The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.21 (993 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1400082137 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 352 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-05-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
. Gerhard Domagk and his colleagues at Bayer (a subsidiary of I.G. This yarn prefigures the modern rush for corporate pharma patents; it is testament to Hager's skill that the inherently unsexy process of finding the chemicals that might help conquer strep is as exciting as an account of the hunt for a Russian submarine. All rights reserved. Hager, a biographer of Linus Pauling, does a remarkable job of transforming material fit for a biology graduate seminar into highly entertaining reading. He knows that lay readers need plenty
A remarkably effective reminder to wash your hands. Good book, too. This was recommended to me by a microbiology professor, and a sound recommendation it was. Briefly, I'll discuss who it appeals to and then the book itself.To frame my interest, I'm the sort of person who likes watching "How It's Made" and am fascinated by infectious disease and the countermeasures deployed against them. An interested layperson. If you've ever taken a Microbiology course (or something related), you can likely appreciate the nuance of what's happening. Otherwise, it might seem a little nebulous.Bookwise, we step into the ancient world. Nowadays, the germ theory of disease is not contested. I. One of the best popular science books I've read This is a truly eye opening book. On the surface it describes the history of thediscovery of a synthetic antibiotic that is of limited use in modern medicine. But itreally is far more than that - it tells an important part of the story of howthe pharma and medicine that we know today came to be. Hager does not overreach -he has a compelling story, and he tells it exceedingly well. But he also does a superbjob of putting it in both its historical and scientific context.Nonlinear storytelling has become pretty common in modern science writing,and it is can be pretty annoying - writers seem to selectively choo. Great science history read Fantastic history of the German drug companies and early drug development. Well written ,engaging and entertaining.
By 1931, nothing on earth could stop a bacterial infection once it started.But all that was about to change. The very concept that chemicals created in a lab could cure disease revolutionized medicine, taking it from the treatment of symptoms and discomfort to the eradication of the root cause of illness. For thousands of years, humans had sought medicines with which they could defeat contagion, and they had slowly, painstakingly, won a few battles: some vaccines to ward off disease, a handful of antitoxins. In The Demon Under the Microscope, Thomas Hager chronicles the dramatic history of the drug that shaped modern medicine.Sulfa saved millions of lives—among them those of Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.—but its real effects are even more far reaching. This is a fascinating scientific tale with all the excitement and intrigue of a great suspense novel. This incredible discovery was sulfa, the first antibiotic. The Allies won the war with it. —from The Demon Under the Microscope. It conquered diseases, changed laws, and single-handedly launched the era of antibiotics. A drug or two was available that could stop parasitic diseases once they hit, tropical maladies like malaria and sleeping sickness. A strange and colorful story, The Demon Under the Microscope illuminates the vivid characters, corpora