Word: hemoglobin
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Stanford University and Dr. Robert Nalbandian of Blodgett Memorial Hospital in Grand Rapids, announced their success after three years of experiments. They emphasized that they had built on the pioneering studies of Makio Murayama of the National Institutes of Health. Murayama observed that abnormal cells, which carry sickle-producing hemoglobin S, gel at normal body temperature when oxygen content is reduced, then return to normal...
Working in cooperation with other researchers, Wolf and Nalbandian discovered chemicals that would react to hemoglobin S and other less harmful sickling substances, making a quick screening test possible. A small blood sample is dropped into a tube containing a solution of potassium phosphate, sodium dithionite and saponin. Clouding of the solution is a danger signal but does not specifically identify hemoglobin S. If the first round arouses suspicion, a second test, also based on Murayama's work, is performed immediately. Urea, a natural waste substance produced by the normal liver, breaks some molecular bonds in abnormal hemoglobin. When...
...carry the sickle-cell trait and those actually affected by the disease. But they do provide a fast, inexpensive method of finding individuals who should get further attention. In an experimental program at Fort Knox, Ky., doctors tested 7,000 black soldiers, 94 of whom were found to carry hemoglobin S. Two of these soldiers actually had sickle-cell anemia...
...existence of other more complex organic compounds such as amino acids-the basic building blocks of proteins-and porphyrins-related to hemoglobin, chlorophyll and some vitamins-is still open to debate. If these compounds exist, they are extremely rare and difficult to detect. This means contamination by terrestrial compounds is a real problem. Such contamination could occur if the sample containers leak, if the chemicals used in the test techniques are not absolutely pure, or if the rocket fuel burning produced complex organic contaminants...
Cautious Encouragement. The Michigan team, led by Dr. Robert Nalbandian of Blodgett Memorial Hospital in Grand Rapids, owes its discovery to the work of another researcher, Makio Murayama of the National Institutes of Health. Murayama discovered that the sickle-cell shape is caused by an abnormal bonding between hemoglobin molecules in the red cells. Using this knowledge, Nalbandian's team decided to try urea, a waste substance produced by the normal human liver and excreted in the urine. As they knew, urea can dissolve certain types of molecular bonds. Their experiment worked: urea broke the bond between the hemoglobin...