The search for clues to the various states of the human body took a long time and painfully. Not all attempts by doctors to get to the bottom of the truth were received with enthusiasm and welcome by society. After all, doctors often had to do things that seemed wild to people. But at the same time, without them, further advancement of the medical business was impossible. AiF.ru has collected stories of the brightest medical discoveries, for which some of their authors were almost persecuted.
Anatomical features
Even doctors were puzzled by the structure of the human body as the basis of medical science. ancient world. So, for example, in Ancient Greece have already paid attention to the relationship between various physiological states of a person and the characteristics of his physical structure. At the same time, as experts note, the observation was rather philosophical in nature: no one suspected what was happening inside the body itself, and surgical interventions were completely rare.
Anatomy as a science arose only during the Renaissance. And for those around her it was a shock. For example, Belgian doctor Andreas Vesalius decided to practice dissection of corpses in order to understand exactly how the human body works. At the same time, he often had to act at night and using not entirely legal methods. However, all doctors who decided to study such details were unable to act openly, since such behavior was considered demonic.
Andreas Vesalius. Photo: Public Domain
Vesalius himself bought the corpses from the executioner. Based on his findings and research, he created treatise"On the Structure of the Human Body", which was published in 1543. This book is assessed by the medical community as one of the greatest works and major discovery, which gives the first complete idea of internal structure person.
Dangerous radiation
Today, modern diagnostics cannot be imagined without technology such as x-rays. However, back in late XIX For centuries, absolutely nothing was known about X-rays. Such useful radiation was discovered Wilhelm Roentgen, German scientist. Before its discovery, it was much more difficult for doctors (especially surgeons) to work. After all, they couldn’t just go and see where a foreign body was located in a person. I had to rely only on my intuition, as well as the sensitivity of my hands.
The discovery took place in 1895. The scientist conducted various experiments with electrons, he used for his work glass tube with rarefied air. At the end of the experiments, he turned off the light and prepared to leave the laboratory. But at that moment I discovered a green glow in the jar that remained on the table. It appeared because the scientist did not turn off the device, which was located in a completely different corner of the laboratory.
Then all that remained for Roentgen was to experiment with the data obtained. He began to cover the glass tube with cardboard, creating darkness in the whole room. He also tested the effect of the beam on various items placed in front of him: a sheet of paper, a board, a book. When the scientist's hand was in the path of the beam, he saw his bones. Having compared a number of his observations, he was able to understand that with the help of such rays it is possible to examine what is happening inside the human body without violating its integrity. In 1901, Roentgen received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery. It has been saving people’s lives for more than 100 years, making it possible to identify various pathologies on different stages their development.
The power of microbes
There are discoveries that scientists have been moving towards purposefully for decades. One of these was the microbiological discovery made in 1846 Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis. At that time, doctors very often encountered the death of women in labor. Ladies who had recently become mothers died from the so-called puerperal fever, that is, an infection of the uterus. Moreover, doctors could not determine the cause of the problem. The department where the doctor worked had 2 rooms. In one of them, doctors attended the birth, in the other - midwives. Despite the fact that doctors had significantly better training, women died in their hands more often than in the case of childbirth with midwives. And this fact interested the doctor extremely.
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
Semmelweis began to carefully observe their work in order to understand the essence of the problem. And it turned out that in addition to childbirth, doctors also practiced autopsies on deceased mothers. And after the anatomical experiments they returned to the delivery room again without even washing their hands. This prompted the scientist to think: are doctors carrying invisible particles on their hands, which lead to the death of their patients? He decided to test his hypothesis empirically: he obliged medical students who participated in the process of obstetrics to wash their hands every time (at that time bleach was used for disinfection). And the number of deaths of young mothers immediately fell from 7% to 1%. This allowed the scientist to conclude that all infections with puerperal fever have one cause. At the same time, the connection between bacteria and infections was not yet visible, and Semmelweis’s ideas were ridiculed.
Only 10 years later no less famous scientist Louis Pasteur proved experimentally the importance of microorganisms invisible to the eye. And it was he who determined that with the help of pasteurization (i.e. heating) they can be destroyed. It was Pasteur who was able to prove the connection between bacteria and infections through a series of experiments. After this, it remained to develop antibiotics, and the lives of patients, previously considered hopeless, were saved.
Vitamin cocktail
Until the second half of the 19th century For centuries, no one knew anything about vitamins. And no one realized the value of these small micronutrients. And even now vitamins are not appreciated by everyone as they deserve. And this despite the fact that without them you can lose not only your health, but also your life. Eat whole line specific diseases that are associated with nutritional defects. Moreover, this position is confirmed by centuries of experience. For example, one of the most striking examples of the destruction of health from a lack of vitamins is scurvy. On one of the famous hikes Vasco da Gama 100 of the 160 crew members died from it.
The first to achieve success in the search for useful minerals was Russian scientist Nikolai Lunin. He experimented on mice that consumed artificially prepared food. Their diet consisted of the following nutritional system: purified casein, milk fat, milk sugar, salts, which were included in both milk and water. In fact, these are all necessary components of milk. At the same time, the mice were clearly missing something. They did not grow, lost weight, did not eat their food and died.
The second batch of mice, called control, received normal full milk. And all the mice developed as expected. Lunin derived the following experiment based on his observations: “If, as the above-mentioned experiments teach, it is impossible to provide life with proteins, fats, sugar, salts and water, then it follows that milk, in addition to casein, fat, milk sugar and salts, contains other substances essential for nutrition. It is of great interest to study these substances and study their nutritional significance.” In 1890, Lunin's experiments were confirmed by other scientists. Further observations of animals and people in different conditions gave doctors the opportunity to find these vital elements and make another brilliant discovery that significantly improved the quality of human life.Salvation in sugar
Today people with diabetes live quite well ordinary life with some adjustments. And not so long ago, everyone who suffered from such a disease were hopeless patients and died. This happened until insulin was discovered.
In 1889, young scientists Oscar Minkowski And Joseph von Mehring As a result of experiments, diabetes was artificially induced in a dog by removing its pancreas. In 1901, Russian doctor Leonid Sobolev proved that diabetes develops against the background of disorders of a certain part of the pancreas, and not the entire gland. The problem was noted in those who had malfunctions of the gland in the area of the islets of Langerhans. It has been suggested that these islets contain a substance that regulates carbohydrate metabolism. However, it was not possible to identify him at that time.The next attempts date back to 1908. German specialist Georg Ludwig Zülzer isolated an extract from the pancreas, which was even used for some time to treat a patient dying of diabetes. Later, the outbreak of world wars temporarily postponed research in this area.
The next one who took on the solution to the mystery was Frederick Grant Banting, a doctor whose friend died precisely because of diabetes. After the young man graduated from medical school and served during World War I, he became an assistant professor at one of the private medical schools. Reading an article about pancreatic duct ligation in 1920, he decided to experiment. The goal of this experiment was to obtain a gland substance that was supposed to lower blood sugar. Together with an assistant provided to him by his mentor, in 1921 Banting was finally able to obtain the necessary substance. After administering it to an experimental dog with diabetes, which was dying from the consequences of the disease, the animal felt significantly better. All that remains is to build on the results achieved.
Incredible facts
Human health directly concerns each of us.
The media is replete with stories about our health and body, starting with the creation of new medicines and ending with the discoveries of unique surgical methods that give hope to disabled people.
Below we will talk about the latest achievements modern medicine.
Latest advances in medicine
10. Scientists have identified a new body part
Back in 1879, a French surgeon named Paul Segond described in one of his studies the “pearly, resistant fibrous tissue” running along the ligaments in the human knee.
This study was conveniently forgotten until 2013, when scientists discovered the anterolateral ligament, knee ligament, which is often damaged when injuries and other problems occur.
Considering how often a person's knee is scanned, the discovery came very late. It is described in the journal Anatomy and published online in August 2013.
9. Brain-computer interface
Scientists working at Korea University and the German University of Technology have developed a new interface that allows the user control the exoskeleton of the lower extremities.
It works by decoding specific brain signals. The results of the study were published in August 2015 in the journal Neural Engineering.
Participants in the experiment wore an electroencephalogram headgear and controlled the exoskeleton by simply looking at one of five LEDs mounted on the interface. This caused the exoskeleton to move forward, turn right or left, and sit or stand.
So far the system has only been tested on healthy volunteers, but it is hoped that it could eventually be used to help people with disabilities.
Study co-author Klaus Muller explained that "people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal cord injuries often have difficulty communicating and controlling their limbs; deciphering their brain signals by such a system offers a solution to both problems."
Achievements of science in medicine
8. A device that can move a paralyzed limb with the power of thought
In 2010, Ian Burkhart was left paralyzed when he broke his neck in a swimming pool accident. In 2013, thanks to the joint efforts of specialists from Ohio State University and Battelle, a man became the first person in the world who can now bypass his spinal cord and move a limb using only the power of thought.
The breakthrough came thanks to the use of a new type of electronic nerve bypass, a pea-sized device that implanted in the motor cortex of the human brain.
The chip interprets brain signals and transmits them to the computer. The computer reads the signals and sends them to a special sleeve worn by the patient. Thus, the necessary muscles are brought into action.
The whole process takes a split second. However, to achieve such a result, the team had to work hard. The team of technologists first figured out the exact sequence of electrodes that allowed Burkhart to move his arm.
Then the man had to undergo several months of therapy to restore atrophied muscles. The end result is that he is now can rotate his hand, clench it into a fist, and also determine by touch what is in front of him.
7. A bacterium that feeds on nicotine and helps smokers quit the habit.
Quitting smoking is an extremely difficult task. Anyone who has tried to do this will confirm what was said. Almost 80 percent of those who tried to do this with the help of pharmaceutical drugs failed.
In 2015, scientists from the Scripps Research Institute are giving new hope to those who want to quit. They were able to identify a bacterial enzyme that eats nicotine before it can reach the brain.
The enzyme belongs to the bacterium Pseudomonas putida. This enzyme is not a new discovery, however, it has only recently been developed in the laboratory.
Researchers plan to use this enzyme to create new methods of quitting smoking. By blocking nicotine before it reaches the brain and triggers dopamine production, they hope they can discourage smokers from putting their mouths on a cigarette.
To be effective, any therapy must be sufficiently stable, without causing additional problems during activity. Currently a laboratory-produced enzyme behaves stably for more than three weeks while in a buffer solution.
Tests involving laboratory mice showed no side effects. The scientists published the results of their research in the online version of the August issue of the journal American Chemical Society.
6. Universal flu vaccine
Peptides are short chains of amino acids that exist in the cellular structure. They act as the main building block for proteins. In 2012, scientists working at the University of Southampton, the University of Oxford and the Retroskin Virology Laboratory, succeeded in identifying a new set of peptides found in the influenza virus.
This could lead to the creation of a universal vaccine against all strains of the virus. The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
In the case of influenza, the peptides on the outer surface of the virus mutate very quickly, making them almost inaccessible to vaccines and drugs. The newly discovered peptides live in the internal structure of the cell and mutate quite slowly.
Moreover, these internal structures can be found in every strain of influenza, from classical to avian. The current flu vaccine takes about six months to develop, but does not provide long-term immunity.
However, it is possible, by focusing efforts on the work of internal peptides, to create a universal vaccine that will give long-term protection.
Flu is viral disease upper respiratory tract, which affects the nose, throat and lungs. It can be deadly, especially if a child or elderly person becomes infected.
Influenza strains have been responsible for several pandemics throughout history, the worst of which was the 1918 pandemic. No one knows for sure how many people have died from the disease, but some estimates suggest 30-50 million people worldwide.
The latest medical advances
5. Possible treatment for Parkinson's disease
In 2014, scientists took artificial but fully functioning human neurons and successfully grafted them into the brains of mice. Neurons have the potential to treating and even curing diseases such as Parkinson's disease.
The neurons were created by a team of specialists from the Max Planck Institute, the University Hospital Münster and the University of Bielefeld. Scientists managed to create stable nervous tissue from neurons reprogrammed from skin cells.
In other words, they induced neural stem cells. This is a method that increases the compatibility of new neurons. After six months, the mice did not develop any side effects, and the implanted neurons integrated perfectly with their brains.
The rodents showed normal brain activity, resulting in the formation of new synapses.
The new technique has the potential to give neuroscientists the ability to replace diseased, damaged neurons with healthy cells that could one day fight Parkinson's disease. Because of it, the neurons that supply dopamine die.
There is currently no cure for this disease, but the symptoms are treatable. The disease usually develops in people aged 50-60 years. At the same time, the muscles become stiff, changes occur in speech, gait changes and tremors appear.
4. The world's first bionic eye
Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common hereditary eye disease. It leads to partial loss of vision, and often to complete blindness. Early symptoms include loss of night vision and difficulty with peripheral vision.
In 2013, the Argus II retinal prosthetic system was created, the world's first bionic eye designed to treat advanced retinitis pigmentosa.
The Argus II system is a pair of external glasses equipped with a camera. The images are converted into electrical impulses that are transmitted to electrodes implanted in the patient's retina.
These images are perceived by the brain as light patterns. The person learns to interpret these patterns, gradually restoring visual perception.
Currently, the Argus II system is only available in the United States and Canada, but there are plans to implement it worldwide.
New advances in medicine
3. Painkiller that works only due to light
Severe pain is traditionally treated with opioid medications. The main disadvantage is that many of these drugs can be addictive, so their potential for abuse is enormous.
What if scientists could stop pain using nothing but light?
In April 2015, neurologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis announced that they had succeeded.
By combining a light-sensitive protein with opioid receptors in a test tube, they were able to activate opioid receptors the same way opiates do, but only with light.
It is hoped that experts can develop ways to use light to relieve pain while using drugs with fewer side effects. According to research by Edward R. Siuda, it is likely that with more experimentation, light could completely replace drugs.
To test the new receptor, an LED chip about the size of a human hair was implanted into the brain of a mouse, which was then linked to the receptor. Mice were placed in a chamber where their receptors were stimulated to produce dopamine.
If the mice left the special designated area, the lights were turned off and the stimulation stopped. The rodents quickly returned to their place.
2. Artificial ribosomes
A ribosome is a molecular machine made up of two subunits that use amino acids from cells to make proteins.
Each of the ribosomal subunits is synthesized in the cell nucleus and then exported to the cytoplasm.
In 2015, researchers Alexander Mankin and Michael Jewett were able to create the world's first artificial ribosome. Thanks to this, humanity has a chance to learn new details about the operation of this molecular machine.
04/05/2017
Modern clinics and hospitals are equipped with sophisticated diagnostic equipment, with the help of which it is possible to establish accurate diagnosis diseases, without which, as is known, any pharmacotherapy becomes not only meaningless, but also harmful. Significant progress has also been observed in physiotherapeutic procedures, where appropriate devices show high efficiency. Such achievements became possible thanks to the efforts of design physicists who, as scientists joke, “repay the debt” to medicine, because at the dawn of the formation of physics as a science, many doctors made a very significant contribution to it
William Gilbert: at the origins of the science of electricity and magnetism
The founder of the science of electricity and magnetism is essentially William Gilbert (1544–1603), a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge. This man, thanks to his extraordinary abilities, made a dizzying career: two years after graduating from college, he became a bachelor, four years later a master, five years later a doctor of medicine, and finally received the post of physician to Queen Elizabeth.
Despite his busy schedule, Gilbert began studying magnetism. Apparently, the impetus for this was the fact that crushed magnets were considered a medicine in the Middle Ages. As a result, he created the first theory of magnetic phenomena, establishing that any magnets have two poles, while opposite poles attract, and like poles repel. Conducting an experiment with an iron ball that interacted with a magnetic needle, the scientist first suggested that the Earth is a giant magnet, and both magnetic poles The Earths may coincide with the geographic poles of the planet.
Gilbert discovered that when a magnet is heated above a certain temperature, its magnetic properties disappear. This phenomenon was subsequently studied by Pierre Curie and called the “Curie point.”
Gilbert also studied electrical phenomena. Since some minerals, when rubbed on wool, acquired the property of attracting light bodies, and the greatest effect was observed in amber, the scientist introduced a new term into science, calling such phenomena electrical (from lat. Electricus- “amber”). He also invented a device for detecting charge - an electroscope.
The CGS unit of measurement of magnetomotive force, the hilbert, is named after William Gilbert.
Jean Louis Poiseuille: one of the pioneers of rheology
Member of the French Academy of Medicine Jean Louis Poiseuille (1799–1869) is listed in modern encyclopedias and reference books not only as a doctor, but also as a physicist. And this is fair, since, dealing with issues of blood circulation and respiration of animals and people, he formulated the laws of blood movement in vessels in the form of important physical formulas. In 1828, the scientist first used a mercury manometer to measure blood pressure in animals. In the process of studying the problems of blood circulation, Poiseuille had to engage in hydraulic experiments, in which he experimentally established the law of fluid flow through a thin cylindrical tube. This type of laminar flow is called “Poiseuille flow”, and in the modern science of fluid flow - rheology - the unit of dynamic viscosity - poise - is also named after it.
Jean-Bernard Leon Foucault: a visual experience
Jean-Bernard Leon Foucault (1819–1868), a doctor by training, immortalized his name not by achievements in medicine, but primarily by the fact that he designed the very pendulum, named in his honor and now known to every schoolchild, with the help of which it was clear The rotation of the Earth around its axis has been proven. In 1851, when Foucault first demonstrated his experience, people started talking about it everywhere. Everyone wanted to see the rotation of the Earth with their own eyes. It got to the point that the President of France, Prince Louis Napoleon, personally allowed this experiment to be staged on a truly gigantic scale in order to demonstrate it publicly. Foucault was given the building of the Parisian Pantheon, the height of which is 83 m, since under these conditions the deviation of the swing plane of the pendulum was much more noticeable.
In addition, Foucault was able to determine the speed of light in air and water, invented the gyroscope, was the first to draw attention to the heating of metallic masses when they are rapidly rotated in a magnetic field (Foucault currents), and also made many other discoveries, inventions and improvements in the field of physics. In modern encyclopedias, Foucault is listed not as a doctor, but as a French physicist, mechanic and astronomer, a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences and other prestigious academies.
Julius Robert von Mayer: ahead of his time
German scientist Julius Robert von Mayer - the son of a pharmacist who graduated Faculty of Medicine from the University of Tübingen and subsequently received his doctorate in medicine, he left his mark on science both as a doctor and as a physicist. In 1840–1841 he took part in the voyage to the island of Java as a ship's doctor. During the voyage, Mayer noticed that the color of the venous blood of sailors in the tropics was much lighter than in northern latitudes. This led him to the idea that in hot countries, in order to maintain normal body temperature, less food must oxidize (“burn”) than in cold countries, that is, there is a connection between food consumption and the formation of heat.
He also found that the amount of oxidizable products in the human body increases as the amount of work he performs increases. All this gave Mayer reason to assume that heat and mechanical work capable of interconversion. He presented the results of his research in several scientific works ah, where for the first time he clearly formulated the law of conservation of energy and theoretically calculated the numerical value of the mechanical equivalent of heat.
"Nature" in Greek is "physis", and in English language Until now, a doctor is a “physician,” so the joke about the “debt” of physicists to doctors can be answered with another joke: “There is no debt, it’s just the name of the profession that obliges me.”
According to Mayer, movement, heat, electricity, etc. - high quality various shapes“forces” (as Mayer called energy), transforming into each other in equal quantitative proportions. He also examined this law in relation to processes occurring in living organisms, arguing that the battery solar energy On Earth there are plants, but in other organisms only transformations of substances and “forces” occur, but not their creation. Mayer's ideas were not understood by his contemporaries. This circumstance, as well as persecution in connection with challenging the priority in the discovery of the law of conservation of energy, led him to a severe nervous breakdown.
Thomas Jung: amazing diversity of interests
Among prominent representatives science of the 19th century. A special place belongs to the Englishman Thomas Young (1773-1829), who was distinguished by a variety of interests, including not only medicine, but also physics, art, music and even Egyptology.
From an early age he discovered extraordinary abilities and phenomenal memory. Already at the age of two he read fluently, at the age of four he knew by heart many works of English poets, by the age of 14 he became acquainted with differential calculus (according to Newton), and spoke 10 languages, including Persian and Arabic. Later I learned to play almost everyone musical instruments that time. He also performed in the circus as a gymnast and equestrian!
From 1792 to 1803, Thomas Young studied medicine in London, Edinburgh, Göttingen, and Cambridge, but then became interested in physics, in particular optics and acoustics. At the age of 21 he became a member of the Royal Society, and from 1802 to 1829 he was its secretary. Received a Doctor of Medicine degree.
Young's research in the field of optics made it possible to explain the nature of accommodation, astigmatism and color vision. He is also one of the creators of the wave theory of light, he was the first to point out the amplification and weakening of sound when sound waves are superimposed and proposed the principle of wave superposition. In the theory of elasticity, Young contributed to the study of shear deformation. He also introduced a characteristic of elasticity - the tensile modulus (Young's modulus).
And yet, Jung’s main occupation remained medicine: from 1811 until the end of his life, he worked as a doctor at St. George in London. He was interested in the problems of treating tuberculosis, he studied the functioning of the heart, and worked on creating a system for classifying diseases.
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz: in “free time from medicine”
Among the most famous physicists of the 19th century. Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821–1894) is considered a national treasure in Germany. Initially, he received a medical education and defended his dissertation on the structure nervous system. In 1849, Helmholtz became a professor at the Department of Physiology at the University of Königsberg. He was interested in physics in his free time from medicine, but very quickly his work on the law of conservation of energy became known to physicists around the world.
The scientist’s book “Physiological Optics” became the basis of all modern physiology of vision. With the name of the doctor, mathematician, psychologist, professor of physiology and physics Helmholtz, inventor of the eye mirror, in the 19th century. the fundamental reconstruction of physiological concepts is inextricably linked. A brilliant expert in higher mathematics and theoretical physics, he put these sciences at the service of physiology and achieved outstanding results.
Physics is one of the most important sciences, studied by man. Its presence is noticeable in all areas of life, sometimes discoveries even change the course of history. This is why great physicists are so interesting and significant for people: their work is relevant even many centuries after their death. Which scientists should you know first?
Andre-Marie Ampère
The French physicist was born into the family of a businessman from Lyon. The parents' library was full of works by leading scientists, writers and philosophers. Since childhood, Andre was fond of reading, which helped him gain deep knowledge. By the age of twelve, the boy had already studied the basics of higher mathematics, and the following year he presented his work to the Lyon Academy. He soon began giving private lessons, and from 1802 he worked as a teacher of physics and chemistry, first in Lyon and then at the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris. Ten years later he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. The names of great physicists are often associated with concepts to which they devoted their lives to study, and Ampere is no exception. He worked on problems of electrodynamics. The unit of electric current is measured in amperes. In addition, it was the scientist who introduced many of the terms still used today. For example, these are the definitions of “galvanometer”, “voltage”, “ electricity" and many others.
Robert Boyle
Many great physicists carried out their work at a time when technology and science were practically in their infancy, and, despite this, achieved success. For example, a native of Ireland. He did a variety of physical and chemical experiments, developing atomic theory. In 1660, he managed to discover the law of changes in the volume of gases depending on pressure. Many of the greats of his time had no idea about atoms, but Boyle was not only convinced of their existence, but also formed several concepts related to them, such as “elements” or “primary corpuscles.” In 1663 he managed to invent litmus, and in 1680 he was the first to propose a method for obtaining phosphorus from bones. Boyle was a member of the Royal Society of London and left behind many scientific works.
Niels Bohr
Often great physicists turned out to be significant scientists in other fields. For example, Niels Bohr was also a chemist. A member of the Royal Danish Society of Sciences and a leading scientist of the twentieth century, Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen, where he received his higher education. For some time he collaborated with the English physicists Thomson and Rutherford. Bohr's scientific work became the basis for the creation of quantum theory. Many great physicists subsequently worked in the directions originally created by Niels, for example, in some areas of theoretical physics and chemistry. Few people know, but he was also the first scientist to lay the foundations periodic system elements. In the 1930s made many important discoveries in atomic theory. For his achievements he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Max Born
Many great physicists came from Germany. For example, Max Born was born in Breslau, the son of a professor and a pianist. Since childhood, he was interested in physics and mathematics and entered the University of Göttingen to study them. In 1907, Max Born defended his dissertation on the stability of elastic bodies. Like other great physicists of the time, such as Niels Bohr, Max collaborated with Cambridge specialists, namely Thomson. Born was also inspired by Einstein's ideas. Max studied crystals and developed several analytical theories. In addition, Born created the mathematical basis of quantum theory. Like other physicists, the Great Patriotic War the anti-militarist Bourne categorically did not want to, and during the years of battle he had to emigrate. Subsequently, he will condemn the developments nuclear weapons. For all his achievements, Max Born received the Nobel Prize and was also accepted into many scientific academies.
Galileo Galilei
Some great physicists and their discoveries are associated with the field of astronomy and natural science. For example, Galileo, the Italian scientist. While studying medicine at the University of Pisa, he became familiar with Aristotle's physics and began reading ancient mathematicians. Fascinated by these sciences, he dropped out of school and began writing “Little Scales” - a work that helped determine the mass of metal alloys and described the centers of gravity of figures. Galileo became famous among Italian mathematicians and received a position at the department in Pisa. After some time, he became the court philosopher of the Duke of Medici. In his works, he studied the principles of equilibrium, dynamics, fall and movement of bodies, as well as the strength of materials. In 1609, he built the first telescope with a three-fold magnification, and then with a thirty-two-fold magnification. His observations provided information about the surface of the Moon and the sizes of stars. Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter. His discoveries created a sensation in the scientific field. The great physicist Galileo was not very approved by the church, and this determined the attitude towards him in society. Nevertheless, he continued his work, which became the reason for denunciation to the Inquisition. He had to give up his teachings. But still, a few years later, treatises on the rotation of the Earth around the Sun, created on the basis of the ideas of Copernicus, were published: with the explanation that this is only a hypothesis. Thus, the scientist’s most important contribution was preserved for society.
Isaac Newton
The inventions and statements of great physicists often become a kind of metaphors, but the legend about the apple and the law of gravity is the most famous of all. Everyone is familiar with the hero of this story, according to which he discovered the law of gravity. In addition, the scientist developed integral and differential calculus, became the inventor of the reflecting telescope, and wrote many fundamental works on optics. Modern physicists consider him the creator of classical science. Newton was born into a poor family, studied at a simple school, and then at Cambridge, while working as a servant to pay for his studies. Already in early years ideas came to him that in the future would become the basis for the invention of calculus systems and the discovery of the law of gravity. In 1669 he became a lecturer in the department, and in 1672 - a member of the Royal Society of London. In 1687, the most important work called “Principles” was published. For his invaluable achievements, Newton was given nobility in 1705.
Christiaan Huygens
Like many other great people, physicists were often talented in various fields. For example, Christiaan Huygens, a native of The Hague. His father was a diplomat, scientist and writer; his son received an excellent education in the legal field, but became interested in mathematics. In addition, Christian spoke excellent Latin, knew how to dance and ride a horse, and played music on the lute and harpsichord. Even as a child, he managed to build himself and worked on it. During his university years, Huygens corresponded with the Parisian mathematician Mersenne, which greatly influenced the young man. Already in 1651 he published a work on the squaring of the circle, ellipse and hyperbola. His work allowed him to gain a reputation as an excellent mathematician. Then he became interested in physics and wrote several works on colliding bodies, which seriously influenced the ideas of his contemporaries. In addition, he made contributions to optics, designed a telescope, and even wrote a paper on gambling calculations related to probability theory. All this makes him an outstanding figure in the history of science.
James Maxwell
Great physicists and their discoveries deserve every interest. So, James Clerk Maxwell achieved impressive results, which everyone should familiarize themselves with. He became the founder of the theories of electrodynamics. The scientist was born into a noble family and was educated at the universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge. For his achievements he was admitted to the Royal Society of London. Maxwell opened the Cavendish Laboratory, which was equipped with the latest technology for conducting physical experiments. During his work, Maxwell studied electromagnetism, the kinetic theory of gases, issues of color vision and optics. He also proved himself as an astronomer: it was he who established that they are stable and consist of unbound particles. He also studied dynamics and electricity, having a serious influence on Faraday. Comprehensive treatises on many physical phenomena are still considered relevant and in demand in the scientific community, making Maxwell one of the greatest specialists in this field.
Albert Einstein
The future scientist was born in Germany. Since childhood, Einstein loved mathematics, philosophy, and was fond of reading popular science books. For his education, Albert went to the Institute of Technology, where he studied his favorite science. In 1902 he became an employee of the patent office. During his years of work there, he would publish several successful scientific papers. His first works were related to thermodynamics and interactions between molecules. In 1905, one of the works was accepted as a dissertation, and Einstein became a Doctor of Science. Albert had many revolutionary ideas about electron energy, the nature of light and the photoelectric effect. The theory of relativity became the most important. Einstein's findings transformed humanity's understanding of time and space. Absolutely deservedly he was awarded the Nobel Prize and recognized throughout the scientific world.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE:
MILESTONES AND GREAT DISCOVERIES
Based on materials from Discovery Channel
("Discovery Channel")
Medical discoveries have transformed the world. They changed the course of history, saving countless lives, pushing the boundaries of our knowledge to the boundaries where we stand today, ready for new great discoveries.
human anatomy
In ancient Greece, treatment of disease was based more on philosophy than on a true understanding of human anatomy. Surgery was rare, and dissection of corpses was not yet practiced. As a result, doctors had virtually no information about the internal structure of a person. Only during the Renaissance did anatomy emerge as a science.
Belgian physician Andreas Vesalius shocked many when he decided to study anatomy by dissecting corpses. Material for research had to be obtained under the cover of darkness. Scientists like Vesalius had to resort to not entirely legal 
methods. When Vesalius became a professor in Padua, he became friends with the director of executions. Vesalius decided to pass on the experience gained from years of skillful dissections by writing a book on human anatomy. This is how the book “On the Structure of the Human Body” appeared. Published in 1538, the book is considered one of the greatest works in the field of medicine, as well as one of greatest discoveries, since it provides for the first time a correct description of the structure of the human body. This was the first serious challenge to the authority of ancient Greek doctors. The book sold out in huge numbers. It was bought by educated people, even those far from medicine. The entire text is very meticulously illustrated. Thus, information about human anatomy has become much more accessible. Thanks to Vesalius, the study of human anatomy through dissection became an integral part of the training of doctors. And this brings us to the next great discovery.
Circulation
The human heart is a muscle the size of a fist. It beats more than a hundred thousand times a day, over seventy years - that’s more than two billion heartbeats. The heart pumps 23 liters of blood per minute. Blood 
flows through the body, passing through complex system arteries and veins. If all the blood vessels in the human body are stretched out in one line, you get 96 thousand kilometers, which is more than two times the circumference of the Earth. Until the beginning of the 17th century, the process of blood circulation was misunderstood. The prevailing theory was that blood rushed to the heart through the pores in soft tissues bodies. Among the adherents of this theory was the English doctor William Harvey. The workings of the heart fascinated him, but the more he observed heartbeats in animals, the more he realized that the generally accepted theory of blood circulation was simply wrong. He writes unequivocally: “...I wondered if the blood could move as if in a circle?” And the very first phrase in the next paragraph: “Subsequently I found out that this is so...”. While performing autopsies, Harvey discovered that the heart had unidirectional valves, allowing blood to flow in only one direction. Some valves let blood in, others let blood out. And it was a great discovery. Harvey realized that the heart pumps blood into the arteries, then it passes through the veins and, completing the circle, returns to the heart to then begin the cycle all over again. Today this seems like a truism, but for the 17th century, William Harvey's discovery was revolutionary. It was a crushing blow to established ideas in medicine. At the end of his treatise, Harvey writes: “When I think of the countless consequences this will have for medicine, I see a field of almost limitless possibilities.”
Harvey's discovery greatly advanced anatomy and surgery, and simply saved the lives of many. All over the world, surgical clamps are used in operating rooms to block the flow of blood and keep the patient's circulatory system intact. And each of them is a reminder of the great discovery of William Harvey.
Blood groups
Another great discovery related to blood was made in Vienna in 1900. All of Europe was filled with enthusiasm for blood transfusions. First there were statements that the therapeutic effect was amazing, and then, after a few months, 
reports of deaths. Why was the transfusion sometimes successful and sometimes not? Austrian physician Karl Landsteiner was determined to find the answer. He mixed blood samples from different donors and studied the results.
In some cases, the blood mixed successfully, but in others it coagulated and became viscous. Upon closer inspection, Landsteiner discovered that blood clots when special proteins in the recipient's blood, called antibodies, react with other proteins in the donor's red blood cells, called antigens. For Landsteiner this was a turning point. He realized that not all human blood is the same. It turned out that blood can be clearly divided into 4 groups, to which he gave designations: A, B, AB and zero. It turned out that blood transfusion is successful only if the person is transfused with blood of the same group. Landsteiner's discovery immediately affected medical practice. A few years later, blood transfusions were performed all over the world, saving many lives. Thanks to the accurate determination of blood type, organ transplantation became possible by the 50s. Today, in the United States alone, a blood transfusion is performed every 3 seconds. Without it, about 4.5 million Americans would die each year.
Anesthesia
Although the first great discoveries in the field of anatomy allowed doctors to save many lives, they could not alleviate the pain. Without anesthesia, operations were a living nightmare. Patients were held or strapped to the table, and surgeons tried to work as quickly as possible. In 1811, one woman wrote: “When the terrible steel plunged into me, cutting veins, arteries, flesh, nerves, I no longer needed to be asked not to interfere. I let out a scream and screamed until it was over. 
The torment was so unbearable.” Surgery was the last resort; many preferred to die rather than go under the surgeon's knife. For centuries, improvised means were used to relieve pain during operations; some of them, such as opium or mandrake extract, were drugs. By the 40s of the 19th century, several people were simultaneously searching for a more effective anesthetic: two Boston dentists, William Morton and Horost Wells, 
known to each other, and a doctor named Crawford Long from Georgia.
They experimented with two substances that were thought to relieve pain - nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, and also liquid mixture alcohol and sulfuric acid. The question of who exactly discovered anesthesia remains controversial; all three claimed it. One of the first public demonstrations of anesthesia took place on October 16, 1846. W. Morton experimented with ether for months, trying to find a dosage that would allow the patient to undergo surgery without pain. He presented the device of his invention to the general public, consisting of Boston surgeons and medical students.
A patient who was about to have a tumor removed from his neck was given ether. Morton waited as the surgeon made the first incision. Amazingly, the patient did not scream. After the operation, the patient reported that he did not feel anything during this time. The news of the discovery spread throughout the world. You can operate without pain, now you have anesthesia. But despite the discovery, many refused to use anesthesia. According to some beliefs, pain should be endured rather than alleviated, especially the pangs of childbirth. But here Queen Victoria had her say. In 1853 she gave birth to Prince Leopold. At her request, she was given chloroform. It turned out that it eases the pain of childbirth. After this, the women began to say: “I will also take chloroform, because if the queen does not disdain it, then I am not ashamed.”
X-rays
It is impossible to imagine life without the next great discovery. Imagine that we do not know where to operate on a patient, or which bone is broken, where the bullet is stuck, or what the pathology may be. The ability to see inside a person without cutting them open was a turning point in the history of medicine. At the end of the 19th century, people used electricity without really understanding what it was. In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen experimented with a cathode ray tube, a glass cylinder with highly rarefied air inside. 
X-ray was interested in the glow created by the rays emanating from the tube. For one experiment, Roentgen surrounded the tube with black cardboard and darkened the room. Then he turned on the phone. And then one thing struck him - the photographic plate in his laboratory was glowing. X-ray realized that something very unusual was happening. And that the ray emanating from the tube is not a cathode ray at all; he also found that it did not respond to magnets. And it could not be deflected by a magnet, like cathode rays. This was a completely unknown phenomenon, and Roentgen called it “X-rays.” Quite by accident, Roentgen discovered radiation unknown to science, which we call X-ray. He behaved very mysteriously for several weeks, and then he called his wife into the office and said: “Bertha, let me show you what I’m doing here, because no one will believe it.” He put her hand under the beam and took a photo. 
The wife is said to have said: “I saw my death.” After all, in those days it was impossible to see the skeleton of a person unless he died. The very thought of filming internal structure a living person, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. It was as if a secret door had opened, and a whole universe opened behind it. X-ray discovered a new, powerful technology that revolutionized the field of diagnostics. The discovery of X-ray radiation is the only discovery in the history of science that was made unintentionally, completely by accident. As soon as it was made, the world immediately adopted it without any debate. In a week or two, our world has changed. Many of the most modern and powerful technologies, from computed tomography to the X-ray telescope that captures X-rays from the depths of space. And all this is due to a discovery made by accident.
Theory of microbial origin of diseases
Some discoveries, for example, X-rays, are made by chance, while others are worked on long and hard by various scientists. This was the case in 1846. Vein. The epitome of beauty and culture, but the specter of death hovers in the Vienna City Hospital. Many of the women giving birth here died. The cause is childbed fever, infection of the uterus. When Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis began working at the hospital, he was alarmed by the scale of the disaster and puzzled by a strange incongruity: there were two departments. 
In one, doctors delivered babies, and in the other, midwives delivered mothers. Semmelweis discovered that in the department where doctors delivered babies, 7% of women in labor died from so-called puerperal fever. And in the department where midwives worked, only 2% died from childbed fever. This surprised him, because doctors have much better training. Semmelweis decided to find out what the reason was. He noticed that one of the main differences in the work of doctors and midwives was that doctors performed autopsies on deceased mothers. They then went to deliver babies or examine mothers without even washing their hands. Semmelweis wondered whether doctors were carrying some invisible particles on their hands, which were then transmitted to their patients and caused death. To find out this, he conducted an experiment. He decided to make sure that all medical students were required to wash their hands in a bleach solution. And the death rate immediately dropped to 1%, lower than that of midwives. Thanks to this experiment, Semmelweis realized that infectious diseases, in this case, puerperal fever, have only one cause and if it is excluded, the disease will not arise. But in 1846, no one saw the connection between bacteria and infection. Semmelweis's ideas were not taken seriously. 
Another 10 years passed before another scientist paid attention to microorganisms. His name was Louis Pasteur. Three of Pasteur's five children died of typhoid fever, which partly explains why he was so persistent in searching for the cause of infectious diseases. Pasteur was put on the right track by his work for the wine and brewing industries. Pasteur tried to find out why only a small part of the wine produced in his country spoiled. He discovered that sour wine contains special microorganisms, microbes, and it is they that cause the wine to sour. But by simple heating, as Pasteur showed, microbes can be killed and the wine will be saved. Thus pasteurization was born. Therefore, when it was necessary to find a reason infectious diseases, Pasteur knew where to look for her. It is microbes, he said, that cause certain diseases, and he proved this by conducting a series of experiments from which a great discovery was born - the theory of microbial development of organisms. Its essence is that certain microorganisms cause a certain disease in anyone.
Vaccination
The next great discovery was made in the 18th century, when about 40 million people worldwide died from smallpox. Doctors could not find either the cause of the disease or a cure for it. But in one English village there is talk that part local residents immune to smallpox, attracted the attention of a local doctor named Edward Jenner.
It was rumored that dairy farm workers did not get smallpox because they had already had cowpox, a related but milder disease that affected livestock. Patients with cowpox developed a fever and developed sores on their hands. Jenner studied this phenomenon and wondered if perhaps the pus from these ulcers somehow protected the body from smallpox? On May 14, 1796, during an outbreak of smallpox, he decided to test his theory. Jenner took the liquid from a sore on the arm of a milkmaid who had cowpox. Then, he visited another family; there he injected a healthy eight-year-old boy with the cowpox virus. In the following days, the boy had a slight fever and several smallpox blisters appeared. Then he got better. Six weeks later, Jenner returned. This time he inoculated the boy with smallpox and waited to see how the experiment would turn out - victory or failure. A few days later, Jenner received an answer - the boy was completely healthy and immune to smallpox.
The invention of smallpox vaccination revolutionized medicine. This was the first attempt to intervene in the course of the disease, preventing it in advance. For the first time, man-made products were actively used to prevent 
the disease before it appears.
50 years after Jenner's discovery, Louis Pasteur developed the idea of vaccination, developing a vaccine against rabies in humans and anthrax in sheep. And in the 20th century, Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, independently of each other, created a vaccine against polio.
Vitamins
The next discovery took place through the efforts of scientists who had been struggling independently with the same problem for many years.
Throughout history, scurvy was a serious disease that caused skin lesions and bleeding in sailors. Finally, in 1747, the Scotsman ship surgeon James Lind found a cure for it. He discovered that scurvy could be prevented by including citrus fruits in the diet of sailors.
To others frequent illness The sailors had beriberi, a disease that affected the nerves, heart and digestive tract. At the end of the 19th century, the Dutch physician Christian Eijkman determined that the disease was caused by eating white polished rice instead of brown unpolished rice. 
Although both of these discoveries pointed to the connection of diseases with nutrition and its deficiencies, only the English biochemist Frederick Hopkins could find out what this connection was. He suggested that the body needs substances that are found only in certain foods. To prove his hypothesis, Hopkins conducted a series of experiments. He gave the mice artificial nutrition consisting exclusively of pure proteins, fats, 
carbohydrates and salts. The mice became weak and stopped growing. But after a little milk, the mice got better again. Hopkins discovered what he called the “essential nutritional factor,” which was later called vitamins.
It turned out that beriberi is associated with a lack of thiamine, vitamin B1, which is not found in polished rice, but is abundant in natural rice. Citrus fruits prevent scurvy because they contain ascorbic acid and vitamin C.
Hopkins's discovery was a defining step in understanding the importance proper nutrition. Many body functions depend on vitamins, from fighting infections to regulating metabolism. It is difficult to imagine life without them, as well as without the next great discovery.
Penicillin
After the First World War, which claimed over 10 million lives, the search for safe methods of repelling bacterial aggression intensified. After all, many died not on the battlefields, but from infected wounds. Scottish physician Alexander Fleming also participated in the research. While studying staphylococcus bacteria, Fleming noticed that something unusual was growing in the center of the laboratory dish - mold. He saw that the bacteria around the mold had died. This led him to assume that it secretes a substance that is harmful to bacteria. He called this substance penicillin. Fleming spent the next few years trying to isolate penicillin and use it to treat infections, but was unsuccessful and eventually gave up. However, the results of his labors turned out to be invaluable.
In 1935, Oxford University employees Howard Florey and Ernst Chain came across a report on Fleming's curious but unfinished experiments and decided to try their luck. These scientists managed to isolate penicillin in its pure form. And in 1940 they tested it. Eight mice were injected with a lethal dose of streptococcal bacteria. Then, four of them were injected with penicillin. After a few hours, the results were clear. 
All four mice that did not receive penicillin died, but three of the four that received it survived.
So, thanks to Fleming, Flory and Cheyne, the world received the first antibiotic. This medicine was a real miracle. It treated so many ailments that caused a lot of pain and suffering: acute pharyngitis, rheumatism, scarlet fever, syphilis and gonorrhea... Today we have completely forgotten that you can die from these diseases.
Sulfide preparations
The next great discovery came during the Second World War. It cured dysentery among American soldiers fighting in the Pacific. And then led to a revolution in 
chemotherapy treatment of bacterial infections.
All this happened thanks to a pathologist named Gerhard Domagk. In 1932, he studied the possibilities of using certain new chemical dyes in medicine. Working with a newly synthesized dye called prontosil, Domagk injected it into several laboratory mice infected with streptococcus bacteria. As Domagk expected, the dye enveloped the bacteria, but the bacteria survived. It seemed that the dye was not toxic enough. Then something amazing happened: although the dye did not kill the bacteria, it stopped their growth, the infection stopped spreading and the mice recovered. It is unknown when Domagk first tested Prontosil in humans. However, the new drug gained fame after it saved the life of a boy seriously ill with staphylococcus. The patient was Franklin Roosevelt Jr., son of the President of the United States. Domagk's discovery instantly became a sensation. Because Prontosil contained a sulfamide molecular structure, it was called a sulfamide drug. He became the first in this group of synthetic chemical substances, capable of treating and preventing bacterial infections. Domagk opened a new revolutionary direction in the treatment of diseases, the use of chemotherapy drugs. It will save tens of thousands of human lives.
Insulin
The next great discovery helped save the lives of millions of diabetics around the world. Diabetes is a disease that interferes with the body's ability to process sugar, which can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart disease and even death. For centuries, doctors have studied diabetes, searching for a cure without success. Finally, at the end of the 19th century, a breakthrough occurred. It was found that diabetic patients have a common feature - a group of cells in the pancreas is invariably affected - these cells secrete a hormone that controls blood sugar. The hormone was called insulin. And in 1920 there was a new breakthrough. Canadian surgeon Frederick Banting and student Charles Best studied pancreatic insulin secretion in dogs. Acting on intuition, Banting injected an extract from a healthy dog's insulin-producing cells into a diabetic dog. The results were stunning. After a few hours, the blood sugar level of the sick animal dropped significantly. Now the attention of Banting and his assistants focused on finding an animal whose insulin would be similar to human. They found a close match in insulin taken from cow fetuses, purified it for experimental safety, and conducted the first clinical trial in January 1922. Banting administered insulin to a 14-year-old boy who was dying of diabetes. And he quickly began to recover. How important is Banting's discovery? Just ask the 15 million Americans who rely on the insulin they depend on every day for their lives.
Genetic nature of cancer
Cancer is the second most lethal disease in America. Intensive research into its origins and development has led to remarkable scientific achievements, but perhaps the most important of them was the following discovery. Nobel laureates cancer researchers Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus joined forces in cancer research in the 1970s. At that time, several theories about the cause of this disease dominated. A malignant cell is very complex. She is capable not only of sharing, but also of invading. This is a cell with highly developed capabilities. One theory involved the Rous sarcoma virus causing cancer in chickens. When a virus attacks a chicken cell, it injects its genetic material into the host's DNA. According to the hypothesis, the DNA of the virus subsequently becomes the agent that causes the disease. According to another theory, when a virus introduces its genetic material into a host cell, cancer-causing genes are not activated, but wait until they are triggered by external influences, for example, harmful chemicals, radiation or a common viral infection. These cancer-causing genes, called oncogenes, became the focus of Varmus and Bishop's research. 
Main question: Does the human genome contain genes that are or have the potential to become oncogenes, like those found in a virus that causes tumors? Is there such a gene in chickens, other birds, mammals, or humans? Bishop and Varmus took a radioactively labeled molecule and used it as a probe to see if the Rous Sarcoma Virus oncogene was similar to any normal gene on chicken chromosomes. The answer is yes. It was a real revelation. Varmus and Bishop found that the cancer-causing gene is already contained in the DNA of healthy chicken cells and, more importantly, they found it in human DNA, proving that the germ of cancer can appear in any of us at any time. cellular level and wait for activation.
How can our own gene, which we have lived with all our lives, cause cancer? Errors occur during cell division, and they happen more often if the cell is oppressed by cosmic radiation or tobacco smoke. It is also important to remember that when a cell divides, it needs to copy 3 billion complementary pairs of DNA. Anyone who has ever tried to type knows how difficult it is. We have mechanisms to notice and correct mistakes, and yet, at high volumes, our fingers miss the mark.
What is the importance of the discovery? Previously, they tried to understand cancer based on the differences between the virus gene and the cell gene, but now we know that a very small change in certain genes of our cells can turn a healthy cell that grows, divides normally, etc., into a malignant one. And this became the first clear illustration of the true state of affairs.
The search for this gene is a defining moment in modern diagnostics and predicting the future behavior of a cancer tumor. The discovery provided clear targets for specific therapies that simply did not exist before.
The population of Chicago is about 3 million people.
HIV
The same number die each year from AIDS, one of the worst epidemics in modern history. The first signs of this disease appeared in the early 80s of the last century. In America, the number of patients dying from rare species infections and cancer. Blood tests on the victims revealed extremely low level leukocytes - white blood cells vital to the human immune system. In 1982, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention gave the disease the name AIDS - acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Two researchers took up the case, Luc Montagnier from the Pasteur Institute in Paris and Robert Gallo from the National Cancer Institute in Washington. 
They both managed to make a major discovery that identified the causative agent of AIDS - HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. How is the human immunodeficiency virus different from other viruses, such as influenza? Firstly, this virus does not reveal the presence of the disease for years, on average 7 years. The second problem is very unique: for example, AIDS has finally appeared, people understand that they are sick and go to the clinic, and they have a myriad of other infections, which exactly caused the disease. How to determine this? In most cases, the virus exists for a single purpose: to penetrate the acceptor cell and multiply. Typically, it attaches itself to a cell and releases its genetic information into it. This allows the virus to subjugate the functions of the cell, redirecting them to the production of new individuals of viruses. These individuals then attack other cells. But HIV is not an ordinary virus. It belongs to a category of viruses that scientists call retroviruses. What's unusual about them? Like the classes of viruses that include polio and influenza, retroviruses are special categories. They are unique in that their genetic information in the form of ribonucleic acid is converted into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and this is what happens to DNA that is our problem: DNA is integrated into our genes, viral DNA becomes part of us, and then cells, designed to protect us, begin to reproduce the DNA of the virus. There are cells containing a virus, sometimes they reproduce it, sometimes they don’t. They are silent. They hide...But only in order to reproduce the virus again. Those. Once an infection becomes apparent, it is likely to be ingrained for life. This is the main problem. A cure for AIDS has not yet been found. But the discovery 
that HIV is a retrovirus and that it is the causative agent of AIDS has led to significant advances in the fight against this disease. What has changed in medicine since the discovery of retroviruses, especially HIV? For example, we learned from AIDS that drug therapy is possible. Previously, it was believed that since the virus usurps our cells to reproduce, it is almost impossible to influence it without severely poisoning the patient himself. Nobody invested in antivirus programs. AIDS opened the door to antiviral research in pharmaceutical companies and universities around the world. In addition, AIDS has had a positive social effect. Ironically, this terrible disease brings people together.
And so, day after day, century after century, with tiny steps or grandiose breakthroughs, great and small discoveries in medicine were made. They give hope that humanity will defeat cancer and AIDS, autoimmune and genetic diseases, and achieve excellence in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, alleviating the suffering of sick people and preventing the progression of diseases.