TEN SCIENTISTS WHO EXPERIMENTED ON THEMSELVES
Max Joseph von Pettenkofer
1818–1901
in 1992, this Bavarian hygienist drank the diarrhoea of a cholera-stricken man in an attempt to demonstrate that the microbes became harmful only after incubating in the ground. He discovered that he was wrong.
William J Harrington
1923–92
the American researcher in autoimmune disorders transfused blood from a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura into himself, showing that the condition causes the body to destroy blood platelets.
Horace Wells
1815–48
An American dentist in connecticut, Wells pioneered the use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in dentistry by having one of his own teeth extracted while under anaesthesia.
John Paul Stapp
1910–99
the American researcher made a huge contribution to air-crash safety by testing the effects of rapid deceleration on the human body, strapping himself to a rocket sled braking rapidly from up to 1,000km/h.
Nicolae Minovici
1868–1941
to better understand the experience and effects of hanging, this romanian forensic scientist hanged himself on several occasions – with assistants on hand to release him.
Werner Forssmann
1904–79
the procedure for cardiac catheterisation was developed by this German doctor in 1929, when he threaded a thin rubber tube through a vein in his left arm and into his heart.
John scott haldane
1860–1936
this scottish physiologist repeatedly used himself as a guinea pig, testing the effects of breathing various mixes of air and gases. His son Jack was also often involved.
Pierre Curie
1859–1906
to observe the effects of radium on skin, the french scientist strapped a piece to his arm; the resulting burn prompted the idea that radioactive material could be used to treat diseased tissue such as tumours.
Barry Marshall
1951–present
the Australian doctor drank a culture of the microbe Helicobacter pylori to prove that the bacterium, not stress or spicy food, is responsible for causing stomach ulcers.
Lazzaro Spallanzani
1729–99
this italian priest swallowed various items, including bones contained in small cloth bags or perforated wooden tubes, to test how stomach secretions help digest food.
1818–1901
in 1992, this Bavarian hygienist drank the diarrhoea of a cholera-stricken man in an attempt to demonstrate that the microbes became harmful only after incubating in the ground. He discovered that he was wrong.
William J Harrington
1923–92
the American researcher in autoimmune disorders transfused blood from a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura into himself, showing that the condition causes the body to destroy blood platelets.
Horace Wells
1815–48
An American dentist in connecticut, Wells pioneered the use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in dentistry by having one of his own teeth extracted while under anaesthesia.
John Paul Stapp
1910–99
the American researcher made a huge contribution to air-crash safety by testing the effects of rapid deceleration on the human body, strapping himself to a rocket sled braking rapidly from up to 1,000km/h.
Nicolae Minovici
1868–1941
to better understand the experience and effects of hanging, this romanian forensic scientist hanged himself on several occasions – with assistants on hand to release him.
Werner Forssmann
1904–79
the procedure for cardiac catheterisation was developed by this German doctor in 1929, when he threaded a thin rubber tube through a vein in his left arm and into his heart.
John scott haldane
1860–1936
this scottish physiologist repeatedly used himself as a guinea pig, testing the effects of breathing various mixes of air and gases. His son Jack was also often involved.
Pierre Curie
1859–1906
to observe the effects of radium on skin, the french scientist strapped a piece to his arm; the resulting burn prompted the idea that radioactive material could be used to treat diseased tissue such as tumours.
Barry Marshall
1951–present
the Australian doctor drank a culture of the microbe Helicobacter pylori to prove that the bacterium, not stress or spicy food, is responsible for causing stomach ulcers.
Lazzaro Spallanzani
1729–99
this italian priest swallowed various items, including bones contained in small cloth bags or perforated wooden tubes, to test how stomach secretions help digest food.
Comments
Post a Comment