Biography of Gregory Pincus (1903-1967)

Gregory Pincus

Gregory Pincus was born 1903 in Woodbine, New Jersey, the son of Russian-Jewish hybrid. He graduated from Cornell in 1924, and received a doctorate from Harvard in 1927. After that he was involved in the investigation work at various institutions, including Harvard and Cambridge and became a professor at Clark for several years. In 1944 he helped Worcester Foundation for biological investigation, and for years after that the lead laboratory. He was the author of more than 250 scientific papers as well as a book The Conquest of Fertility, about the conquest of fertility, published in 1965.


Contraceptive pill, and the American biologist Gregory Pincus held an important roll in this matter. The pills had two terms of importance. In a world desperate to see the danger rapid population growth, a pill that serves as a deterrent. Although less direct, but no less revolutionary, the pill has caused in terms of changes in sexual desire. Never mind that the more widely known than fifteen years, or about that time, there has been a "revolution" in the attitude of gender relations in the United States. There is no doubt, many political factors, economic and social revolution that has affected, but the main factor because it is clear that the biggest pill. At first, fear of bunting that was not expected, a factor that affects many women in terms of having sex before marriage, or even after marriage. Suddenly, the woman presented with a chance of having sexual relations without fear of being so pregnant. By itself, this condition brings a change in attitude and behavior of both parties.

There may be objections to the development of "Enovid" (the first pill deterrent bunting) that it is not as important as people think, because the prevention of pregnancy has been known before. The argument was put aside difference between contraceptive methods and effective techniques that are psychologically acceptable. Before any development of the pill, contraception is recommended by most experts is "diaphragm." Indeed, the diaphragm is safe and reliable, but practice the majority of women are lazy to use it. Quite surprisingly, when the pill for the first time try, thousands of women ready to take the risk of taking a way that has not been tried (and may contain hazards) to prevent pregnant instead of "diaphragm" is clearly evident that safe.

And could also consider the development of "Enovid" is not a victory that really impressive because of swallowing a pill related risks to health and may in time soon in the future the method will be replaced by the pill newer ways and through a tool or a drug more sip. But, naturally, the future method of contraception will only give little improvement because the pill is widely accepted and has been satisfying the parties concerned. (Notably, the period over fifteen years - a period of millions of ordinary Americans to swallow the pill regularly - their passions rise substantially. This fact alone shows that the pill is not the main source of health problems). History will and must record the development of "Enovid" in the 1950's a battering ram an intricate method of birth control that.

Many people have contributed to his mind for the development of the contraceptive pill is ingested through the mouth. Indeed, this issue has become the subject of conversation for a long time; difficulty is that nobody knows exactly what chemical elements that must be put into a pill. Interestingly, the key findings has been discovered since 1937. In that year. A.W. Makepeace, G.L. Weinstein, and M.H. Friedman has been demonstrated that injection of "progesterone" (one of the female sex hormone) can prevent fertilization in animals in the laboratory. But, perhaps because of the injection under the skin is not attractive situation for ways of preventing pregnancy, or perhaps because "progesterone" as it is expensive chemicals, the discovery did not attract much public attention. Not encouraging.

The main development of the new pill began around 1950 when a U.S. biologist, Gregory Pincus, began working on this issue. Clearly, the Margaret Sanger, a longtime advocate of birth control that gives encouragement to Pincus. He will be hard to pick a better person than Gregory Pincus, because Pincus experts in the field of "steroid metabolism" and in the field of reproductive physiology of ruminants beings and also the laboratory director of the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, biology laboratory experiments.

Clearly,


Pincus had combined with his extraordinary technical skill and scientific instincts, able to solve the problems outlined by the deft. Soon he got the assistant Dr. Min-Chueh Chang, an investigator at the Worcester Foundation, conducting experiments "progesterone" on laboratory animals, to see whether it can suppress the fertilization despite being swallowed by mouth. Chang was a successful experiment. This is truly a promising start, especially from the point of the fact that several years before a chemist named Russell Marker had found a way to make a "progesterone" synthetic a cheaper price.

Other contributors are Dr mind. John Rock, who at the instigation of a gyneacolog Pincus conduct experiments. These experiments show that the "progesterone" that is swallowed to prevent conception in women. However, investigations Rock also solves two serious difficulties due to the use of "progesterone" as a contraceptive that is swallowed. First, just hit about 85% fertilization. Second, the dose required is not worth the amount to overcome that.

But Pincus, is convinced that he is on the right track, ready to fill them. He realized, there must be other parts that are chemically similar to "progesterone" but without any constraints. In December 1953 he asked various chemical companies to send examples of "steroids" they produsir synthetic, chemically similar to the "progesterone." Pincus tries chemicals are received, and one thereof "norethynodrel" homemade GD Searle was effective.

This is a favorable solution for Pincus, because when he began his investigations, since 1950, norethynodrel did not even exist! It was synthesized in 1952 by Dr. Frank B. Colton, a biochemist who worked at Searle laboratories, and then patented in his name. But, either Colton or his supervisor at GD Searle does not intend to try to create contraceptive devices that are swallowed, not even when they realize that they actually managed to make it.

Subsequent experiments were carried out by groups of investigators that have been compiled by Pincus pointed out that "norethynodrel" could still be more effective when coupled with a slight mixture of chemicals called "mestranol." Drug combination is then thrown into the market by GD Searle and his company called "Enovid."

By the year 1955 Pincus can smell that the time has come to conduct experiments on a large-scale pill. The experiment began in April 1956, the city of San Yuan, Puerto Rico, under the supervision of Dr. Edris Rice-Wray. Within nine months, the experiment showed how great contraceptive pill to swallow. However, the trial continued again until three years before the "Food and Drug Administration" (a sort of official oversight of food and drugs) approved the marketing of "Enovid" in May 1960.

It is clear that the victory of Gregory Pincus developed the Pill is not alone. Frank Colton is actually creating a "norethynodrel"; clear, Colton and various chemists who paved the way for the results of his work is worth his services taken into account. So did a lot of people working together in groups Pincus, including John Rock, Min-Chueh Chang, and Dr. Celso-Ramon Garcia was not able to put aside all thoughts donations. For that matter, that, Dr. Edris Rice-Wray, Margaret Sanger, and many more that I could not call, they each hold a role in the overall work. But, apparently can not doubt that Gregory Pincus is the most significant figures and the main driving force of the entire project. He was a scientist who decided to devote all my time and effort in the struggle for the investigation of contraceptives by mouth: he is a person who had the scientific and organization that enable the success of the project; he examines the basic ideas, seek funding for the cost of the investigation, and invite talented people work together on projects. He had a vision and certainty and encourage projects to be completed neatly, and it was he who received a major award of this great work.