Technology and the Development of Modern Medicine
This paper examines key technological advances that transformed modern medicine during the 20th century. It traces the development of vaccination technology from early smallpox inoculations through live-attenuated and genetically engineered vaccines, highlighting how these innovations freed societies from once-common infectious diseases. The paper then discusses the discovery of sulfonamide drugs and penicillin, noting both their revolutionary impact on bacterial disease treatment and ongoing concerns about antibiotic resistance. Finally, it addresses the development of insulin as a life-saving therapy for diabetes. Throughout, the paper considers shifting public attitudes toward medical science, from mid-century confidence in vaccines to contemporary hesitancy, and reflects on the ethical dimensions of early clinical trials.
- Introduction: Technology and Modern Medicine: Overview of 20th-century shifts in medicine and patient care
- Vaccination and Immunization Technology: History of vaccine development from smallpox to HPV
- Development of Sulfonamide Drugs and Penicillin: Discovery of antibiotics and ongoing resistance challenges
- Insulin Development: Insulin's role in transforming diabetes from fatal to manageable
- Conclusion: Medical progress continues alongside new health challenges
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper organizes a broad historical topic into clearly defined thematic sections — vaccines, antibiotics, and insulin — making a complex subject accessible and easy to follow.
- It balances scientific detail (e.g., the role of L1 protein in HPV vaccine development) with social and cultural context (public fear of polio, vaccine hesitancy), giving the argument depth beyond a simple chronology.
- The use of a specific, relatable historical figure — President Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralysis from polio — effectively grounds an abstract public health issue in human experience.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective synthesis of primary scholarly sources (Plotkin, Gaynes, Quianzon) with journalistic sources (Palca, Earl) to construct a coherent historical narrative. Rather than simply summarizing each source, the author weaves them together to support a running argument about the relationship between technological progress, public trust, and evolving medical ethics.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing introduction connecting historical developments to current events (COVID-19). Three body sections each address a distinct medical breakthrough in roughly chronological order. A short conclusion within the insulin section reflects on the broader pattern of medical progress generating new challenges. The Works Cited list follows MLA format. Total length is concise but substantive, appropriate for an undergraduate survey essay.
Introduction: Technology and Modern Medicine
The 20th century saw a seismic change in the perception of the human body and in the relationship of patients to physicians and other aspects of modern medicine. With the recent coronavirus pandemic, the focus on technology and medical developments has become a matter of global importance. Vaccines and innovative drugs were not solely innovations of the past century, but the extent to which they have been proven safe and effective is relatively new. The relationship between providers and patients has likewise changed, as have expectations about treatment.
Vaccination and Immunization Technology
Infectious disease was once an accepted part of modern life. The first smallpox vaccines were developed as early as the late 18th century, though the safety of vaccines could not always be guaranteed. Inactivation of bacteria via heat or chemical treatment to confer immunity was developed by the very end of the 19th century (Plotkin 12284). In the 20th century, however, the generation of technology that would allow widespread, safe administration of vaccines became popularized, freeing generations from the fear and threat of illness as a childhood rite of passage.
Purified protein vaccines were developed as early as the 1920s (Plotkin 12285). "By the 1940s, virologists understood that [live] attenuation could be achieved by passage in abnormal hosts," and both the rabies and oral polio vaccines were developed in chicken embryos and mice (Plotkin 12284). The live attenuated oral polio vaccine was licensed in 1963, with measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines following shortly after in the 1960s (Plotkin 12284). The 20th century also saw the development of live, inactivated viral vaccines, such as the influenza vaccine (Plotkin 12284). Most influenza vaccines are grown in embryonic eggs. However, "Influenza HA has been produced in insect cells and induces antibodies without the risk of allergy to egg proteins" through the use of genetic engineering, and the development of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was made possible "because of the properties of the L1 protein of the virus"; "L1 is produced in yeast or insect cells, and the VLPs produced there form the basis of the current vaccines" (Plotkin 12285).
The development of these vaccines freed modern society, until recently, from the fears of infection in crowded areas. Even as recently as the 1990s, certain illnesses such as chickenpox were considered childhood rites of passage. The knowledge that contracting the illness conveyed immunity provided some comfort, although the diseases could cause debilitating effects lasting the individual's entire lifetime. A vivid example is polio — an illness so debilitating and common that even President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had suffered from the condition as a young man and was partially paralyzed as a result (Palca).
In the 1950s, when the first polio vaccines were being developed, confidence in science was at a new high. In contrast to current anxieties about vaccines, there was a widespread public call to invest money and time into defeating a disease that had become, by the end of World War II, synonymous with closed swimming pools and the careful monitoring of children during summer months (Palca). In one notable scandal during the early development of the vaccine, the Cutter Laboratories' manufacturing process did not fully inactivate the virus, and children actually contracted polio (Palca). During the early vaccine trials, a number of children in the control group received a placebo (Palca). Many of the ethical and scientific practices employed during the development of the vaccine would not be considered acceptable today.
Fear of polio was so great, however, that when the vaccine was rolled out, compliance was widespread. This stands in stark contrast to today, when memories of the virulence of infectious diseases have faded and parents often express concerns about impurities or toxins in vaccines, or fear side effects more than the diseases the vaccines are designed to prevent. Whether vaccine resistance and hesitancy in the online age will persist — despite the proven threat of coronavirus — remains to be seen.
Conclusion
Palca, Joe. "The Race For A Polio Vaccine Differed From The Quest To Prevent Coronavirus." NPR. May 22, 2020. Web. December 20, 2020. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/22/860789014/the-race-for-a-polio-vaccine-differed-from-the-quest-to-prevent-coronavirus
Plotkin, Stanley. "History of Vaccination." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 111, 34 (2014): 12283–7. Web. December 20, 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4151719/pdf/pnas.201400472.pdf
Quianzon, Celeste C., and Issam Cheikh. "History of Insulin." Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives vol. 2, 2. July 16, 2012. Web. December 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714061/
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