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Born on this Day Explained Mysteries
26 August 2014

Explained Mysteries

Charles Richet was a Parisian physiologist, who was born on this day in 1850. There scarcely seems an area of science – actually, life in general – that he didn’t delve into. His research roved between disciplines and interests, from hydrochloric acid in gastric juices to aviation, from heat regulation in mammals to spiritualism. But it was for his work on anaphylaxis that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1913. Anaphylaxis is a massive, life-threatening allergic reaction, which occurs when the immune system overreacts to an otherwise harmless substance – like a peanut. Richet injected poison from the Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish into dogs on two occasions. He found that dogs that survived the first injection without any distress, when given a second injection three weeks later, had a violent reaction and died within 25 minutes. His work explained a host of previously misunderstood cases of intoxication and sudden death.

Written by Nick Kennedy

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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