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110 UNIT 6 1. Translate the text. The Greatest Discoveries in Medicine Here are some of the greatest discoveries in medicine of all time, showing how some medical breakthroughs have revolutionized the world: • Vaccination. The frst successful vaccine was introduced by English physician Edward Jenner in 1796. He found that by deliberately infecting people with cowpox (a disease of cows) he could prevent them from catching smallpox, a serious human disease, and that this was safer than inoculation with smallpox, which had been done previously. • Germ Theory. The germ theory states that some diseases are caused by microorganisms. The theory was proved by French chemist Louis Pasteur in the 1860s. In the following decades, German scientist Robert Koch developed Pasteur’s work and formulated four postulates to establish a causal relationship between a causative agent and a disease. • X‑ray. German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen is the discoverer of X‑ray which is considered one of the most important discoveries of all- time. X‑ray allows us to see inside the human body, without having to perform dangerous surgeries. With the use of the X‑ray in medicine, scientists have been able to fin the causes of many diseases, and how to treat them. • Vitamins. The study of vitamins and their role in cellular health began in the 19 th century and continued into the 1900s. In 1881 Russian scientist Nikolai Lunin concluded that foods contain small quantities of unknown substances that are essential for good health. In 1912 Polish biochemist Casimir Funk isolated a complex of micronutrients and called it «vitamine» (from «vital» and «amine»), but later the word was shortened to «vitamin». One of the frst vitamins to be discovered was vitamin A. • Insulin. In the 1920s, Canadian researcher Frederick Banting and his colleagues discovered the hormone insulin, which helps balance blood sugar levels in diabetes patients and allows them to live normal lives. Before insulin, diabetes meant a slow and certain death. • Penicillin. The discovery of penicillin (the frst antibiotic) byAlexander Fleming in 1928 can be considered to be one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of medicine. Prior to the discovery of penicillin, death could occur from minor wounds that became infected or from diseases such as strep throat. Then during World War II, penicillin became available. Infections that had frequently caused death became cured after a few days.