Raadium And Polonium: New Medical Theories

The discoveries of radioactivity, radium, and polonium offered new medical theories to improve the quality of living in society. After studying radium and polonium, Alexander Graham Bell observed that the two elements might help in treating tumors and other forms of cancer. Based on Bell’s theory that radium and polonium might aid in therapeutic methods, physicians began testing the effects of the new elements in humans. Pioneering the experiments on human subjects in the field of nuclear medicine, Frederick Proescher used the knowledge from his predecessors to advance the medical use of radioactive materials. Changing the way that science understood the evolving field of nuclear medicine, Proescher became one of the first scientists to use radium for medical purposes. The medical experiments with radium allowed science to change society as the element aided in treating illnesses. Testing the radium on individuals with arthritis, Proescher found that the subjects with the lowest amount of radium handled the treatments better.
Discussing the uses for radium with his …show more content…
Both the private and government funding played a significant role in research, which aided in the development of nuclear medicine. In an attempt to solve a hypothesis or cure to an illness that afflicted society, the early research funded for nuclear medicine resulted from personal motives. Funding in nuclear medicine provided by universities, estates, and other institutions caused research to remain on an undeveloped private level. Offering a change through the study of nuclear medicine, the studies of radioactive substances by George de Hevesy lead to improvements, his research remained private and unknown to only a few physicists in the field. Supported by the University of California, the study by Ernest and John Lawrence gained the attention of the