robert Bowman developed a sensitive instrument-called the spectrophotofluorometer, or “SPF”-that allowed scientists to use fluorescence as a way to identify and measure tiny amounts of substances in the body. This exhibit explores the instrument and its use in scientific studies ranging from anti-depressant medication to AIDS research and the Human Genome Project.
Rewriting the Book of Nature: Charles Darwin and the Rise of Evolutionary Theory
The life of Charles Darwin, and the fortunes of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Synthetic Opiates and Opioids
The quest for new painkillers and a synthetic source for morphine and codeine.
Equal Arm Analytical Balances
Instruments, designed on a “seesaw” principle, to measure mass precisely by placing a sample in one pan and known weight in an opposing pan until an equilibrium was established.
Early Computing at the NIH
Here is a snapshot of some of the computing tools used in NIH labs, highlighting objects that are now in the NIH Stetten Museum collection.