Bernice Eddy
Discovered polyomavirus, specifically the SV40 strain
SV40
- Bernice Eddy studied how rhesus monkey livers reacted to polio vaccines and found that they began killing the cells.
- She tested the vaccine on hamsters as well and discovered it formed tumors in cell tissue.
- In 1962, she published a scientific journal about her findings on SV40.
- Her conclusion allowed other scientists to determine how SV40 causes cancer in human cells.
- SV40 was declared a 2A carcinogen in 1999.
- Recently, experiments have revealed that SV40 resists chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
- Advocates of the polio vaccine disregarded Eddy's experiment and let it go public. Eddy protested this in New York at a cancer conference. Her efforts were for naught and she ended up losing her laboratory. She warned of an increase of cancer cases in the future.
Accomplishments
SV40
A virus that attacks DNA and was connected to polio vaccines in the 1950s. It affected more children than adults.
Sarah Stewart
Worked together on the cancerous effects of SV40 in the polio vaccines.
Rhesus Monkeys
Eddy tested five different brands of polio vaccines on rhesus monkeys and discovered it created symptoms similar to polio and, in severe cases, paralysis.
Works Cited
"Dr. Bernice E. Eddy." Dr. Bernice E. Eddy. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.
Horwin, Michael E. "SV40-Cancer-Polio Vaccine Link." SV40-Cancer-Polio Vaccine Link. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.