Science Common Sense
1634 - What are the relevant experiments in the discovery process of growth hormone from the perspective of the history of science?
Imagine you're about to learn a cool story about how scientists discovered a special helper in our body called growth hormone.
There were a few key experiments that led to the discovery of growth hormone. Here are the most important ones:
William Osler's observations (1892): A scientist named William Osler noticed that children who had a special kind of tumor (called a pituitary tumor) were abnormally short. This made scientists wonder if there was something in the pituitary gland (a small gland in the brain) that helped us grow.
Dr. Antoine Magnani's frog experiment (1907): A scientist named Dr. Antoine Magnani found that when he gave a frog an extract from a cow's pituitary gland, the frog started to grow. This was a big clue that there was something special in the pituitary gland that made animals grow.
Houssay and Evans' experiments (1920s-1930s): Two scientists, Dr. Bernardo Houssay and Dr. Herbert Evans, did experiments that showed that the pituitary gland was responsible for controlling growth. They found that when they removed the pituitary gland from animals, they stopped growing. But when they gave those animals a special extract from the pituitary gland, they started growing again.
The isolation of growth hormone (1940s-1950s): Finally, scientists were able to extract and purify the substance from the pituitary gland that made animals grow. They called it growth hormone (GH).
These experiments, along with many others, helped scientists understand the importance of growth hormone in our bodies. Growth hormone helps us grow during childhood and also plays a role in keeping our bodies healthy throughout our lives.