Google’s logo today resembles a juice label, prominently featuring a pair of oranges and other fruits rich in vitamin C. The Doodle is a tribute to physiologist, biochemist, and professor Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, born on this date 118 years ago.
Szent-Gyorgyi, born in Budapest, Hungary, is credited with discovering ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. He won a Nobel Prize in 1937 "for his discoveries in connection with the biological combustion processes, with special reference to vitamin C and the catalysis of fumaric acid".
An active member of many scientific societies, his other research centered around muscle movements and cancer prior to his death October 22, 1986, at the age of 93.
Perhaps this citrus logo is a subtle reminder from Google that flu season is just around the corner, as Google is well-known for tracking flu trends around the world since 2005. Due to the works of Szent-Gyorgyi and other scientists, though, we now know that vitamin C enhances the immune system and is a good way to fight off illness.
Google has paid tribute to other scientists this year, including the father of genetics Gregor Mendel and Robert Bunsen, inventor of the Bunsen burner.
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