Hiroshima and the Development of Anticlotting Drugs (A Wikipedia Reference Only.)

[NNadir]

Lately I've been thinking about the mathematical physicist Max Born, a quotation from whom is responsible for my sig line at DU:

This loosening of thinking seems to me to be the greatest blessing which modern science has given to us. For the belief in a single truth and in being the possessor thereof is the root cause of all evil in the world.

The above comes from his Wikipedia page, which I was inspired to call up.

I definitely agree with this statement, which to my mind, summarizes almost all issues related to human violence on a macroscopic scale.

As he was Jewish and born in Germany, and escaped to Britain before the World War, version 2, I wondered about his family, and came upon a discussion of his children and descendants, one of whom (this I already knew) was the singer/actress Olivia Newton-John. If you go to Born's Wikipedia page and scroll down to "family" you will see that his lineage is quite distinguished, but to me, one of the most important descendant may have been his son, Gustav Victor Rudolf Born.

From his Wikipedia page:

As a doctor serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps, he was one of the first to witness the after-effects of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. He was struck by the incidence of severe bleeding disorders among the survivors which was due to a lack of platelets due to radiation damage. This drove much of his later research. He developed a simple device to measure the platelet aggregation rate which revolutionised the diagnosis of platelet related blood diseases and led to the development of antiplatelet medicines that have reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke for millions of people worldwide. He did not patent the device, saying that scientific advances with medical implications should not be exploited for commercial gain.[3]

What a Mensch!

This caught my eye since, I have worked, peripherally, on anticlotting drugs (including some rather simple and well known ones) and became aware of the importance of platelet clotting rate tests, platelet aggregation tests, although I have never worked with these tests myself, and don't actually know how they work. (Data connected to these tests was shared with me in relation to work my company was performing.) Nonetheless, they were developed by Gustav Born.

As for Max Born, he is one of the great physicists of his era, along with Lise Meitner, who did not join the Manhattan Project. Whether, it was because he was not offered a role, or, as was the case of Meitner, declined on the basis of opposition to the creation of nuclear weapons, I do not know.

He was, however, as I am, an opponent of nuclear weapons, although anyone familiar with me will know that I am a strong supporter of nuclear power and other peaceful nuclear technology uses, regarding these as the key to saving the world from deepening environmental disaster.

Max Born was a signatory of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto pointing to the dangers of nuclear weapons and calling, during the height of the cold war, for peaceful resolution of conflict.

He played, early in his career, an important role in the acceptance of the Theory of Relativity when it still remained controversial.

Have a happy New Year.