/oss/taxonomy/term/2380/all en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-history/white-lie-heart-vaccine-history <p>Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Dr. Edward Jenner invented vaccines because of an observation he and he alone made. You see, milkmaids were renowned for their beauty. At a time when smallpox was endemic and was scarring the faces of the people who survived it, Jenner noticed that milkmaids would always escape from this dermatological blight. Why was that?</p> Fri, 09 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9539 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/measles-plague-ruined-rome <p><span>Rome wasn’t built in a day, but from 165-180 CE, up to 2,000 of its citizens were killed per day.</span></p> <p><span>The </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonine_Plague">Antonine Plague</a>, also known as the Plague of Galen (after the doctor who described it), decimated the Roman Empire. It was brought to Rome by armies returning from western Asia, causing fevers, skin sores, diarrhea and sore throats.</p> Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:08:44 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7150 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health-history/smallpox <p>Ali Maow of Somalia has the distinction of being the world’s last recorded victim of smallpox, a disease he acquired in 1977.  For the first time ever, through a program of vaccination and quarantines, health authorities have succeeded in eradicating a disease from the world.  A sample of the smallpox virus is still kept under tight security by both the American and Russian governments for potential research purposes, but chances are that the curse “may the pox be on you” will be an idle one.</p> Sat, 20 May 2017 22:45:26 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2457 at /oss