Modern

• Watson and Crick


  5 Facts:

  • They met at Cambridge university in 1953
  • Discovered the double helix structure of DNA
  • Began to understand how hereditary traits (including diseases) could be passed on
  • Watson led the human genome project
  • By 1990, the project had mapped an entire human genome
• Watson and Crick were important because they found proof for another theory of how disease could be passed on; genetics. This was fundamental to understanding diseases like haemophilia.
• Hata


  5 Facts:

  • Japanese scientist
  • In 1909, he retested Ehrlich's compounds for a chemical cure
  • He found that 606 worked
  • Salvarsan 606
  • This was the first magic bullet - it cured syphilis
• Hata found the first chemical cure or antibiotic. It encouraged other scientists to look for other chemicals that could attack specific bacteria and thus care for disease.
• National Health Service


  5 Facts:

  • Launched in 1948 (labour government - Bevan)
  • Paid by national insurance contributions (tax)
  • Meant that all people had free access to healthcare regardless of background, wealth, etc
  • Covered all medical issues (previous 1911 national insurance act didn't cover conditions like varicose veins)
  • Government now responsible for 1,545 city hospitals
• Nhs was important as it was the largest government intervention in medical care in history. The government now not only took an active concern for public health, but would finance and organise it. It led to improvements in treatment and prevention and overall care.
• Alexander Fleming


  5 Facts:

  • Worked at St Mary's hospital in London and battlefield hospitals
  • This mould in his lab killed staphylococcus bacteria
  • In 1929, he published his findings
  • He didn't believe it could be used on people; he couldn't get it to mix with blood
• Fleming was important because he showed early signs that biological ingredients, as opposed to chemicals, could also be used to treat diseases.
• Florey and Chain


  5 Facts:

  • Rediscovered Fleming's work in 1939
  • They tested penicillin on infected mice in 1940
  • Only one cell of mould grows per 2 million cells; they began growing in bed pans and bath tubs
  • Test on human in 1941 (policeman; blood poisoning)
  • In 1943 (WW2), US government funded 21 companies to mass produce penicillin
  • By D-day (June 1944), all allied soldiers have penicillin.
• Keyhole surgery is a method to perform operations through small cuts and using cameras.
• Radiation therapy is used to shrink tumours and kill cancer cells.
• Laser surgery uses lasers to treat skin conditions, remove tumours.
• Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK.
• 85% of cases are smokers or ex-smokers.
• In the 19th century, only 1% of cancers were lung cancer, but by 1918, the figure was 10%, and by 1927, it was 14% due to the increasing popularity of smoking, mainly due to tobacco company advertising.
• Lung cancer is hard to diagnose accurately with X-ray, but can be diagnosed using a CT scan accurately.
• Treatment options for lung cancer include transplanting a healthy lung from a donor, radiotherapy, which attacks the cancer with radiation, chemotherapy, which attacks the cancer with chemicals, and supportive care, which provides comfort and relief from symptoms.
• The UK government realised the problem of smoking in the 1950s but made a lot of money from tobacco tax.
• The government has taken action against smoking, including banning advertising, banning smoking in public, conducting anti-smoking campaigns, and raising taxes.