TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 16 OCTOBER
On 16 Oct 1914, the first blood transfusion of World War I was performed on a wounded soldier when Isidore Colas gave his blood to Corporal Henri Legrain of 45th Infantry Corps of the French Army. More blood transfusions on casualties followed, though though not all were successful. The importance of matching blood types had only begun to be appreciated (1907), as the ABO blood types had been discovered only as recently as 1901 by Dr Karl Landsteiner. The possibility of blood transfusion had been known for more than a century. Dr James Blundell had established in 1818 that only human blood could be donated to another human, and he had invented a suitable instrument.
At first, only direct blood transfusion on the battlefield was possible by direct human-to-human methods, and limited by the supply of donors. That began to change when the Belgian Adolph Hustin discovered (1914) how sodium citrate could anticoagulate blood for transfusion. It led to the ability to store supply of blood, which helped surgeons cope with the high numbers of war casulties.
Although World War I was a significant stimulus for advances in blood transfusion techniques, there was significant progress being made in the years before the war started. In 'Blood Transfusion Often Successful,' a brief article from the New York Times in 1912, such optimism was expressed for the donor-to-patient transfer of blood by tube that the subtitle was 'Patients Almost Literally Raised from the Dead.' Clotting was at that time recognised as a problem to be overcome.
On 16 Oct 1846, remembered as “Ether Day,” American dentist Dr William T.G. Morton, first publicly demonstrated ether anesthetic during a hospital operation. Today's book pick is: , by who tells the unpredictable story of America's first major medical discovery, the use of anesthesia. This absorbing narrative traces the dawn of modern surgery through the lives of three extraordinary men. Before the use of anesthesia, patients undergoing surgery saw, heard, and felt every cut the surgeon made. Shudder at the thought of it! Because we are now spared this grim and grisly operating room experience, in gratitude, you may wish to learn more about the history of anesthesia by reading this book.
It is available from Amazon, typically about (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | I have always loved to begin with the facts, to observe them, to walk in the light of experiment and demonstrate as much as possible, and to discuss the results. — Giovanni Arduino, Italian geologist (born 16 Oct 1714).  |
 | The ovary of an ancestress will contain not only her daughter, but also her granddaughter, her great-grand-daughter, and her great-great-granddaughter, and if it is once proved that an ovary can contain many generations, there is no absurdity in saying that it contains them all. — Albrecht von Haller, Swiss physiologist and biologist (born 16 Oct 1708). |
 | Scientists are human—they're as biased as any other group. But they do have one great advantage in that science is a self-correcting process. — Cyril Ponnamperuma, Ceylonese-American biochemist and exobiologist (born 16 Oct 1923). |
| Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page. | |
| Births | |
 | An outstanding English Victorian, born 16 Oct 1803, was a civil engineer and builder of many long-span railroad bridges. He took over as manager of his father's company that built bridges, but also locomotives including the famous Rocket (1829) built by his father. Can you name this man? |
| | Cyril Ponnamperuma, born 16 Oct 1923, was a chemist, exobiologist and a leading authority on the chemical origins of life. He built on the work of Miller and Clayton Urey studying chemical reactions in “primordial soup” experiments. What is exobiology? |
| Deaths | |
 | Jon Postel (1943-1998) was an American computer scientist who played a pivotal role in creating and administering the Internet. In the late 1960s, he was a graduate student developing the forerunner of the Internet for use by the U.S. Dept. of Defense. He also created the Internet's address system. Can you name the forerunner of the Internet? |
| Events | |
 | On 16 Oct of a certain year, the first motion picture in the U.S. of the inside of a living heart was shown at the clinical session of the New York Academy of Medicine Post Graduate Fortnightly held at Montefiore Hospital, New York City, where the film was made. A dog's heart was the subject of the 9½ minute colour film, which showed the opening and closing of the mitral valve. In what decade was this event? |
| | On 16 Oct 1846, American dentist, Dr William T.G. Morton made the first public demonstration of the administration of ether anesthetic, during an operation performed by Dr. John Collins Warren at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The patient, Gilbert Abbott, age 20, had a small superficial tumor removed from beneath the left lower jaw. How was this new anesthetic administered? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for October 15: Evangelista Torricelli • Phobos and Deimos • bromine • Monera and Protista • Brazil • General Electric.
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