Maria Sibylla Merian: Scientific illustrator honoured with Google doodle

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A Google doodle is today marking the 366th anniversary of the birth of Maria Sibylla Merian, German naturalist and scientific illustrator.

A Google doodle celebrating the work of Maria Sibylla Merian

The German naturalist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian is today being honoured by a Google doodle, on the 366th anniversary of her birth.

Merian is known in the world of science and nature for studying plants and insects and producing detailed paintings of them.

She was born in Frankfurt in 1647 and began painting insect specimens she had captured at the age of 13. She later worked as a botanic artist, publishing three collections of engravings of plants in 1675, 1677 and 1680.

Nigerian physicist Francisca Okeke wins UNESCO science award

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Ngozi Okeke (Photo credit: Church Mission Society (CMS))

A Nigerian physicist Professor Francisca Okeke is one of the four winners of the 2013 L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science.

Okeke won the award for her contributions "to the understanding of daily variations of the ion currents in the upper atmosphere which may further our understanding of climate change." According to UNESCO, Okeke's academic career has been dedicated to the study of the ionosphere and she has made outstanding contributions in her field. The four other recipients were women scientists from Europe, Latin America, North America and the Asia/Pacific regions. Each recipient will receive $100,000. The ionosphere is a part of the upper atmosphere that lies between 50km and 1000km