События
Free vaccine for TB in the UKCanadian surgeon William Bigelow performs
the first Open-Heart surgery to repair a
hole in a baby's heartMexican Company Syntex develops norethisterone: a human-made hormone that
prevents women ovulating; this leads to the production of the first contraception pillFirst miniature hearing aid is produced
First kidney transplant is carried out (the first in the UK is in 1960)American Leroy Stevens discoveres stem cells.
Francis Crick and James Watson discover DNA;
the understanding of DNA leads to such
developments as gene therapy, genetic screening
and genetic engineering.Free vaccine for diptheria, whooping cough and tetanus ('the triple vaccine') in the UKFree vaccine
for polio in
the UKNew
eventThe drug thalidomide is developed in Germany; it is used to treat morning sickness during pregnancybut it cuases terrible deformities in babies; today it is used in the treatment of AIDS and some charactersFirst Pacemaker is fitted (in sweden) [first in the UK is 1960]Surgeons at a hospital in America re-attach the arm of a 12-year-old boyFree Vaccine for measles in the UKChristian Barnard, a South African heart
surgeon, performs the first heart transplant;
the patient lives for 18 days (the first in the
UK is in 1968 at Papworth hospitalFree vaccine for rubella in the UKBritish scientist Roy Calne develops
the drug cyclosporine, which prevents
the body rejecting transplanted organsBritish Surgeon Sir John Charnley develops hip replacementsBritish scientist Geoff Hounsfield invents the CAT scanner, which uses x-ray images from many anfles to build up a 3D image of the inside of the bodyEndoscopes are developed - fibre optic cables with a light source that allow doctors to go into small cuts in the skin to see inside the body
Comments