Is there no hope of doing perfect research?
Not only is there hope of doing perfect research, but also, an abundance of proof that perfect research does exist.
Why research? Think about it! If it were not for the brilliant minds behind research the world as we know it would be non-existent.
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a world void of research. What do you see? The answer is simple, nothing, only darkness.
Open your eyes and realize it is research that is responsible for bringing man through the darkness into the light. Without research the existence of man, as we know it, would not be possible.
If there is truly no hope of doing perfect research we need to cut off the electricity, throw away our cell phones, dismantle our vehicles, and never have a medical or dental check up again.
Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? No more so than the naysayers that profess there is no hope for perfect research based on the fact that research can have two opposing views on the same topic.
To the contrary opposing views and fact based informational data are the essence of perfect research.
Perhaps no better example of this can be found than in the field of medical or scientific research.
In the quest for resolve researchers of the scientific community spend hours, months, or even decades conducting experiments and compiling and analyzing informational data that will and has been credited with the cure or even eradication of dreaded disease.
THE POLIO VACCINE
In 1947 a medical researcher in the field of immunology, Dr. Jonas Salk, began research to develop a vaccine that would bring poliovirus to its knees. After five years of dedicated research, the fruits of his labor were successful in developing the vaccine that would lead to the eradication of polio in all of the Americas. (Maybury Okonek and Morgtanstein)
In 1954 the Salk vaccine became the subject of rigorously controlled testing throughout the United States and Canada. The test results transformed the hope for doing perfect research into perfect research responsible for reducing the bright light of the wrath of polio into nothing more than the flicker of a candle in the wind. (Maybury Okonek and Morgtanstein)
The year 1955 can best be described as the year of the child. It was in this year approval was granted to begin the process of vaccinating the children of the U.S.A. with the killed Salk vaccine. (Maybury Okonek and Morgtanstein)
In 1957 the U.S.A. would once again be blessed when Albert Bruce Sabin began testing a live, oral form of the polio vaccine. The results of his efforts led to the use of the oral vaccine in 1963. (Maybury Okonek and Morgtanstein)
Eradication of Polio. The year 1994 brought with it the eradication of polio in all of the Americas. (Maybury Okonek and Morgtanstein)
SMALLPOX
The history of the epidemiology of smallpox teaches us that this highly infectious disease is a pandemic because it touched virtually every region of the world with the exception of Australia. (Brannon)
The war between the Egyptians and Hittites in 1350 BC marks the first recorded epidemic of smallpox. (Brannon)
Research by observation and experimentation credits Dr. Edward Jenner as successfully creating a vaccine that was used to inoculate 100,000 people worldwide. (Brannon)
The onset of Dr. Jenner’s research began in 1796 when he noticed persons who were afflicted with cowpox did not suffer any effects of smallpox. (Brannon)
Utilizing the fluid he extracted from a cowpox pustule on the hand of an afflicted person as a vaccine, Dr. Jenner inoculated a healthy child with the fluid. A month and a half later he exposed the child to smallpox. The child remained healthy. (Brannon)
Dryvax, the vaccine licensed by the FDA, is the vaccine responsible for leading us to eradication of smallpox. (Brannon)
Eradication of Smallpox. Smallpox has been eradicated. On May 8, 1980 the World Health Assembly declared the world to be free of smallpox. (Brannon)
Bonnie A. Maybury Okonek and Linda Morgtanstein, editor. “Development of Polio Vaccines.” AccessExcellence.org. Web. 21 August 2011
Heather Brannon, MD. “The History of Smallpox.” About.com. Web. 21 August 2011