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- Member of: Embryo Project Encyclopedia
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On 7 June 1965, in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the United States Supreme Court decided, in a seven to two decision, that married couples have the right to purchase and usecontraceptiveswithout government restriction. The case considered the constitutionality of a Connecticut state statute from 1879 that prohibited the sale or use of any contraceptive device or medication. In 1961, Estelle Griswold, an executive director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, hereafter PPLC, and physician Charles Lee Buxton were convicted for selling contraceptives at a pregnancy clinic they opened in New Haven, Connecticut, in violation of state law. Griswold and Buxton challenged the constitutionality of the Connecticut law, claiming it violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that the state government cannot infringe upon rights of citizens without a fair process, such as a trial.Griswold v. Connecticuthelped establish an inferred right to privacy within the amendments of the US constitution, granting the right of married couples to access contraceptives and setting the foundation for future cases involving contraception, abortion, anti-sodomy laws, and marriage.
ContributorsRoss,Nathaniel (Author) / Shah, Devangana (Editor)
Created2024-06-05
Description
Henry Hubert Turner was a physician and researcher who studied hormones and human development in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during the twentieth century. He was one of the first people to classify Turner syndrome, which is a genetic condition that occurs when someone has a specific atypical chromosomal pattern, and as of 2024, affects one in 1,500 to 2,500 female births. Turner syndrome results in a biological female completely or partially missing one of their X chromosomes. Many researchers label it an intersex condition, or a condition in which someone has atypical male or female sex characteristics, such as different sex chromosome patterns. During his career, Turner encountered multiple patients with a specific set of symptoms, including stunted sexual development, webbed neck, and elbow deformities, and he was unable to place those symptoms under one existing diagnosis. So, he categorized those symptoms as a new syndrome, which researchers later named Turner syndrome. By identifying Turner syndrome as a developmental condition, Turner helped future physicians develop treatments and diagnostic tools that can improve the lives of individuals with various developmental disorders.
ContributorsPillai,Megha (Author) / Nichols,Cole (Editor)
Created2024-06-06
Description
The DTaP vaccination series is an FDA-approved, five-shot vaccine for young children in the United States for protection against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. DTaP stands for diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis, which are all common childhood diseases. In the US, Daptacel and Infanrix are the two types of DTaP vaccines, whereas other countries offer other variations. Both Daptacel and Infanrix consist of five shots that stimulate the immune system to protect a child against those diseases. Children vaccinated with DTaP may still end up getting one of the diseases, but they often present with milder symptoms than if they were not vaccinated. The general vaccination schedule for the five shot series is two months, four months, six months, fifteen to eighteen months, and four to six years of age. DTaP vaccination fully protects nine out of ten children against acquiring disease, contributing to a downward trend in diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis cases in developing children in the US.
ContributorsZhou,Maggie (Author) / Nichols, Cole (Editor)
Created2024-06-21
"Anatomy of the Clitoris" (2005) by Helen E. O'Connell, Kalavampara V. Sanjeevan, and John M. Hutson
Description
In 2005, Helen O'Connell and colleagues published "Anatomy of the Clitoris," a review article, in The Journal of Urology. The article was one of the first to provide a complete anatomical description of the clitoris, which is the organ involved in female sexual pleasure. In addition, O'Connell and her team relay that researchers have historically misunderstood and misrepresented the anatomy of the clitoris. They point out that even though researchers began accurately describing the anatomy of the clitoris in the 1840s, most anatomy textbooks in 2005 still omitted or inaccurately described the structure. The team argues that those omissions not only hinder surgeons' ability to perform surgery on the clitoris but also reflect a dominant culture of misvaluing the female body. "Anatomy of the Clitoris" helps correct historical misconceptions about clitoral anatomy and promotes accurate representation of female anatomy in educational textbooks and academic settings.
ContributorsEdwards, Baylee A. (Author) / Pillai, Megha (Editor)
Created2023-11-13
Description
In 1998, urologists Marc Goldstein, Philip Shihua Li, and Gerald J. Matthews published "Microsurgical Vasovasostomy: The Microdot Technique of Precision Suture Placement" hereafter "The Microdot Technique," in The Journal of Urology. The authors describe a novel technique for reversing a vasectomy, which blocks a patient's flow of sperm, preventing the patient from fertilizing a partner's egg. The technique relies on the placement of microscopic dots to guide the placement of the stitches that reconnect the vasa deferentia, which is a part of the male reproductive system. The authors, working from the Center for Male Reproduction and Microsurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, New York, published the article to instruct surgeons on how to properly employ the surgical technique and provide data to indicate the technique's effectiveness. Through the publication of "The Microdot Technique," Goldstein, Li, and Matthews provide guidelines to conduct a more successful and accurate method of a vasovasostomy.
ContributorsNichols,Cole (Author) / Pillai, Megha (Editor)
Created2023-11-21
Description
Smile Train is a non-profit organization that Brian Mullaney and Charles Wang founded in 1999 in New York City, New York, that provides resources and trains medical staff in over ninety countries to give free surgeries to children in need of cleft repair. Clefts are birth defects that affect one in 700 children all over the world. They occur when the roof of the mouth, or palate, the lip, or both have a gap or split, because the tissues and bones did not fuse properly during fetal development. Surgeons typically repair clefts within the first year of life because clefts can often cause problems with eating, speaking, breathing, and hearing. Beyond providing cleft surgeries, Smile Train also supports the needs of children with clefts with services such as speech therapy, dental care, and psychological and nutritional support. Smile Train helps provide better access to cleft surgery and care for thousands of children worldwide, which improves the quality of life for people born with the developmental condition.
ContributorsRauch,Grace (Author) / Pillai, Megha (Editor)
Created2024-02-06
Description
In May 2017, Alice Lee, Fiona E. Gibbon, and Kimberley Spivey published "Children's Attitudes Toward Peers With Unintelligible Speech Associated With Cleft Lip and/or Palate," hereafter "Children's Attitudes," in The Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal. About one in every 1600 babies in the US is born with both cleft lip and cleft palate, which are birth defects that can also occur independently. Those birth defects occur when the lip or roof of the mouth, also called the palate, do not fully develop during pregnancy. The condition often results in speech difficulties, even after children undergo surgery to repair their cleft palate. "Children's Attitudes" was one of the first articles investigating how different age groups of children judged their peers with speech difficulties who had undergone a cleft palate repair surgery. The authors found that peers' attitudes towards speech problems tended to be negative. "Children's Attitudes" concludes that judgment from peers can negatively affect children with speech difficulties and argues that increased public awareness of speech difficulties may reduce barriers that children with those difficulties face.
ContributorsRauch,Grace (Author) / Pillai, Megha (Editor)
Created2024-04-16
Description
Gertrude Belle Elion was a twentieth-century scientist in the US who researched the structure of viral DNA to help develop anti-viral medications. In the 1970s, Elion helped to develop acyclovir, an early anti-viral medication, alongside a team of other researchers. For her work on drug development, Elion was a co-recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, even though she lacked a PhD or MD. Acyclovir was one of the first selective medications to effectively treat herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, or HSV-1 and HSV-2. Those are common viruses that can be transmitted via close contact or sexual intercourse, and cause sores on the mouth and genitals. The medications that Elion helped develop were also some of the first to specifically inhibit the replication of viral DNA. By creating medications like acyclovir based on her knowledge of chemistry and biology, rather than through trial and error, Elion helped create a new model for drug development, in addition to making an effective treatment forherpes, which afflicts billions of people globally, and can cause life-threatening illness in infants.
ContributorsAndersun,Eboni E. (Author) / Pillai, Megha (Editor)
Created2024-05-23