What did Wilhelm Roentgen discover that helped with surgery?

Discovered in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen, X-ray revolutionised the fields of physics and medicine.

An X-ray is a kind of electromagnetic radiation that can travel at the speed of light (299.792 km per second) and pass through most substances including wood, tin foil, books and even concrete blocks that ordinary light cannot penetrate. It was discovered in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen.

Roentgen was experimenting with cathode rays, when he noticed that the fluorescent screen had begun to glow although no light was falling on it. He realised that it was due to an invisible ray. He called it X-ray because he did not really know what it was. Later, his colleague named it Roentgen ray.

The discovery of X-rays revolutionised the fields of physics and medicine.

As it can make internal structures of the body visible, X-rays are used to detect bone fractures, dental cavities, tumours, etc.

The flip side of the X-ray is that it can cause biological, chemical and physical changes in substances. It can damage the living tissues of plants and animals if it is absorbed by them. In human beings, an X-ray overdose may produce cancer, skin burns, a reduction of blood supply and other serious conditions.

Today we have a wide range of medical imaging techniques to create visual representations of the internal body. These include CT (computed tomography) scans, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and ultrasound.

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What is the history of anesthesia?

Anaesthesia is given to a patient before a surgery so that he does not feel pain during the procedure. A look at the doctors who pioneered modern anaesthesia.

The word 'anaesthesia' means 'without sensation. It comes from the Greek words an meaning without and aisthesis, meaning 'sensation'. Anaesthesia is given to a patient before a surgery so that he does not feel pain.

Anaesthesia has been used in surgeries since ancient times. Around 600 BCE, Sushruta, known as the founding father of surgery', used cannabis vapours to sedate patients for surgery. For a long time, physicians made use of hypnotherapy, opium, alcohol, etc., but they were not totally effective and had side effects.

On October 16, 1846 (observed today as Ether Day), William T.G. Morton, a dentist and John Collins Warren, a surgeon, made history with their first public demonstration of modern anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States. The patient, Glenn Abott, had a tumour on his neck. Morton made him inhale ether vapour until he was suitably sedated, and Warren removed the tumour.  Abott did not feel any pain. Morton called his creation Letheon after the Lethe River in Greek mythology, as its water is believed to erase 'painful memories.

The anaesthesia used today is a mixture of various derivatives of ether and inhalable gases such as nitrous oxide (laughing gas). It is administered by skilled anaesthesiologists through machines that measure the specific amount necessary to keep the patient unconscious during the surgery.

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Did you know there was a time when people undergoing surgery died of infection?

Did you know there was a time when people undergoing surgery died of infection ? How did it come to an end? Who were the people behind the invention of antiseptics? Read on to find out....

In the latter part of the 19th century, almost 90 per cent of the patients undergoing surgery in London hospitals died of septic infections after their operations. The infection was spread by the surgeons hands, through unclean instruments and bandages and by the general filth that prevailed in the hospitals.

Then, in the early 1850s, a surgeon at the Vienna General Hospital, Ignaz Semmelweis, introduced a sterilising routine. He had all students and surgeons scrub their hands vigorously in a calcium chloride solution before touching patients.

The result was dramatic. The death rate in the hospital due to infection fell by 90 per cent in two years. The second medical man to try out antiseptics was the Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University, Joseph Lister. He felt that the only way to kill germs was to treat the environment with antiseptic. He applied carbolic acid to the surface of wounds, to pre-boiled dressings and surgical instruments. He invented a spray which sent a fine mist of carbolic acid into the air above the operating table.

Antiseptics enabled Lister to perform major operations with success, something that had not been possible before. Later antiseptics became widely accepted, saving a huge number of lives.

Scientists create first 'synthetic embryo'

In a research breakthrough, scientists have created world's first synthetic embryo with a brain and a beating heart. The scientists used only stem cells to create synthetic mouse embryo models. Replete with a beating heart, and a brain, the embryo was created sans sperm, eggs and fertilisation.

The feat was achieved by researchers from the University of Cambridge. The team was led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz. The result was the creation of a beating heart and brain. The work is the result of decades-long research.

The new findings will aid in reaching a better understanding about how tissues are formed during the natural course of development, that is in the case of natural embryos.

The breakthrough is key because it opens new frontiers for learning how the stem cells form into organs in the embryo. In the future, this could help grow organs and tissues using synthetic embryo models. They are called synthetic embryos as they are made without fertilised eggs. This will be a game-changer for human organ transplantation as transplantable tissues can be created thus.

"Our mouse embryo model not only develops a brain but also a beating heart, all the components that go on to make up the body," said Zemicka-Goetz, Professor in Mammalian Development and Stem Cell Biology in Cambridge's Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience in a release issued by the university.

"The stem cell embryo model is important because it gives us accessibility to the developing structure at a stage that is normally hidden from us due to the implantation of the tiny embryo into the mother’s womb. This accessibility allows us to manipulate genes to understand their developmental roles in a model experimental system." Zernicka-Goetz added in the release.

For the development of the synthetic embryo, cultured stem cells representing the types of tissues were put together in a suitable environment that aided in their growth. One of the major achievements of the study is the growth of the entire brain, especially the anterior part of the brain.

The present research was being carried out in mouse models and the researchers plan to develop human models. This will aid in studying those aspects of the organs that would not be possible in real embryos.

The researchers are also developing an analogous model of the human embryo to further their studies. This is crucial as all these findings can help understand why some human pregnancies fail.  The understanding at the embryo level is crucial as the majority of human pregnancies fail at the developmental stage.

WHAT ARE STEM CELLS?

Our body is home to hundreds of types of cells. A majority of them begin as stem cells. They carry within them instructions to develop into specialised cells such as muscle, blood or brain cell. In short, stem cells are human cells that grow into different cell types ranging from brain cells to nerve cells. They can be used to treat damaged tissues. Stem cell-based therapies are being carried out for serious medical conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinsons' and other genetic disorders.

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN STEM CELL RESEARCH

1981:  Embryonic stem cells identified in mice for the first time by Martin Evans of Cardiff University, UK.

1997:  The first artificial animal clone, Dolly the sheep, created. It was a turning point in stem cell research.

1998:  Human embryonic stem cells were isolated and grown in the lab. 2007 The Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2007, was given to Mario R. Capecchi, Sir Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells."

2012:  Human embryonic stem cells used in two patients. It helped improve their vision.

2022:  The Ogawa-Yamanaka Stem Cell Prize was awarded to Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte for his work on cellular rejuvenation programming aimed at improving age-associated diseases.

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Who is the father of blood banking?

An eminent pioneer in the field was Charles Richard Drew, whose work on the banking of blood products and the logistics of collecting and distributing blood saved countless lives in the trenches of World War II and the wards of military and civilian hospitals. American researcher, Charles Richard Drew, pioneered the concept of a ‘blood bank. While researching for his doctorate in the medical field, he took up the job of a supervisor at the blood plasma division of the Blood Transfusion Association in New York City. There he found by separating the liquid red blood cells from the near solid plasma and freezing the two separately, blood could be preserved and reconstituted at a later date. He published his findings in an article called 'Banked Blood', where he referred to the process of collecting and storing blood as 'banking' it.

Drew's method for storing of blood plasma revolutionised the medical profession by helping save countless lives all over the world.

The newest concept in blood banks is the storing of umbilical cord blood, which contains stem cells that can be used to cure diseases.

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THE CURIOUS CASE OF EMM NEGATIVE

India has reported its first case of EMM negative blood. What is unique about the type? Why does it not find a place in the existing blood groups?

IN SCHOOL DESK

One of the first things that schools ask when students enroll is their blood group. This crucial information is added to the identity card and student files so that, in case of a medical emergency, the information is available at hand. But can you imagine a scenario when a lab is unable to identify your blood group because it is extremely rare? That's what happened when a 65-year-old man in Gujarat who had gone for cardiac treatment, tried to find out his blood group.

Even specialists were left puzzled as his blood sample did not seem to match others. The patient needed to know his blood group in order to have a compatible donor who could give him blood for a heart surgery. Only after a long ordeal ending with his blood sample being sent to the United States for testing, did the man find out that he had EMM negative blood. He is the first recorded case in India to have such a blood type and the tenth in the world. The blood group has been assigned with the symbol ISBT042.

What are blood types?

Blood is characterised into types to prevent adverse reactions during blood transfusions. In general, we know of the blood types A, B, O or AB. Further, these groups take on a negative or positive factor.

However, there are 42 different types of blood systems, including A, B, O, Rh, and Duffy. The names come from the ABO antigens, which are basically protein molecules that are found on our red blood cells. In most blood groups, EMM is present. But there are rare cases where EMM is negative.

In the case of the Gujarat man, even his children's blood samples were not a perfect match and he could have had a reaction if their blood was given to him.

Why is the ISBT042 blood type so rare?

Understanding the Emm antigen has been a struggle even for scientists. But by studying those with the blood type and comparing their samples with those of relatives, scientists have found that a deletion in a gene could be responsible for the blood type. People with EMM negative blood group can't donate blood to anyone or accept blood from anyone.

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WHO WAS KARL LANDSTEINER?

Austrian biologist Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943) is mostly known for his pioneering work in the classification of blood groups. However, he was also responsible for many other discoveries in the field of medicine that have helped improve immunity and health.

Born in Vienna, Karl lost his father at an early age and was brought up by his mother. After his schooling, he studied medicine at the University of Vienna and later took up research in the field of organic chemistry. He worked under many renowned chemists of the time. During his research at the Institute of

Hygiene in Vienna, Karl became interested in the   mechanisms of immunity and the nature of antibodies. He soon published his first article on serology- the study of blood.

At the time, blood transfusion was considered risky as it led to fatal blood clotting in the recipient's body. Landsteiner was the first to suggest that blood transfusion may be unsuccessful because an individual's blood might not be compatible with that of another. In 1901, he classified blood types into three groups-A, B and C (later called O). This enabled donors and recipients to match their blood types before transfusions.

A few years later, guided by his work, the first successful blood transfusion was carried out by a doctor in New York. During World War I, the lives of many soldiers were saved due to transfusion of compatible blood.

Landsteiner was also instrumental in the discovery of the polio virus. It was earlier believed that polio was caused by a bacterium. With the help of bacteriologist Erwin Popper, Landsteiner not only proved that polio was caused by a virus but also traced the manner of its transmission. Their discovery made possible the development of a vaccine for polio.

Later, when he moved to New York, Karl teamed up with noted biologist Alexander Wiener to identify the Rh (rhesus) factor that relates human blood to that of the rhesus monkey. The Rh factor, which occurs when the mothers  blood is incompatible with that of the foetus, was believed to be responsible for a fatal infant disease.

Landsteiners discovery of blood groups and studies on the subject earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930.

Though he was much sought-after as a world authority on the mechanisms of immunity, Landsteiner shunned publicity and preferred a quiet life away from the public gaze. On June 26, 1943, he died following a coronary seizure, while still at work in his laboratory.

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HOW DOCTORS STARTED USING STETHOSCOPES TO DIAGNOSE PROBLEMS WITH THE CHEST?

The practice of using stethoscopes started in a hospital in Paris, in the early 19th Century.

The Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris provided specialised medical care. Rene Laennec, one of the doctors there, was trained to use sound to diagnose diseases of the chest.

One day in 1816, a young woman who had a heart problem came to consult Dr. Laennec. Ordinarily, the physician would have put his ear to the woman's chest and listened to her heartbeats to detect if there was any aberration. But the woman who came to see Dr. Laennec was rather plump. Uncomfortable with the idea of putting his ear to her chest, the doctor's eyes fell on a newspaper lying there...and he got a brainwave!

He rolled the newspaper into a cylinder and applied one end of it to the region of the woman's heart and the other to his ear. And then his own heart thumped in joy and excitement! He could hear her heartbeats more clearly than if he had put his ear directly to her chest. It was a landmark moment in medical science.

Laennec fashioned a hollow, wooden cylinder and catalogued the various sounds he could hear through it when applied to a patient's chest, and what the sounds indicated about the health of the patient. He sent his findings to the Academy of Science, in Paris.

It was not long before his invention began to be used by physicians all over Europe.

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WHAT AND WHEN WAS THE FIRST HUMAN ORGAN TO BE TRANSPLANTED SUCCESSFULLY?

In 1954, the kidney was the first human organ to be transplanted successfully. Until the early 1980s, the potential of organ rejection limited the number of transplants performed.

 The first ever successful transplant of any organ was done at the Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, Ma. The surgery was done by Dr. Joseph Murray, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work. The reason for his success was due to Richard and Ronald Herrick of Maine. Richard Herrick was a in the Navy and became severely ill with acute renal failure. His brother Ronald donated his kidney to Richard, and Richard lived another 8 years before his death. Before this, transplant recipients didn't survive more than 30 days. The key to the successful transplant was the fact that Richard and Ronald were identical twin brothers and there was no need for anti-rejection medications, which was not known about at this point. This was the most pivotal moment in transplant surgery because now transplant teams knew that it could be successful and the role of rejection/anti-rejection medicine.

Credit : Wikipedia 

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WHAT TYPE OF VACCINE IS R21?

Scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus shot have produced the vaccine. "This was by far a much more difficult vaccine to make work." Adrian Hill, the Jenner Institute's director, said in northern Tanzania on a visit to field trials of the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine.

While the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 has 12 genes, Plasmodium-the parasite that causes malaria - has more than 5,000 genes. It's an organism that infects the liver and bloodstream, infecting red blood cells.  Hill explains that R21/Matrix-M combines the R21 vaccine with a vaccine booster or adjuvant Matrix-M, which stimulates the human immune system to attack the parasite.  When an infectious mosquito feeds on a human being, it injects parasites in a form called sporozoites into the bloodstream, where they travel directly to the liver. The sporozoites divide rapidly, producing around 20,000 merozoites that rupture the liver cells and invade red blood cells.  R21 targets a circumsporozoite protein (CSP) present on the parasite's surface during the sporozoite stage. CSP rarely mutates among the four strains of malaria parasites that infect humans. The human body does not readily react with a complete immune response to foreign proteins. The R21 focus on CSP boosted by the proprietary Novavax adjuvant- produces a more robust, better-targeted antibody response.  Clinical trials are now moving to the third phase in four countries across Africa - Mali, Tanzania, Kenya, and Burkina Faso.

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What are codons?

A codon is a sequence of three DNA or RNA nucleotides that corresponds with a specific amino acid or stop signal during protein synthesis. DNA and RNA molecules are written in a language of four nucleotides; meanwhile, the language of proteins includes 20 amino acids. Codons provide the key that allows these two languages to be translated into each other. Each codon corresponds to a single amino acid (or stop signal), and the full set of codons is called the genetic code. The genetic code includes 64 possible permutations, or combinations, of three-letter nucleotide sequences that can be made from the four nucleotides. Of the 64 codons, 61 represent amino acids, and three are stop signals. For example, the codon CAG represents the amino acid glutamine, and TAA is a stop codon. The genetic code is described as degenerate, or redundant, because a single amino acid may be coded for by more than one codon. When codons are read from the nucleotide sequence, they are read in succession and do not overlap with one another.

Credit : Scitable

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Why are the Covid-19 vaccines a major milestone?

The Covid-19 disease is caused by a strain of positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, also known as SARS-CoV-2. It is responsible for the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 38 lakh people since it was first detected in December, 2019.

Vaccines are critical in the fight against Covid-19, along with safety measures such as proper hand and face hygiene, the use of face masks and social distancing.

Some of the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization as of June 2021 are as follows: AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BionTech, Sinopharm, Sinovac.

Covaxin, India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology.

The AstraZeneca Vaccine is being produced in India as Covishield. The Russian vaccine Sputnik V has also been approved for use in India amid the second wave of the pandemic.

The Covid-19 vaccines are safe for people above 18 years and older, including senior citizens and people with pre-existing conditions like hypertension, diabetes and asthma. As of now, Covid-19 vaccine trials for children have begun in the USA, Singapore, Japan, and parts of Europe. China has approved Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines for children as young as 3-years and above. In India too, clinical trials for children have begun at AIIMS, Delhi.

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Why is robotic surgery so precise?

In robotic surgery, a robotic system responds to the movements of the surgeon’s hands to perform complex surgeries, using miniaturized instruments and a three-dimensional camera.

It allows the doctor to perform minimally invasive procedures involving tiny incisions with more precision than possible conventionally. Typically a robotic surgical system will include a camera arm and mechanical arms with attached surgical instruments.

To understand better, think of video games. One can control the movements in the game using the console or keys available. In robotic surgery too, the surgeon performs precise, delicate movements using master controls while sitting at a nearby console.

The advantage of this type of surgery is that the surgeon is able to see a high-definition, magnified, 3-D view of the surgical field and has greater control and dexterity over the procedure. Also, the patient has a lesser risk of infection, smaller scars, lesser blood loss and a shorter hospital stay.

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What is the Human Genome Project?

The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international, collaborative research effort to determine the DNA sequence of the entire human genome (the complete genetic material present in the human organism). The project was launched in 1990 and was declared complete in 2003.

The HGP researchers deciphered the human genome in three major ways: determining the order or sequence of all the bases in our genome’s DNA; making maps that show the locations of genes for major sections of all our chromosomes; and producing what are called linkage maps, through which inherited traits (such as those for genetic disease) can be tracked over generations.

The HGP revealed that the human genome contained more than 2.85 billion nucleotides and that there are approximately 22,300 protein - coding genes in human beings.

The HGP has given the world a resource of detailed information about the structure, organization and function of the complete set of human genes.

As researchers learn more and more about the functions of genes and proteins, this knowledge is all set to have an even greater impact in the fields of medicine, biotechnology and life sciences.

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What is cloning and what are its implications?

Cloning is the process of generating a genetically identical copy of a cell or organism. The closest that we can see this occurring naturally, is in identical twins.

Scientists use two methods to get an exact, genetic copy of an organism. In the first, known as Artificial Embryo Twinning, scientists mimic the natural process of creating identical twins. The only difference being that in the natural process twinning takes place inside the womb and in the artificial twinning method, the splitting of the fertilized egg into two genetically identical embryos takes place in the lab.

The second method is called ‘Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer’ or SCNT. In this process a viable embryo is created using a body cell and an egg cell.

Scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, UK made history on 5th July 1996, when they successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly using the SCNT method.

In this process of cloning, the scientists extract the DNA from an animal cell and implant it into an egg cell taken from another animal. Before implanting it, the DNA of the recipient cell is removed.

The idea of cloning can be exciting and frightening at the same time. Once the techniques are perfected, cloning may be used in preserving endangered species and for reviving extinct species as well.

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