/oss/taxonomy/term/6142/all en /oss/article/medical-history/hundred-years-ago-life-changed-diabetics <p>November 26th marks the 100th anniversary of a splendid dinner held at the University of Toronto to recognize perhaps the greatest Canadian achievement in science. A few weeks earlier, the Nobel committee had announced the awarding of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine to Drs. Frederick Banting and John Macleod of the University of Toronto for their discovery of insulin.  </p> Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:54:28 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9737 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/first-canadian-nobel-prize <p>As we approach the week during which the 2023 Nobel Prizes will be announced (October 2-9, 2023), it is perhaps timely to consider the events that surrounded the first Nobel Prize awarded to a Canadian. Exactly 100 years ago, Frederik G. Banting and John R.R. Macleod, were awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of insulin” at the University of Toronto.</p> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:40:37 +0000 Patricia Brubaker, Ph.D., F.R.S.C. 9667 at /oss /oss/article/history/learning-movies <p>Both groups struggled with the same problem. How to extract and purify a chemical that is part of a complex mixture? For researchers led by Dr. Frederick Banting at the University of Toronto in 1921 that chemical was insulin, while in the late 1930s at Oxford University for Drs. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain the target was penicillin. Both teams eventually solved the problem, but the paths leading to success were anything but smooth, as can be seen by anyone willing to delve into the extensive popular and scientific literature describing the discoveries.</p> Fri, 18 Mar 2022 18:14:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9053 at /oss