05 November,2009 08:00 AM IST | | Agencies
The X-ray machine was named the most important scientific invention, in a poll marking the centenary of the Science Museum in London.
The X-ray machine, which was discovered in 1895 and revolutionised how doctors detected disease and injury.
It gathered nearly one fifth of the 50,000 votes followed by the discoveries of penicillin and the DNA double helix structure.
Katie Maggs, associate curator of medicine at the Science Museum, attributed the X-ray machine's popularity to the wide impact it has on people's everyday life, from the very first steps of a medical diagnosis to security control at airports.
