Many noteworthy events occurred in 1882, such as: Robert Koch announced the discovery of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis Thomas Edison flipped the switch to the first commercial electrical power plant in the United States, lighting one square mile of lower Manhattan. This is considered […]

Peoria, in central Illinois, is the largest city on the Illinois River. This article is about how a laboratory in Peoria played a major role in World War II and beyond, and our story begins in the middle to late 1930’s in Great Britain. The […]

In early June of this year, I wrote about vaccines and the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System). At that time, the Covid-19 pandemic was making a big impact, but the vaccines were only in development. Now that the first Covid-19 vaccines have been released […]

There is an invisible war being fought at the microscopic level between bacteria and fungi. We should be glad of this because these microorganisms produce chemicals that inhibit each other, and we can use these chemicals to produce antimicrobials. Bacteria will produce antifungal and antibacterial […]

Symptoms of an influenza viral infection were described by Hippocrates 2400 years ago. In recent recorded history there have been pandemics such as the 1918-1920 Spanish Flu and the more recent 2009 Swine Flu. In modern medical times, there were only two medications indicated to […]

In the early 1900’s on the south side of Chicago at a local tavern called the Lone Star Saloon, a well-to-do customer walked in and ordered a drink. The bartender prepared the drink as usual, but covertly included an additional substance to it. He then […]

The use of chewing coca leaves (Erythroxylon coca) dates back centuries for the indigenous peoples of South America, particularly the Peruvians and Incas. When the Spanish explored the region in the 1500’s they were initially skeptical of the properties of the plant, but soon learned […]

The history of the development of the class of chemicals we call “steroids” goes back several decades. There are a couple of interesting stories regarding this history I would like to relate to the reader in this week’s column. The first story is about the […]

Sometimes it’s the small singular events that eventually lead to major changes. This is what happened when ether (diethyl ether) was used as a general anesthetic during surgery. The first use of ether is somewhat clouded in controversy. Dr. Crawford Long of rural Jefferson, Georgia […]

Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium found in soils. When it encounters an environment that lacks oxygen (anaerobic), such as the human gut, it grows and releases botulinum toxin. The botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) produces its effects by inhibiting the release of acetylcholine at the nerve endings […]