Medical Research
Topics from the archives of the Mad Science Museum related to medical research (excluding surgery). Arranged in descending chronological order.
Electrified Sheep
& Elephants on Acid
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The Quest for Bulletproof Skin (Aug 2011)
An August 2011 Associated Press story reported that Dutch artist Jalila Essaidi, in collaboration with Utah State researcher Randy Lewis, created "bulletproof skin". Or, at least, skin that's somewhat bulletproof. The material was able to stop a bullet fired at reduced speed from a .22 caliber rifle, though not one fired at normal speed.
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 The Virtual Rat Project. (Aug 2011) A group of American researchers (led by Dan Beard of the Medical College of Wisconsin) is joining forces to build a virtual rat. It'll be a computer simulation of a rat's physiology, which researchers will then be able to use to run virtual experiments. Apparently the idea is not to have the virtual rat replace real rats, but rather to use the virtual rat to help design better experiments using real rats. Link: jsonline.com.
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Making an Artificial Anus. (Mar 2009) Here's one of those things that sounds bizarre but will doubtless prove highly beneficial to patients. Researchers have built a functional anal sphincter in the laboratory. From ScienceBlog: "the researchers used a small biopsy from a human sphincter and isolated smooth muscle cells that were then multiplied in the lab. In a ring-shaped mold, these cells were layered with nerve cells isolated from mice to build the sphincter. The mold was placed in an incubator for nine days, allowing for tissue formation. The entire process took about six weeks. Numerous laboratory tests of the engineered sphincters, including stimulating the nerve cells, showed normal tissue function, such as the ability to relax and contract. The sphincters were then implanted just under the skin of mice to determine how they would respond in the body." The research is reported in the journal Gastroenterology.
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Monkey-Head Transplant (1970)
 When Vladimir Demikhov unveiled his two-headed dogs in 1954, it inspired a strange kind of surgical arms race (or rather, head race) between the two superpowers. Eager to prove that its surgeons were actually the best in the world, the American government began funding the work of Robert White, who then embarked on a series of experimental surgeries, performed at his brain research center in Cleveland, Ohio, resulting in the world's first successful monkey-head transplant. |
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The Lice-Infested Underwear Experiment (July-October, 1942)
During World War II, millions of men served their country by fighting in the army. Hundreds of thousands of others worked in hospitals or factories. And thirty-two men did their part by wearing lice-infested underwear. They were volunteers in an experiment designed by Dr. William A. Davis and Charles M. Wheeler. |
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Like many people during the great depression, thirty-year-old William Bird of Jacksonville, Vermont had fallen on hard times. He was out of work, heavily in debt, and facing eviction. He feared he would soon be unable to feed and clothe his wife and three children. So Bird came up with a plan. He would sell himself to science.
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Dr. Chamberlain’s Glass Brain (Oct. 1936)
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How far would you go to prove a theory? Stubbins Ffirth, a doctor-in-training living in Philadelphia during the early nineteenth century, went further than most. Way further. Having observed that yellow fever ran riot during the summer, but disappeared during the winter, Ffirth concluded that it was not a contagious disease. Instead, he theorized it was caused by an excess of stimulants such as heat, food, and noise. To prove his theory, Ffirth set out to demonstrate that no matter how much he exposed himself to yellow fever, he wouldn't catch it. He started by making small incisions on his arms and pouring "fresh black vomit" obtained from a yellow-fever patient into the cuts. He didn't get sick. |
 Johann Wilhelm Ritter |