Tag: Nobel Prize
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The privilege of caring for three Nobel laureates and learning from another
Kevin LoughlinBoston, Massachusetts, United States My experience with Nobel laureates began on Monday, July 2, 1979. The previous weekend, I had started my urology residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. The outgoing resident had signed out the urology service to me the evening before and mentioned, “Doctor Harrison has a suprapubic prostatectomy booked…
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Announcing the Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize, one of the most prestigious honors in the world, recognizes outstanding contributions to the welfare of humanity. It was established by the will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, scientist, businessman, and author. Born in 1833 in Stockholm, Nobel held over 350 different patents for inventions including dynamite and a detonator for…
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The Neuron Doctrine: Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi
JMS PearceHull, England There can be few medical works of such importance as the study of the fine structure of the nerve cell that began in the last three decades of the nineteenth century. The two principal adventurers (Fig 1) in this field were the Italian Camillo Golgi (1843–1926) and the Spaniard Santiago Ramón y…
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The forerunner
Shafiqah SamarasamMalaysia Southeast Asia has experienced detrimental, large-scale air pollution for decades. Known as the “Southeast Asia haze,” this transboundary pollution is largely caused by illegal agricultural fires in the forests of Indonesia. The lingering smoke results in breathing difficulties and adverse health outcomes for the citizens of the region.1 With haze becoming a prevalent, annual…
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A walk with giants
Herbert AusubelValley Stream, New York, United States Having had the opportunity to receive a medical education at Harvard Medical School, I was exposed to several individuals who were pioneers in the treatment of disease, something for which I will be forever grateful. And so, I would like to say a few words about my personal…
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Book review: A Place in History: The Biography of John C. Kendrew
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom Remarkable scientific advances in the twentieth century were also crucial for the field of medicine. In the new field of molecular biology, for example, scientists applied the principles of physics and chemistry to elucidate the structure of important proteins and molecules in the human body. John Kendrew was one of…
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Book review: Viruses, Plagues, and History by M. B. A. Oldstone
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom The first edition of Viruses, Plagues, and History was published to great acclaim twenty years ago and has now been updated to include the pandemics of the twenty-first century. These include the SARS, MERS, and Zika virus outbreaks, which have now been eclipsed by COVID-19. The early story of the…
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Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin OM, FRS (1910-1994)
JMS PearceHull, England Dorothy Hodgkin (Fig 1), though not by religion, had close Quaker affinities through her marriage and through her spirited pacifism. She possessed a unique mixture of scientific skills that allowed her to extend the use of X-rays to reveal the structures of compounds, a technical venture far more complex than anything attempted…