"Marie spent many hours boiling down pitchblende in enormous pots...gasping and coughing from the fumes."
Explanation:
According to the text, "Marie Curie and the Discovery of Radioactivity", it is narrated that Curie was on a mission to uncover the mystery of radioactivity and she risked her life and general health by exposing herself to harmful substances so she can conclude her research.
The inference that can be made from the text is that Marie Curie risked her health for the sake of science.