Faculty Bibliography

A turning point came on April 22 when the United States -- one of two official smallpox repositories around the globe, along with Russia -- announced that it would delay its intended destruction of the virus, reversing years of planning and Washington's previous stance. Most visibly, top scientists and health experts are now calling for a federal program to produce new vaccine to protect up to 100 million people in the United States -- enough, in theory, to stop any epidemic in its tracks. More quietly, American and Russian scientists hope to embark on studies to better understand the killer's ways in an effort to perfect a cure. And most stealthily of all, intelligence agencies are stepping up their efforts to better judge the threat of smallpox attacks. [Edward] Jenner dreamed of eliminating smallpox. But no serious efforts were made until the 20th century. As late as the 1930s, smallpox struck up to 50,000 people each year in the United States. The last case occurred in 1949 in Hidalgo County, Texas. Although Jenner had used cowpox virus, a third virus, vaccinia, became the standard vaccine against smallpox. Experts say vaccinia is related to the smallpox and cowpox viruses, but its origin is a major scientific mystery

Urine therapy, perhaps the most alternative of all alternative medicine and the ultimate of all self-help therapies, has been used as a folk remedy and as part of religious rituals for thousands of years in India, Tibet, Asia and Africa. Long before the arrival of Crest and other popular dentifrices, Pierre Fauchard, considered to be the founder of modern dentistry, recommended in his 1728 text, "The Surgeon Dentist," that toothaches be treated at home by rinsing the mouth every morning and evening withspoonfuls of urine. By the 18th century, many German and French physicians regularly used urine to treat gout, asthma and sciatica. Today, in many parts of the world, cuts and abrasions, jellyfish stings, and animal bites are washed out with the person's own urine. In Cuba, where the U.S. blockade has made medicine hard to come by, urine is often used by the poor as a rub-on moisturizer and drunk daily as a form of self- vaccination against disease and infection

After sitting in pieces in a jar for more than 40 years, Albert Einstein's brain could make another contribution to science. Now scientists in Canada say they have spotted something that might explain the great theorist's brilliance -- and might eventually offer clues to brain work in general. They say a key region in Einstein's brain -- a region that processes mathematical thought, three- dimensional visualization, spatial relationships and other mental processes -- was significantly larger than the same area in people with normal intelligence. Known as the inferior parietal lobe, the region is situated about the level of the ear, starting in the front of the brain and extending about two-thirds of the way back. In his life, Einstein had submitted to brain studies, and at least one biography says he hoped his brain would be studied after his death. When Einstein died in 1955, in Princeton, N.J., a pathologist who performed the autopsy removed the brain and kept it when he left Princeton. According to several journalistic accounts, the pathologist, Dr. Thomas Harvey, kept Einstein's brain in a jar and at one time it sat in a cardboard box that once held apple cider behind a beer cooler in his office in Kansas

They say a key region in Einstein's brain - a region that processes mathematical thought, three-dimensional visualization, spatial relationships and other mental processes - is significantly larger than the same area in people with normal intelligence. Known as the inferior parietal lobe, the region is situated about the level of the ear, starting in the front of the brain and extending about two-thirds of the way back. In his life, [Albert] Einstein had submitted to brain studies, and at least one biography says he hoped his brain would be studied after his death. When Einstein died in 1955, in Princeton, N.J., a pathologist who performed the autopsy removed the brain and kept it when he left Princeton. According to several journalistic accounts, the pathologist, Dr. Thomas Harvey, kept Einstein's brain in a jar and at one time it sat in a cardboard box that once held apple cider behind a beer cooler in his office in Kansas. Harvey had permission from Einstein's estate and his son, Hans Albert, to conduct studies of the brain. Toward that end, he photographed and measured the brain and then cut it into 240 pieces of varying size for further study, but he published nothing of his findings. He did give a few sections of the brain to a few researchers, two of whom reported that Einstein had an unusual preponderance of certain brain cells, oligodendroglia, which support the brain's networks of neurons

Dr. (Thomas) Harvey had permission from Einstein's estate and his son, Hans Albert Einstein, to perform scientific studies of the brain. Toward that end, he took careful photographs and measurements of the brain and then cut it into 240 pieces of varying size for further study, but he published none of his findings. He did give a few sections of the brain to a few researchers, two of whom reported that Einstein had an unusual preponderance of certain cells, oligodendroglia, that support the brain's networks of neurons. Dr. Harvey could not be reached for comment yesterday. In 1996, a one-sentence fax from Dr. Harvey arrived at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Did researchers want to study Einstein's brain? Dr. Sandra F. Witelson, the leader of a team of neuroscientists there, did not even know who Dr. Harvey was. Dr. Harvey apparently chose the McMaster researchers after reading Dr. Witelson's reports of research conducted at a brain bank that she started in 1982, largely through funding from the United States National Institutes of Health. The bank contains brains willed for research by more than 100 people who also underwent tests of verbal, mathematical, I.Q. and other functions. The aim was to relate structure and function in the normal brain, said Dr. Witelson, who veered into neuro-anatomy after earning her Ph.D. degree in psychology

In his life, Einstein had submitted to brain studies, and at least one biography says he hoped his brain would be studied after his death. When Einstein died in 1955, in Princeton, N.J., a pathologist who performed the autopsy removed the brain and kept it when he left Princeton. According to several journalistic accounts, the pathologist, Dr. Thomas Harvey, kept Einstein's brain in a jar, and at one time it sat in a cardboard box that once held apple cider behind a beer cooler in his office in Kansas. Harvey had permission from Einstein's estate and Einstein's son, Hans Albert, to conduct studies of the brain. Toward that end, he photographed and measured the brain and then cut it into 240 pieces of varying size for further study, but he published none of his findings. He did give a few sections of the brain to a few researchers, two of whom reported that Einstein had an unusual preponderance of certain brain cells, oligodendroglia, which support the brain's networks of neurons. But the result was a research project combining a method similar to the long-rejected system of phrenology (in which character could allegedly by analyzed by studying the shape and protuberances of the skull) with the newer techniques of neuroscience. [Sandra F.] Witelson's team made use of McMaster's vast library of brain samples, probably the world's largest collection of normal brain samples. These samples enabled researchers to determine which features of Einstein's brain were ordinary, and which were unusual

In his life, [Albert] Einstein had submitted to brain studies, and at least one biography says he hoped his brain would be studied after his death. When Einstein died in 1955, in Princeton, N.J., a pathologist who performed the autopsy removed the brain and kept it when he left Princeton. According to several journalistic accounts, the pathologist, Dr. Thomas Harvey, kept Einstein's brain in a jar, and at one time it sat in a cardboard box that once held apple cider behind a beer cooler in his office in Kansas

They say a key region in Einstein's brain - a region that processes mathematical thought, three-dimensional visualization, spatial relationships and other mental processes - was significantly larger than the same area in people with normal intelligence. Known as the inferior parietal lobe, the region is situated about the level of the ear, starting in the front of the brain and extending about two-thirds of the way back. In his life, [Albert] Einstein had submitted to brain studies and at least one biography says he hoped his brain would be studied after his death. When Einstein died in 1955, in Princeton, N.J., a pathologist who performed the autopsy removed the brain and kept it when he left Princeton. [Thomas] Harvey had permission from Einstein's estate and his son, Hans Albert, to conduct studies of the brain. Toward that end, he photographed and measured the brain and then cut it into 240 pieces of varying size for further study, but he published nothing of his findings. He did give a few sections of the brain to a few researchers, two of whom reported that Einstein had an unusual preponderance of certain brain cells, oligodendroglia, which support the brain's networks of neurons

In his life, [Albert Einstein] had submitted to brain studies and at least one biography says he hoped his brain would be studied after his death. When Einstein died in 1955, in Princeton, N.J., a pathologist who performed the autopsy removed the brain and kept it when he left Princeton. According to several journalistic accounts, the pathologist, Dr. Thomas Harvey, kept Einstein's brain in a jar and at one time it sat in a cardboard box that once held apple cider behind a beer cooler in his office in Kansas. [Sandra Witelson] began examining the photographs and measurements that Harvey had made of Einstein's brain from a number of different angles. Harvey also brought to Witelson's laboratory about 50 pieces, or a fifth of Einstein's brain, so she could also study them through a microscope. Because Einstein's brain was being compared with those of people who died at age 60 on average, and Einstein was 76 when he died, the scientists also compared his brain to the eight oldest members of the study. Their age averaged 70. Beyond the anomalies in Einstein's parietal lobe, there was no significant difference