List of Jamaican inventions and discoveries

Jamaican inventions and discoveries are items, processes, ideas, techniques or discoveries which owe their existence either partially or entirely to a person born in Jamaica, or to a citizen of Jamaica or to a person born abroad of Jamaican heritage.

Agriculture

• Ortanique, by David Daniel Phillips.
• Development of cattle breeds adapted to the tropics - Jamaica Hope, Jamaica Red and Jamaica Black, by Thomas Lecky.

Astronomy and astrophysics

• Pioneered the use of spectroscopic tomography in astronomy, by Mercedes Richards.
• Discovery of starspots on the cool star in an Algol binary, by Mercedes Richards.

• First to make images of the gravitational flow of gas between the stars in any interacting binary-star system, by Mercedes Richards.
• First to image the chromospheres and accretion disks in Algol binaries, by Mercedes Richards.
• First to make theoretical hydrodynamic simulations of the Algol binary stars, by Mercedes Richards.
• First to apply novel distance correlation statistical methods to large astronomical databases, by Mercedes Richards.

Biology and medicine

• First comprehensive human microbiome study, by Karen Nelson.
• First Caribbean prostate cancer cell line (ACRJ-PC28), by Simone Badal McCreath.
• Discovery of Kwashiorkor, by Cicely Williams. She also developed a treatment regime to combat the disease.
• Discovery of Monamycin antibiotic, by Kenneth E. Magnus (and Cedric Hassall).
• Pioneer of treatments for paediatric sickle cell anaemia, by Yvette Francis-McBarnette. She was the first to utilise prophylactic antibiotics in the treatment of children with sickle cell.

• Canasol, by Manley West and Albert Lockhart. Canasol alleviates intraocular fluid pressure in late-stage glaucoma.

• Asmasol, a treatment for bronchial asthma, coughs and colds, by West and Lockhart.

• The JaipurKnee, co-designed by Joel Sadler. Time listed the Jaipur Knee as one of the best inventions of 2009. The JaipurKnee has since been exported to many countries.
• The (Ramphal) Cardiac Surgery Simulator, by Dr Paul Ramphal and Dr Daniel Coore. The model is utilised in training numerous cardiothoracic surgery residents across the United States.
• Alpha Prostate, a supplement used in the management of prostate health, by Henry Lowe.

Chemistry

• The "armed-disarmed" principle in glycosylation chemistry, by Bertram Fraser-Reid.
• Development of O-pentenyl glycosides as glycosyl donors for oligosaccharide synthesis, by Bertram Fraser-Reid.
• Construction of the largest ever synthetic hetero-oligosaccharide without the use of automated methods, by Bertram Fraser-Reid.
• First to report photopolymerisation, by John Buddle Blyth (and August Wilhelm von Hofmann).
• First textbook to incorporate chemical symbols and formulae as well as organic chemistry, by Edward Turner.
• Isolation of dibenzyl trisulphide (DTS) from the guinea hen weed and identification of anti-proliferation and/or cytotoxic activity on a wide range of cancer cell lines, by Williams and Levy.
• Identification of DTS derivatives (e.g. DTS-albumin complexes) for providing anti-proliferation and/or cytotoxic activity on a wide range of cancer cell lines, by Williams and Levy.
• Development of methods of isolating and/or providing DTS and/or its derivatives in an effective amount for providing an anti-proliferation and/or cytotoxic activity on cancer cell lines, by Williams and Levy.
• Isolation of chemical compounds from the ball moss plant and identification of anti-cancer activity, by Henry Lowe.
• Isolation of eryngial from eryngium foetidum and Identification as an anti-threadworm agent by Reese, Robinson and Forbes.

Computing

• Lingo programming language used in Adobe Director, by John Henry Thompson.
• XObjects, by John Henry Thompson.
• Methods and apparatus for managing mobile content, co-invented by John Henry Thompson.
• IBM Master Inventor, Tyrone W A Grandison, holds over 47 patents. He has co-invented product initiatives in RFID data management, privacy-preserving mobile data management, private social network analysis, text analytics and healthcare management systems.
• Walt W. Braithwaite spearheaded the development of CAD/CAM systems at Boeing, enabling the digital design and manufacture of airplanes. He also contributed significantly to the development of the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES). Braithwaite's common data format and translators from Boeing were used as the basis for developing the IGES protocol.

Cuisine

• Chocolate Milk
• Tia Maria
• Hummingbird cake
• Irish Moss
• Jerk
• Busta candy
• Coconut drop
• Toto
• Peanut drops
• Coconut cake
• Almond drops

Michael Manley in a long-sleeved Kariba suit, 1970s

Fashion

• Kariba suit, by Ivy Ralph.
• Ursula Andress white bikini, co-designed by Tessa Prendergast.

Games

• Nubian Jak, by Jak Beula Dodd.
• Automated Double-Dutch jump rope machine, by Tahira Reid Smith.
• Kivi (2016), co-designed by Sheyla Bonnick.
• Eye Catch (2017), co-designed by Sheyla Bonnick
• Sneak Peek (2018), co-designed by Sheyla Bonnick.
• Kalooki
• Popongo, by Errol Anderson.

Industrial processes

• Barley Abrasion Process, by Sir Geoff Palmer. A technique that accelerates malt production from grain and is widely used in the British brewing industry.
• Pioneered the use of the scanning electron microscope to study malt production in detail, by Geoff Palmer.
• A commercial process to extract quassinoids from bitterwood, by Yee and Jacobs.
• A process for extracting valuable mineral by-products from bauxite, by Lightbourne and Barclay Baetz.

Music

• Reggae
• Rocksteady
• Ska
• Mento
• Dub
• Dancehall
• Ragga
• Reggae fusion
• Hip-hop/rap music. Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc is known as the "Founder of Hip-hop" and "Father of Hip-hop".
• Modern remixing of sounds.

Religion, politics and ethics

• Rastafari
• Garveyism
• Kumina
• Myal
• Stuart Hall was one of the founding figures of the school of thought that is now known as British Cultural Studies or the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies.
• The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP), founded by Harold Moody.

Space exploration

• A system and method for portable nondestructive examination with realtime three-dimensional tomography, co-invented by Robert Rashford. The world's first portable 3D non-destructive evaluation (NDE) system. The invention detects flaws in materials used to construct aircraft, spacecraft, and industrial pipelines without the need for disassembly. The system was employed in the maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope for the United States Government.
• Protective enclosure for use transporting orbital replacement units (orus) within a space craft, by Robert Rashford.
• A single-person spacecraft, co-invented by Robert Rashford.
• Enclosure for spaceflight hardware, co-invented by Robert Rashford.
• Robert Rashford also designed and developed unique spacecraft support systems for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) Airborne Support Equipment (UASE) at the Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). At General Electric, he designed and tested a variety of spacecraft for both commercial and military applications. At Bechtel Corporation, he designed a nuclear reactor support structure. He has designed numerous highly complex engineering systems that successfully flew on board NASA's Manned Space Flight Programs.

Transport

• Radial tyres, Jamaican-born Arthur William Savage is often cited as the inventor.
• An improved process for making inner tubes for vehicle tires, by Arthur William Savage.

Weaponry

• Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle, by Arthur William Savage.
• First completely modern removable box magazine, by Arthur William Savage.

Miscellaneous

• Discovery of previously unknown historical human migration patterns, by Neil Hanchard and team.
• Identification of more than 3 million genetic variants that had not been previously observed, which could contribute to making genetic tests more accurate for people with African ancestry, Neil Hanchard and team.
• Invention of a connector system, by Glen McFarlane.
• Invention of the Compact Design H2 Energy Storage and Generation system.
• Patented magnetic gearbox system.
• Contributed to the development of a new type of polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT).

• Identified the link between adipose tissue glucose transporter (GLUT4) and insulin resistance, by Evan Dale Abel and Barbara Kahn.
• Invention (of the first) sorrel harvesting machine that facilitates the mechanical stripping of the red calyces flesh from the sorrel plant.
• Discovery of a new species of Pisonia
• Discovery of a new and distinct variety of the Zingiberacae family, by Errol McGhie.
• The creation of a "sophisticated" mathematical cost capability trade-off model for HMS Queen Elizabeth, by Nira Chamberlain.
• Invention of a method of long multiplication, used in some UK schools, by Nira Chamberlain.