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Beriberi found to be caused by nutritional deficiency
The Dutch physicist Gerrit Grijns demonstrated that beriberi was caused by a nutritional deficiency (later shown to be of vitamin B1). This was a large step in understanding the importance of nutrition, particularly vitamins, in preventing disease. Grijns used the term "partial starvation." His work was not widely recognized at the time because his work was only published in Dutch. -
Adrenaline isolated
Japanese-born US biochemist Jokichi Takamine becomes the first to isolate and purify adrenaline from the suprarenal glands of animals. It was the first time this was accomplished for a glandular hormone. -
Hormones and Digestion
British physiologists William Bayliss and Ernest Starling discover that a hormone is released into the bloodstream from the duodenum, stimulating the secretion of digestive juices in the pancreas. This is a major step toward understanding the hormonal system. -
Colon Cancer Removed
Jan Mikulicz-Radecki, a Polish-Austrian surgeon, becomes the first to remove a cancerous portion of the colon. Mikulicz-Radecki was an inventor of new operating techniques and advocate of antiseptic techniques, making great contributions to modern surgery. -
Suturing Blood Vessels
The French surgeon Alexis Carrel develops methods of suturing severed blood vessels. This is a large step toward the possibility of organ transplants. For his work Carrel received the Nobel Prize in 1912. -
Vitamins hypothesized
English biochemist Frederick Gowland Hopkins hypothesizes the existence of vitamins, or as he called them, “accessory food factors.” -
Rice and Vitamins
In another step toward the discovery of vitamins, British researcher Hendry Fraser shows that Malaysians eating polished rice develop beriberi, whereas those eating brown rice did not. -
Lactic Acid Discovered
Frederick Gowland Hopkins and Walter Fletcher discover that working muscles accumulate lactic acid. This contributes to the understanding of the chemistry behind muscle contraction and muscle fatigue. -
Animal Tissue Cultures
American zoologist Ross Granville Harrison becomes the first to successfully develop animal tissue cultures. This becomes a major step enabling cancer research. -
Typhus found to be transmitted by lice
French bacteriologist Charles Jules Henri Nicolle discovers that typhus is transmitted by lice. The bacterium R. prowazekii grows in the louse's gut and excreted in its feces ; the human who scratches the louse bite inadvertently scratches rubs the feces into the wound. -
Antibacterials and chemotherapy
German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich discovers the first specific antibacterial agent, arsphenamine or 'Salvarsan.' It becomes the first effective treatment against syphilis, which began the concept of chemotherapy. -
Houseflies identified as disease carriers
US entomologist Leland Ossian Howard publishes The House Fly, Disease Carrier. In the book he identifies common houseflies as a major carrier of disease. -
Artificial kidney
US physiologist John Abel invents a filter to remove toxins from the bloodstream. This is a precursor to artificial kidneys. The following year Abel isolated amino acids from the blood. -
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Freud presents his psychoanalytic theory
Sigmund Freud writes A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis. His ideas had an unparalleled impact in the field of psychoanalysis in the 20th century. -
Plastic Surgery developed
British surgeon Harold Delf Gillies develops plastic surgery techniques while treating war casualties at Sidcup, Kent. He and his colleagues performed over 11,000 operations, mostly on soldiers with gunshot wounds to the face. -
Brain X-rays taken
US physician Walter Dandy is able to take X-rays of the brain by injecting air into the ventricles of the brain to provide contrast. Dandy is considered one of the founding fathers of neurosurgery, for his numerous innovations in the field. -
Genetics, nature vs nurture theory
Scottish geneticist Ronald Fisher shows that individual behavior is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Fisher had a mathematical background which allowed him to bring a statistical approach to genetic research. -
Bacteriophages explained
Canadian microbiologist Félix-Hubert D'Herelle publishes The Bacteriophage, Its Role in Immunity. In the book he explains the role of bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. -
Insulin Injection
Canadian physiologists Frederick Banting, Charles Best and John James MacLeod successfully isolate insulin. A diabetic patient in Toronto receives the first injection of insulin. -
White Blood Cells discovered
French surgeon Alexis Carrel discovers leucocytes (white blood cells). -
Tuberculosis Vaccine
French bacteriologists Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin develop the vaccine for tuberculosis. They use it to vaccinate newborns in a Paris hospital.
