Hrev_master Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie, is surely the best-known sci- entist remembered as the first and only person and woman award- ed with the Nobel Prize twice and in two different scientific fields: in physics for her research of radiation phenomena (1903) and in chemistry for the discovery of polonium and radium (1911).1 She vwas also the first woman in France to earn a Ph.D. and later became the first woman professor at the Sorbonne University (1906). Marie Curie is often remembered as one of the most famous women in the history of science for her groundbreaking research in radioactivity, a term she coined along with her husband, Pierre Curie. What is less well-known is her unwavering dedication to her research. Her remarkable qualities included a passion for science, high intelligence, a strong belief that her work would benefit humanity, and the perseverance to face the challenges ahead. For all these reasons, she chose not to patent her discoveries, believing that science should be accessible to all. This act of altruism reflects her deep belief in the importance of sharing knowledge and scien- tific progress for the common good. It is remarkable how Marie Curie was never undeterred by the physical and personal hardships she faced. Throughout her life, she encountered significant challenges in overcoming the patriarchal prejudices of her time, striving to be recognized as an intellectual, a scientist, and ultimately as a professional woman. She worked tirelessly to dismantle numerous barriers and fight prejudices in order to “school the world” into not discriminating amongst scien- tists, just for the sake of science. As a scientist, she experienced discrimination not only because of her gender but also her nationality. Initially, she was barred from attending certain universities due to her gender, and she was often excluded from presenting her research, even when she was the leading expert. Additionally, being a Polish immigrant in France further contributed to the discrimination she endured; she was labelled a “foreign woman” and faced attacks based on her back- ground. The French Academy of Sciences repeatedly rejected her applications, underscoring the prejudice against women in science during that era. Despite these challenges, Marie Curie’s brilliance and perse- verance enabled her to make significant contributions to science and to overcome many obstacles in her path. For this reason, she is remembered not only for her scientific achievements but also for her tenacity in the face of adversity. Few know that she was also a major “scientific hero” during World War I. Along with her 17-year-old daughter, Irène (Figure 1), who became her first radiological assistant, she saved millions of soldiers thanks to her extraordinary invention, the “radiological car”. X-rays had been discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen just a few years earlier, in 1895, thus the idea to incorporate them into an ambulance service was absolutely revolutionary. To realize her extraordinary project, she learned how to drive and took intensive courses in anatomy, the use of X-ray equipment, and auto mechan- ics. Just two months after the war began, she persuaded the gov- ernment to allow her to establish France’s first military radiology centers.2,3 Emergency Care Journal 2025; volume 21:14154 [Emergency Care Journal 2025; 21:14154] [page 77] Marie Curie, an extraordinary scientist and human being who still inspires us Erika Poggiali,1 Gianfranco Cervellin2 1Emergency Department, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, Piacenza; 2Academy of Emergency Medicine and Care, Pavia, Italy Correspondence: Erika Poggiali, Emergency Department, “Guglielmo da Saliceto” Hospital, Via Giuseppe Taverna 49, Piacenza, Italy. Tel.: +39.0523.303044 E-mail: E.Poggiali@ausl.pc.it Key words: Marie Curie, radiology, Nobel Prize, Red Cross, X-ray, Petites Curies. Contributions: all the authors approved the final version and equally contributed to the work. Conflicts of interest: EP and GC are members of the editorial board of the Emergency Care Journal. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Availability of data and materials: the datasets used during the cur- rent case report are available from the corresponding author on rea- sonable request. Ethics approval, informed consent, and consent to participate: not applicable. Acknowledgement: the authors dedicate this editorial to all women who fight prejudices and obstacles every day while continuing to play their role in society for the good and growth of all. In particular, Erika Poggiali thanks Cecilia Peccatori, Gilda Rossoni, Irene Benedetti, Annalisa Lombardini, Camilla Botti, Claudia Caborni, Giorgia Borio, Federica Pozzi, Alessandra Manicardi, Chiara Zanzani, Silvia Scaltrini, Raffaella Bertè, Valentina Vignola, Azzurra Schicchi, and Valentina Angeli for being an example of “petit Marie Curie”. Received: 18 July 2025. Accepted: 18 July 2025. Early view: 18 July 2025. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (by-nc 4.0). ©Copyright: the Author(s), 2025 Licensee PAGEPress, Italy Emergency Care Journal 2025; 21:14154 doi:10.4081/ecj.2025.14154 Publisher's note: all claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. As the newly appointed Director of the French Red Cross Radiology Service, she successfully convinced wealthy Parisian acquaintances to donate money and vehicles. When the govern- ment urged citizens to contribute their gold and silver, Marie Curie offered her two Nobel medals, along with all the other honours she had received over the years. Although the French National Bank declined her offer, Marie Curie still contributed by using most of her Nobel Prize money to purchase war bonds. Marie Curie played a crucial role in transforming automobiles into mobile medical units during wartime. She persuaded automo- bile body shops to convert cars into vans and appealed to manufac- turers to contribute to the war effort by donating equipment. This initiative led to the invention of the first “radiological car”, a vehi- cle equipped with an X-ray machine and photographic darkroom equipment, capable of reaching the battlefield where army sur- geons could use X-rays to assist in surgeries. One significant chal- lenge was the requirement for electrical power to produce the X- rays. Marie Curie addressed this issue by incorporating a dynamo — an electrical generator — into the car’s design, allowing the petroleum-powered car engine to provide the necessary electricity. By late October 1914, the first of 20 radiology vehicles, which French soldiers affectionately called “Petites Curies” (little Curies), was ready. These vans became the world’s first specially equipped mobile X-ray units. However, the “Petites Curies” were useless without trained X- ray operators. To address this, Marie Curie initiated training cours- es for women volunteers, teaching them the skills needed to serve as radiological assistants at the Radium Institute. With the help of her daughter Irene, she recruited 20 women for the first training course. The curriculum included theoretical instruction on the physics of electricity and X-rays, as well as practical lessons in anatomy and photographic processing. Ultimately, a total of 150 women received X-ray training from Marie and Irène Curie.4 A photograph from 1914 shows Marie Curie driving a Renault automobile that had been converted into a mobile radiological unit (Figure 2). She was directly involved in assisting front-line hospi- tals, examining both soldiers and civilians on her own. Marie Curie installed X-ray equipment and provided guidance to medical staff. In addition to the mobile “Petites Curies” that travelled around the battlefront, she oversaw the construction of 200 radio- logical rooms at various fixed field hospitals located behind the battle lines. It is estimated that around 1.2 million wounded indi- viduals were examined thanks to either the “Petites Curies” or the fixed X-ray units. Although she was often perceived as distant and somewhat aloof in her work, Marie Curie demonstrated compas- sion and active listening skills that reassured the wounded soldiers. As she stated, “the use of X-rays during the war saved the lives of many injured men; it also spared many from long suffering and lasting infirmity.” The war ended on November 11th, 1918, but Marie Curie’s work related to the war continued for nearly another year. In the spring of 1919, she and her daughter Irène offered radiology cours- es to a group of American soldiers who remained in France while waiting for their passage home. That summer, Marie Curie summa- rized much of her wartime work in a book titled Radiology in War.4 By the fall of 1919, her laboratory at the Radium Institute was finally ready, and she would devote most of the rest of her life to it. Although few of the women X-ray workers were injured as a consequence of combat, they were not without their casualties. Many suffered burns from overexposure to X-rays. Marie Curie understood that high exposures posed future health risks, such as cancer later in life. Unfortunately, there had been no time to perfect X-ray safety practices in the field, leading to many X-ray workers being overexposed. She was deeply concerned about this and later wrote a book on X-ray safety, drawing from her war experiences. Marie Curie survived the war but was apprehensive that her extensive X-ray work would eventually lead to her demise. She died at the age of 66 in 1934 from aplastic anemia, a condition caused by years of exposure during her work. Her daughter, Irène, went on to continue her mother’s research and studies, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935, just one year after her mother’s death, for having discovered artificial radioactivity, which is at the base of all the radioisotopes now available. Tragically, Irène also paid a high prize for her studies: she died at the age 59 from leukemia, probably caused by ionizing radiation exposure.3 In the biography Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie, Barbara Goldsmith portrays Marie Curie as a “humanitarian hero of unparalleled vision, determination, and courage” who tried to balance a scientific career with her family obligations, the prej- udice of society, the constant search for funding, and the struggle for recognition.5,6 As we look toward 2025, Marie Curie’s story remains relevant. Between 1901 and 2024, only 65 women have Editorial Figure 1. Marie Curie (right) and her 17-year-old daughter, Irène. Figure 2. Marie Curie Marie at the wheel of the first “Petite Curie”. [page 78] [Emergency Care Journal 2025; 21:14154] been awarded Nobel Prizes, compared to 874 men. Notably, Marie Curie is the only woman, and the only human being, to have received this honour twice (excluding Nobel Prizes for Peace). The most common categories for women Nobel laureates are Peace and Literature, while the rarest are Physics, Economics, and Chemistry. In 2025, women still encounter significant challenges in pro- fessional opportunities. Despite advancements in various fields, they continue to face significant obstacles such as the gender pay gap, underrepresentation in leadership roles, and the ongoing struggle to balance work and family responsibilities. The life story of Marie Curie reflects the experiences of many women worldwide who continue to pursue their studies and careers with passion, curiosity, and tenacity, despite facing similar difficulties to those encountered by Marie Curie in the early twentieth century. From a romantic perspective, one might feel that Marie Curie is out there, silently yet powerfully cheering all women on. References 1. Nobel Prize Outreach. Nobel Prize in Physics 1903. Available from: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1903/marie- curie/biographical 2. British Red Cross. Marie Curie, the Red Cross, invisible light and WWI. Available from: https://www.redcross.org.uk/sto- ries/our-movement/our-history/marie-curie-invisible-light-the- red-cross-and-wwi 3. Cervellin G. Alla Ricerca della guarigione. Storie di medicina. Mimesis Ed., Milano, 2023, pagg 279-282. 4. Curie M. La Radiologie et La Guerre. Paris, 1921. 5. Goldsmith B. The inner world of Marie Curie. Great Discoveries, 2004. 6. Calame K. Obsessive genius: The inner world of Marie Curie. J Clin Invest 2005;115ù:1109. Editorial [Emergency Care Journal 2025; 21:14154] [page 79]