Each year, Nature Magazine profiles 10 people who made a significant impact in the field of science.

This year, four women made it onto the list, including Macquarie University bioethicist Dr Wendy Rogers. Also on the list was Times Person of the Year, Greta Thunberg, American-Canadian astrophysicist Dr Victoria Kaspi and Argentinian ecologist Dr Sandra Daz.

Below we share a little more on each of the four women who made the list.

Dr Wendy Rogers, bioethicist, Macquarie University, SydneyDr Rogers is a bioethicist who has been researching the particularly challenging subject of forced organ donation in China, which the Chinese government once denied. Dr Rogers work involves examining research publications by Chinese transplant doctors with a team at Macquarie, with conclusions that prove donors have in fact, not given consent. Rogers draws on both her medical and philosophical training to expose sketchy data from Chinas organ donation programme. She was recently named Australias Research Field Leader for bioethics by The Australian.

Greta Thunberg, Activist, SwedenNature describes Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg as a climate action catalyst who is channeling a generations rage to shift policy and save the world for global climate disaster. Journalist Quirin Schiermeier notes that, Scientists have spent decades warning about climate change, but they couldnt galvanize global attention the way that Thunberg did this year. The Swedish 16-year-old has outshone them and many are cheering her along. Thunbergs spoken at the UN and been named 2019s Times Person of the Year.

Dr Victoria Kaspi, astrophysicist, McGill University, MontrealTo be a woman in the field of astrophysics is to have moved within the halls of male power. The field is largely and famously dominated by men; in fact, Nature reported last year that astronomy was losing women at three times the rate of men. Thats just one of the reasons why the work that Dr Kaspi has accomplished is earth-shatteringly impressive. For the past 25 years, the Canadian-American has used many of the worlds top telescopes to make fundamental astronomy. Two years ago, she was part of a team in Canada that built the worlds best detecter of fast radio bursts (FRBs) which are essentially mysterious flashes of radio energy that frequently pop off across the sky. The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME for short) has since spotted hundreds of bursts, many more than any other telescopes around the world. In 2016, she won Canadas highest science prize, the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.

Dr Sandra Daz, ecologist, National University of Crdoba, ArgentinaWhat does a researcher who studies biodiversity do, exactly? Change the world! This year, Argentinian ecologist Diaz undertook the most exhaustive study ever of the worlds biodiversity, and finished with a 1,500 page document; expressing that that nations will fail to meet most global targets in biodiversity and sustainable development unless they make massive changes. The research also concluded that that one million species are heading for extinction because of human activities. Diazs history in conservation science has lead her to becoming an influential figure in policy-making not just in her home-country, but also, across the world. Last week, Diaz told Dissent Magazine; Biodiversity and natures contributions to people are our common heritage and humanitys most important life-supporting safety net, but our safety net is stretched almost to breaking point. The delicate ecological balance that has formed the basis for human civilization for the last 10,000 years is all but history.

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The 4 women on Nature's 'People who mattered in Science in 2019' list - Women's Agenda