Chris Bird
Freelance Journalist

Biomedical Scientist. December 2008
Towards the end of 1958 an accident at the Boris Kidric Nuclear Science Institute at Vinca, near Belgrade, in what was then Yugoslavia, exposed six engineers to radiation doses estimated at 300 to 1200 rads (3-12 Gy). Since radiation preferentially damages the most rapidly dividing body cells it was inevitable that these patients would suffer bone marrow failure. Shortly after the accident five of the patients were transferred to the Marie Curie Hospital in Paris where they received bone marrow transplants in an effort to save their lives. This was the first therapeutic use of bone marrow transplants and, although none of those original patients survived, the technique has now become a key weapon in the fight against a wide range of cancers and immunodeficiency disorders. (more…)

Biomedical Scientist. January 2009.
In October 2008 Professor Harald zur Hausen was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for his investigation of how cervical cancer is triggered by virus infections. His research made it possible to develop a vaccine against the third most frequent cancer affecting women with the potential to drastically reduce the incidence of this disease. (more…)