January 26 is World Leprosy Day.
In 1953, humanitarian, M. Raoul Follereau of France, proclaimed the first World Leprosy Day to call attention to the plight of the world’s millions of people
affected by this ancient, devastating disease. Over the years, this observance has grown and more than 100 countries now participate in World Leprosy Day
on the last Sunday in January.
World Leprosy Day helps to focus on the needs of some of the poorest and most marginalized people in the world – those affected by leprosy.
It helps to tell the story to people who do not know that leprosy still exists and that it can now be cured. It also helps raise funds so that
those with leprosy can be cured and cared for.
More...
LifeScience Moment: Dr. Jonas Salk received gold medal from President Dwight Eisenhower, designating him "a benefactor of mankind.""
On January 27, 1956, Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the Polio vaccine released in 1955, received a special gold medal from President Dwight
Eisenhower designating him "a benefactor of mankind."
The polio vaccine was developed by Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh and announced on April 12, 1955 exactly 10 years after
the death of President Roosevelt, a victim of polio.
In 1957, in an effort to improve upon the killed Salk vaccine, Albert Bruce Sabin began testing a live, oral form of vaccine
in which the infectious part of the virus was inactivated (attenuated). This vaccine became available for use in 1963.
More...
BioEvolution Posters
More...
It's a Small World
|
| |
Flea (Yersinia Pestis Bacterium Carrier) (Photo: Courtesy Janice Haney Carr)
| |
Science Quote
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
| - |
Mark Twain, American writer
|
|
(1835-1910)
|
