DiabetesPeople with diabetes would waste away slowly in pain
In 1920 Dr. Frederick Banting of the University of Toronto had an idea that would solve the dreaded diabetes disorder. Previous to this, a diagnosis of diabetes meant slowly wasting away to a certain death. Fred Banting and his colleague Charles Best were able to make a pancreatic extract which had anti-diabetic qualities which they successfully tested on diabetic dogs. Soon an entire research team was working on the production and purification of insulin. Other researchers assisted the discoverers to purify insulin for use on diabetic patients and the first tests were conducted on 14 year old Leonard Thompson early in January 1922. Following the publicity of the success of these tests there was a huge world-wide demand for insulin with some sufferers who were near death being saved. These were a spectacular success. Word of this spread quickly around the world giving immediate hope to many diabetic persons who were near death. A frenzied quest for insulin followed. Some patients in a diabetic coma made miraculous recoveries. |
PenicillinPenicillin mass produced Penicillin was originally isolated from the Penicillium chrysogenum (formerly Penicillium notatum) mould. The antibiotic effect was originally discovered by a young French medical student Ernest Duchesne studying Penicillium glaucum in 1896. |