Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
The Chemistry of Mercury
996 The Chemistry of Mercury
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr Norbert Herzog.
And I’m Dr. David Niesel
When Robert F. Kennedy Junior ordered at the end of July that the remaining uses of ethylmercury in vaccines be removed, it was political.
For years before President Trump appointed Kennedy cabinet head to oversee our nation’s top health agencies, he was a vaccine skeptic who blamed this form of mercury for autism.
Yet study after study has debunked this claim, so let’s get a short chemistry lesson to explain why. Ethylmercury is also known as thimerosal and, for years, was safely used to preserve some vaccines.
This is one of four forms of mercury. In its raw form, elemental mercury is one of two liquid elements and only becomes highly toxic in vapor form.
There are mercury salts, which are deadly neurotoxins and have no medical uses. The third form, methylmercury, is also toxic and accumulates in the body and the brain. It’s found in fresh and saltwater fish such as bass and tuna.
Finally, ethylmercury. Even though it sounds like methylmercury, its effect on the body is far different and safe. While ethylmercury can clear the body in days, methymercury takes months and accumulates in the body.
Yet, political pressure removed its use in vaccines over two decades ago, and now even the few exceptions are gone. Since then, autism numbers have continued to rise.
Kennedy’s new order again conflates the connection where none exists. Vaccines prevent deadly and harmful diseases, full stop. Talk with your doctor about which ones to get.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or listen to our podcast on your favorite podcast service.
