Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers at Anti Essays

Jonas Salk From the beginning of mankind, man has looked for cures of illness. Jonas Salk found a cure for one of the worst illnesses in the history of man, polio. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was a great discovery of his time, and it is still being used today to eradicate polio worldwide. Dr. Salk is also known for other medical discoveries. He was a quiet man who lived a rough childhood. He was not looking for fame, instead, it found him. During the time before the vaccine, many people, mostly parents with young children, were very scared. Dr. Salk's vaccine was a great relief to everyone. Yet, today polio is still affecting people, even after receiving the vaccine. Just as polio is still around today, so is the flu virus. Dr. Salk did invent a flu vaccine to help in keeping the flu virus at a low. At this time, Jonas Salk is working on a vaccine for the most feared disease of today, AIDS. Jonas Edward Salk was born to Polish-Jewish immigrants, Daniel B. and Dora Salk, on October 28, 1914. Dr. Salk was born in upper Manhattan, but then moved to the Bronx where he went to school. "His first spoken words were, 'Dirt, dirt,' instead of the conventional, uninspired 'No, no' or 'Momma.' He was a responsive child." Dr. Salk was "raised on the verge of poverty." Although his family was poor, he did do exceptionally well in all the levels of education. He graduated from Townsend Harris High School in 1929 and then went on to the College of the City of New York where he received his B.S. in 1934. He finally earned his M.D. degree in June of 1939 from the New York University College of Medicine. Jonas Salk was "a somewhat withdrawn and indistinct figure" but was always reading whatever he could lay his hands on. Dr. Salk went on to intern for two years at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. He then moved on to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as a research professor in the Department of Epidemology. It was here that he found a vaccine for influenza, commonly called...