Karl Landsteiner, the
subject of Tuesday’s Google Doodle, may not be a
household name, but his work helps save millions of lives every day.
The
Austrian-American biologist, in 1901, discovered the four blood types — A, B,
AB and O — leading to the first-ever blood transfusion six years later.
Landsteiner also
collaborated with scientist Erwin Popper to lay the foundation that led to the
discovery of the poliovirus, thus enabling the treatment of a disease that
afflicted millions of children.
