The Demon Under the Microscope - Hagar Audio performance by Steven Hoye 4 stars
I knew a bit about the development of penicillin. A very little bit, Alexander Fleming and the stray mold in his petri dish. There’s much more to the story than that. However, this book is about the discovery sulfa drugs, and I knew nothing at all about Gerhard Domagk, his work, and the impact of the drugs he was first to develop. Thomas Hagar does a great job telling the story of this drug. There’s just the right blend of anecdote, science and historical context.
Hagar grabbed my attention immediately with his prologue story about the surgeon, John J. Moorhead, who was in Hawaii lecturing to enlisted health professionals about “Treatment of Wounds Civil and Military” on December 7, 1941. An amazing story, and the rest of the book was no less interesting. In the first chapter, Hagar backtracks to the first world war and Gerhard Domagk’s experience with caring for wounded German soldiers. The contrast in survival rates between the two wars is mind boggling.
Some of the descriptions of septic wounds and illnesses may be disturbing for someone with a weak stomach. I know I didn’t want to listen to the book while I was eating or preparing food. Hagar spend a great deal of time discussing the structure of the German, industrial, laboratory system. This may seem a bit boring, but he’s making several important points about the nature of scientific discovery and the development of effective drugs. I have just enough background in chemistry to understand his descriptions of seemingly endless chemical variations that lead to the final manufacture of the first sulfa drug. Hagar is good at bringing the laboratory procedures to life while he makes it clear that the final product is the combined effort of several scientists in different fields. An effort that could not happen without sound management and enormous financial backing.
This book is jammed with interesting historical implications resulting from the use of the new ‘magic bullet’ in the treatment of infections: the international competition, the awarding of patents and the Nobel Prize, the lack of organized human testing, the famous people who were saved by the use of a previously untested drug. There’s the appalling story of human experimentation at Ravensbruck, and the end of unregulated drugs along with the growth of the Federal Drug Administration. There is one very fascinating fact that was always present as the use of this drug became ubiquitous. The scientists knew that it worked, but they did not yet know how it worked. Hundreds of thousands of lives saved, and they didn’t really know why. Towards the end of the book, and the end of World War Two, Hagar touches on this century’s medical nightmare; drug resistant bacteria.
The Demon Under the Microscope - Hagar
Audio performance by Steven Hoye
4 stars
I knew a bit about the development of penicillin. A very little bit, Alexander Fleming and the stray mold in his petri dish. There’s much more to the story than that. However, this book is about the discovery sulfa drugs, and I knew nothing at all about Gerhard Domagk, his work, and the impact of the drugs he was first to develop. Thomas Hagar does a great job telling the story of this drug. There’s just the right blend of anecdote, science and historical context.
Hagar grabbed my attention immediately with his prologue story about the surgeon, John J. Moorhead, who was in Hawaii lecturing to enlisted health professionals about “Treatment of Wounds Civil and Military” on December 7, 1941. An amazing story, and the rest of the book was no less interesting. In the first chapter, Hagar backtracks to the first world war and Gerhard Domagk’s experience with caring for wounded German soldiers. The contrast in survival rates between the two wars is mind boggling.
Some of the descriptions of septic wounds and illnesses may be disturbing for someone with a weak stomach. I know I didn’t want to listen to the book while I was eating or preparing food. Hagar spend a great deal of time discussing the structure of the German, industrial, laboratory system. This may seem a bit boring, but he’s making several important points about the nature of scientific discovery and the development of effective drugs. I have just enough background in chemistry to understand his descriptions of seemingly endless chemical variations that lead to the final manufacture of the first sulfa drug. Hagar is good at bringing the laboratory procedures to life while he makes it clear that the final product is the combined effort of several scientists in different fields. An effort that could not happen without sound management and enormous financial backing.
This book is jammed with interesting historical implications resulting from the use of the new ‘magic bullet’ in the treatment of infections: the international competition, the awarding of patents and the Nobel Prize, the lack of organized human testing, the famous people who were saved by the use of a previously untested drug. There’s the appalling story of human experimentation at Ravensbruck, and the end of unregulated drugs along with the growth of the Federal Drug Administration. There is one very fascinating fact that was always present as the use of this drug became ubiquitous. The scientists knew that it worked, but they did not yet know how it worked. Hundreds of thousands of lives saved, and they didn’t really know why. Towards the end of the book, and the end of World War Two, Hagar touches on this century’s medical nightmare; drug resistant bacteria.
The magic bullet isn’t working so well anymore.