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Top 5 Modern Pioneering scientific discoveries
Scotland has long been known for many important scientific discoveries of the past. But did you know that some of the most prominent discoveries of the past 30 years that have changed the lives of millions, and which you may have experienced yourself, were pioneered in Scotland?
Dolly the Sheep
'Guardian angel' P53 cancer suppressor gene
Keyhole surgery
MRI Scan
Medical Ultrasound
Dolly was the world's first cloned mammal and first celebrity sheep. In 1995 a group of scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh were looking for a way to genetically modify farm animals. Dolly was born on 5 July 1996, although the world didn't find out about her until the following year. She was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, rather than an embryo, and her birth, although controversial, was of huge excitement, both to the scientific world and to the public.
'Guardian angel' P53 cancer suppressor gene
In 1979 Professor Sir David Lane discovered the 'guardian angel' P53 cancer suppressor gene, which plays a central role in preventing cancer. It's called the guardian angel because it is believed to prevent cells becoming cancerous.
One the world's 'superstars of biomedicine', Professor Lane is Director of the Cancer Research UK Cell Transformation Research Group and Professor of Oncology at the University of Dundee, where his group is discovering new ways to control p53. He is also First Chief Scientist for Cancer Research UK, founder and chief Executive of Cyclacel.
Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri pioneered keyhole surgery while working at Dundee University medical school at Ninewells Hospital in 1980. Keyhole surgery could be performed due to the development of very small but clear cameras, allowing surgeons to see inside the body. The thin telescopic rod lit with a fibre-optic cable and connected to a tiny camera sends images of the area being operated on to a monitor. This first successful operation using keyhole surgery was the removal of a gallbladder.
The eminent surgeon, Prof Cuschieri spent more than 30 years at the University of Dundee as Professor of Surgery and Head of Department of Surgery and Molecular Oncology from 1976–2003 before setting up the Institute of Medical Science and Technology at the University of Dundee and St Andrews.
Prof John Mallard developed the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner in the 1980s and brought its wide spread use to the medical profession. Using a combination of magnetism and radio frequency waves, MRI scanners provide information about the body. The patient lies inside a large cylindrical magnet and extremely strong radio waves are then sent through the body. It provides very detailed pictures, so is particularly useful for finding tumours in the brain but can also identify conditions such as multiple sclerosis and the extent of damage after a stroke.
This development which has sine swept the world, was pioneered in the 1960s by Professor Ian Donald at the Department of Midwifery at the University of Glasgow. It uses sound waves to display images of the inside the body. Although not invented by Professor Donald, he was the first to apply ultrasound to the areas of obstetrics and gynaecology. This allowed pregnant woman to view their baby in the womb and doctors to monitor its growth. Following the successes of Professor Donald's group, other researchers world-wide began applying ultrasound in obstetrics and gynaecology.
Related links
Roslin Institute
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