Alexandra Radulovich
Karl Landsteiner (June 14, 1868-June 26, 1943) was an Austrian pathologist/immunologist that was responsible for the discovery of different blood types in humans and the ABO classification system in 1901; a finding that earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 30 years later. At the age of seventeen Landsteiner was admitted into the University of Vienna’s medical school where his interest in chemistry grew and he adopted the method of approaching medical anonymities through the lens of a chemist. Having always been drawn to research, Landsteiner conducted studies on the influence of diet on blood composition, thus publishing one of his first papers while still a student.
Having had an affinity for the nature of antibodies and the mechanisms associated with immunity, Landsteiner’s experimental trials were conducted in an attempt to understand the underlying reason behind the fatal outcome of blood transfusions in patients. He suggested that the cause of clotting could be attributed to the presence of agglutinogens (antigens) that he named A and B, whi...
Three hundred and thirty-four years later in the future, Carl Landsteiner, a Viennese doctor, performed a very simple experiment with blood in 1901. During his experiment, Landsteiner noticed "clotting in some samples of mixed blood and not others". (Tucker, 10) Landsteiner separated his samples into three groups: A, B, and C, according to how they clotted in his experiment. Today, the blood type C is known as type O blood. When Landsteiner was grouping these blood types, he happened to look over type AB. AB occurs in about 3 percent of the population. Later in 1907, two researchers, Jan Jansky in Czechoslovakia and William Lorenzo Moss in the United
Wallace Terry has collected a wide range of stories told by twenty black Vietnam veterans. The stories are varied based on each experience; from the horrific to the heart breaking and to the glorified image of Vietnam depicted by Hollywood. Wallace Terry does not insinuate his opinion into any of the stories so that the audience can feel as if they are having a conversation with the Vietnam Veteran himself. Terry introduces the purpose of the book by stating, “ Among the 20 men who portray their war and postwar experiences in this book. I sought a representative cross section of the black combat force.”(p. XV) Although the stories in this book were not told in any specific order, many themes became prominent throughout the novel such as religion, social, and health.
Racism, a plague in our society that has infected our society, and still does today, has been rooted by the premise of Darwinian evolution. Racism existed long before Charles Darwin made his mark in history; however, in the book One Race One Blood, the authors explain how there is a very close relationship between the theory of evolution and what we know today as racism. The authors intent of this book is to realize the effects of a specific ideas that has shaped racism. Mr. Ken Ham describes ideas as being seeds, “…they might seem small; they might seem insignificant; they might even go unnoticed by all expect those who hold them in the moment…” (7). Charles Darwin’s idea (or seeds) of his evolutionary has taken root and made its way into public schools, the government, and even our churches. Although, racism did not originate with Darwin, Ken Ham claims that, “he did more than any other person to popularize it” (22). His evolutionary ideas have fueled racism and this is what racists use to justify their hatred toward those who are different from them (8).
The mindset of every living organism is to survive and reproduce. As such, it may be surprising to hear that diseases actually plays a crucial role in the survival of our predecessors. In the book Survival of the Sickest, Dr. Sharon Moalem discusses the role these hereditary disorders played in keeping our very ancestors alive. Three examples mentioned in the reading selection include hemochromatosis, diabetes, as well as favism. All the diseases I mentioned had a specific aspect, to which I found particularly appealing. In the case of hemochromatosis, I found it intriguing how the author used his own life to draw a connection between the two traits. Dr. Sharon Moalem lost his grandfather to hemochromatosis and later was diagnosed with the
In the late 1880s, genes, white blood cells, and aspirin were discovered. An Augustinian monk from Austria, Johann Gregor Mendel experimented in the crossplanting of pea plants. Eventually his research lead to the discovery of genes. In 1892, Elie Metchnikoff discovered phagocytosis. After observing the larvae of starfish, he found that mobile cells served as a defense for the organisms. This research on the cells lead him to believe that these cells swallow up and digest bacteria, therefore leading into the identification of white blood cells. Although it is unclear who deserves credit for the discovery of aspirin, Felix Hoffman and Heinrich Dreser are credited for the introduction. Both of them researched the drug while working for Bayer and they are credited for actually naming it "aspirin".
In some individuals with severe hemophilia, the factor VIII replacement therapy is identified as a foreign substance by their immune system. If this happens, their immune system will make antibodies against factor VIII. These antibodies will inhibit the ability of the factor to work in the clotting process. The higher the antibody or inhibitor level, the more factor VIII replacement therapy it takes to overcome the inhibition and produce clotting. This can complicate the treatment of a bleed. The good news is that there are different types of therapies available to successfully treat most individuals who develop inhibitors.
Even though most of these experiments did not end great, they did have some benefits. One of the mostl known Nazi doctors was Jo...
“Immune Response: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .
In his book, The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide, Gary J. Bass depicts the horror and political nature of the massacre of East Pakistani citizens in which Nixon and Kissinger did nothing to try to prevent the deaths of thousands, instead, they keep good relations with the dictator and continued to supply Pakistan with American weaponry. Bass supports his explanations by illustrating the events using copious amounts of quotes. The author’s purpose is to clarify this confusing period and show Nixon’s role in it. The author writes in an objective tone.
..., MIKOŁUĆ, B., PIETRUCHA, B., & WOLSKA-KUŚNIERZ, B. (2013). Clinical and immunological analysis of patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia: single center experience. Central European Journal of Immunology, 38(3), 367-370.
Horowitz, N. H. (1997, July 23). Roger Wolcott Sperry. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from Nobelprize.org: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1981/sperry-article.html
Although blood transfusions had been used before the First World War, many were not successful due to lack of knowledge in this type of treatments. World War I pushed the development of blood transfusions, allowing them to be safer. Before the war in the 17th century, blood transfusions often occurred with the use of animal blood, a practice that did not achieve desired results. These transfusions often times came from sheep, and although they were sometimes successful, it was discovered that any large amounts of transfusions would cause death. Coming to the conclusion that animal blood transfusions did not save lives, scientists looked to humans for human to human transfusions. Many of these attempted transfusions were met with failure but in 1818, Dr. James Blundell accomplished the first successful human blood transfusion; four ounces of blood were transferred to the patient from her husband. From that moment on, doctors began to learn even more about blood transfusions and how to do them properly. By 1901, the four human blood groups were discovered by Karl Landsteiner; with less differences in the bloods transfused together, coagulation and clumping amounts decreased. This benefited many lives in that toxic reactions to the wrong types of blood did not occu...
Blood typing works by detecting the presence and absence of A and/or B antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. An individual with type A has an A antigen, and a person with type B has a B antigen. People with type AB had both antigens and people with type O does not have the antigens. It is also used to determine Rh factor with anti- D antiserum. ABO blood typing is ascertained by adding a patient’s blood separately to an anti-A and anti-B antiserum and observe any signs of agglutination. Agglutination is happening to provide the reaction of the test. Agglutination with anti-A antiserum indicates the presence of A-antigen and type A blood. It goes for the same for the others, but different factors. Blood typing works because it determines a person’s blood type. It is important for the health care providers to know an individual's blood type on the grounds that a person has a blood transfusion or transplant. This is because not all blood types are compatible with each other. The blood type that is considered a “universal donor” is type O negative because there are no proteins (A and B antigens) on the red blood cells, which means anyone can receive the blood without suffering any rejections. The blood typing that is called the “universal recipient” is type AB blood because the immune system of a person with AB blood will accept blood from all possible donors, whether they have O, A, B, or AB
Blood types can be categorized in many different ways. Karl Landsteiner categorized “the first three blood groups…[as] A, B and C (subsequently renamed O from the German word “ohne” which means “without”)” (Franchini 1545). Each of these blood groups also have unique properties that give the blood an inability to mix with other blood types. For example, Landsteiner has found out that type-A red blood cells contains an A-antigen and anti-B in its serum (Franchini 1545). Type A blood contains the monosaccharides N-acetylglucosamine, galactose, fructose, and “a N-acetylgalactosamine attached to galactose” (Timberlake 556).The A-antigen is used as an identifier for the body to determine whether something in the bodies system belongs or ...
I will be investigating Human Blood as my specific tissue and giving an overview on the location, characteristics, and the benefits it has to the human body. Blood is extracellular matrix that is consists of plasma, red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. Blood is located within the capillaries/veins/arteries of the human body, which are blood vessels that run through the entire body. These blood vessels allow the blood to flow smoothly and quickly from the heart to distinct parts of the human body. The unique parts of human blood all work together for a purpose: the Red Blood Cells(erythrocytes) transports oxygen throughout the body, White Blood Cells(leukocytes) play a part in the bodies immune system, Platelets(thrombocytes) assist in creating scabs,