Tag: Science
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A note on circadian clocks
JMS PearceHull, England I first started to enquire about circadian rhythms when wondering what it was that caused the periodicity of migraines in relationship to such diverse factors as emotions, tiredness, relaxation, hormonal changes, bright lights, and noise.1 The periodic threshold appeared susceptible to hypothalamic function, which in turn was modulated by seasonal patterns and…
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From silks to science: The history of hematoxylin and eosin staining
Vidhi NaikAberdeen, Scotland Introduction Hematoxylin and eosin, dyes used to stain tissue samples, collectively known as H&E, form the benchmark for histological stains. These dyes possess a profound and alluring history, which includes stories of the fabric industry, pirates, fine art, and eventually histology. The development of hematoxylin The origins of hematoxylin can be traced…
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Help from the horseshoe crab
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) has not changed in more than 450 million years. It has been called “a living fossil.”1 It is, in fact, not a crab at all, but an arthropod, more closely related to arachnids such as spiders and scorpions. It is found on the eastern coast of North…
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The origins of NIH medical research grants
Edward TaborBethesda, MD, United States The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports medical research in non-government universities and hospitals and some small businesses. The cost and scope of these grants significantly exceed those of NIH’s own intramural program of clinics, wards, and laboratories. The NIH extramural grants today provide more than $37 billion1,2 for…
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The beginnings of cell theory: Schleiden, Schwann, and Virchow
JMS PearceHull, England Every schoolchild is taught in biology about cells and their elemental importance. Students of biological and medical sciences also learn about the Schwann cell sheath that invests nerve fibers. What is less well known is how these two are related. Schwann, a physician by training, and Schleiden, a botanist from Hamburg, were…
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Berzelius, father of Swedish chemistry
Born in 1779 in East Gotland in the southern part of Sweden, Jons Jacob Berzelius descended from an old Swedish family in which many of his ancestors had been clergymen. His father, a schoolteacher, died when he was four years old. His mother soon remarried but died shortly thereafter in 1787, so he was raised…
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Book review: Civilization and the Culture of Science
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom The word civilization has both Latin and French origins: civitas (city) and civis (citizen) in Latin, and civilise (civilized) in French. In 1923, physician, philosopher, and theologian Albert Schweitzer wrote in The Philosophy of Civilization that “Civilization was essentially the sum total of all progress made by man in every…
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Dr. Fritz Kahn and medical infographics
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “If I were…an intern just getting ready to begin, I would be apprehensive that my real job, caring for sick people, might soon be taken away, leaving me with the quite different occupation of looking after machines.”—Lewis Thomas, MD, 1983 Dr. Fritz Kahn (1888–1968), a Berlin gynecologist, realized that society’s fascination with…
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Xenotransplantation—giving animal organs to humans
In the early 1990s a distinguished scientist predicted that within twenty years thousands of lives would be saved by xenotransplantation. His optimism was unfortunately premature and in America today more than 100,000 people are waiting to receive human hearts, livers, or kidneys. Yet despite false starts and disappointments, the dream of using animal organs in…