Medicine from Mustard

August 2014 will mark one hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War. July 1917 saw the introduction of a sinister and vicious weapon, mustard gas. Primarily it was used not to kill – though it was fatal in high enough doses – but to induce pain and suffering in an attempt to exhaust medical supplies. Victims endured blisters, blindness, vomiting and choking to death as the gas stripped bronchial tubes of the mucous membrane. Doctors noticed that those not instantly killed by the gas died weeks later with depleted bone marrow and white blood cells [immune cells]. This was the first time that they’d seen any chemical attack specific cells. Scientists theorised that perhaps another chemical could kill only cancer cells. Thus began the development of chemotherapy. Who’d have thought that a poison designed a century ago to maim and slaughter would provide a clue to eradicating cancer?

Written by Rebekah Kells

Rebekah Kells

Writer

At the University of Edinburgh, Rebekah is an MRC-funded PhD student, Focus Editor of EU:Sci magazine and a STEM ambassador. Keen to engage anyone in science, she enjoys volunteering and designing activities for the Science Festival.

• Adapted from image from Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine
• Science Photo Library
• Any re-use of this image must be authorised by Science Photo Library