Has anyone seen the Google Doodle from yesterday?
This is the Google doodle which was celebrating a female scientist named Lucy Wills. Lucy Wills was an English haematologist who was born 131 years ago, on the 10th of May. Haematology is the science of blood and a haematologist is a scientist who researches or works in that medical science. And Lucy Wills was a really important haematologist who conducted research, in the late 1920s, into women's health during pregnancy. Lucy Wills' research was done in India straight after graduating with first-class honours in botany and geology. It focused on a medical condition called prenatal macrocytic anaemia (US: anemia), helping to alter the lives of millions around the globe.
What is Prenatal Macrocytic Anaemia?
In order to explain, the medical condition must be broken down.
Anaemia is what happens within the body when the number of red blood cells drops beneath a healthy level. It can happen for a number of reasons - Iron deficient, general blood loss and (in this case) as a result of not absorbing essential vitamins. Macrocytic, is a Greek term, which just means 'large cell'. In this case, the red blood cell is larger than normal. Prenatal just means before birth.
So prenatal macrocytic anaemia is a medical condition happening when the red blood cells are larger and below normal minimum level - affecting someone before birth. It is very life-threatening
Lucy Wills (Seen photographed left) was left to hypothesise about prenatal macrocytic anaemic. At first, she thought that this was a bacteria that was responsible for the anaemia present. So Lucy observed the women's standards of living in Bombay... and checked their stools (Yep, 💩). But, there were nothing outstanding to record. Instead, Lucy began to pay attention to the diets of those who had been affected. The food dairys were recorded for five days - in which everything was noted down. From the records, Lucy concluded that the women's diets lacked two vitamins; vitamin A and vitamin C.
So Lucy started her food studies on animals. Her first animal hosts were rats. Lucy was feeding them on a low-nutritious diet of oatmeal and whole wheat flour. Sadly for the rats, the death rate for Lucy's experiments was 5 to 29%. Something only prevented when the rats were given whole milk to consume. Although, these studies had a problem. The results were ruled as invalid due to an opportunistic bacterium which had undermined the study. It caused the rats to have anaemia anyway despite how the diet was.
Her scientific breakthrough did come. It happened when Lucy carried out her food study experiments out on monkeys. The monkeys were on fed exactly what the ladies of India were eating. Only a few monkeys were allowed supplements as they were the control group. One of the monkeys on the strict diet got extremely unwell and blood tests were carried out on the animal. The red blood count was extremely low.
The monkey was given the commercial British yeast product - everyone knows as marmite in my country, made from the by-products of beer brewing. Remarkably, the monkey recovered! Lucy Wills managed to find a source of the missing part of the diet.
Wills learnt afterwards the analysis of marmite. The information came from a fellow female scientist - a British microbiologist Dame Harriette Chick. The yeast spread was rich with vitamin B. After trialling the marmite on 22 women and it working, Lucy wrote;
Later studies, based on the research of Lucy Wills, discovered that marmite contains the vitamin B₉ or Folic Acid (seen above). Folic Acid (Vitamin B₉) is named from the latin word for leaf - folium, after being idenitifed from a spinach plant. The vitamin is needed in humans in order to make all the cells of the body. Although, the lack of vitamin B₉ is felt first as anaemia due to the naturally quick turn over of red blood cells - RBC only lasts around 120 days.
It doesn't just cause anaemia though. The lack of Folic Acid also causes another very serious birth defect in newborns known as Spina bifida. Spina bifida is when a part of the back does not fuse properly in babies - leaving a section of the spinal cord and nerves exposed to the outside world. Just like premature macrocytic anaemia, spina bifida is a condition which could be prevented just by the mother eating more sources of vitamin B in their diets. Due to both of these birth problems, the US and Canada fortified their flour with folic acid back in the year 1998. It caused a dramatic fall of these birth defects which is a nice consequence to read when researching.
Worryingly in my opinion though, the UK (my own country) only recently fortified their flour last year, 2018! It was after a long campaign from medical groups. Though, I guess that shows how much I ate cereals or products containing flour which wasn't manufactured in the UK (I had a lot of Nestlé cereals which is a swiss company).
I hope you found Lucy Will's story a pleasant one and whether you love or hate Marmite, you try to find a vitamin B source in your diet. Especally if pregenant 😊
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This Google Doodle?
Photo Credit: Google
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What is Prenatal Macrocytic Anaemia?
In order to explain, the medical condition must be broken down.
Anaemia is what happens within the body when the number of red blood cells drops beneath a healthy level. It can happen for a number of reasons - Iron deficient, general blood loss and (in this case) as a result of not absorbing essential vitamins. Macrocytic, is a Greek term, which just means 'large cell'. In this case, the red blood cell is larger than normal. Prenatal just means before birth.
So prenatal macrocytic anaemia is a medical condition happening when the red blood cells are larger and below normal minimum level - affecting someone before birth. It is very life-threatening
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| These are red blood cells. Their role is to transport Oxygen around the body for energy production. The cells have a biconcaved shape which helps to house Iron in order for the Oxygen molecules to latch onto.
In haematology, they are abbrevated as RBC or called the more interesting name as erythrocytes.
Photo Credit: Healthdirect (where you can find more information)
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...
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This is Lucy Wills looking down a Microscope
Photo Credit: New Scientist
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So Lucy started her food studies on animals. Her first animal hosts were rats. Lucy was feeding them on a low-nutritious diet of oatmeal and whole wheat flour. Sadly for the rats, the death rate for Lucy's experiments was 5 to 29%. Something only prevented when the rats were given whole milk to consume. Although, these studies had a problem. The results were ruled as invalid due to an opportunistic bacterium which had undermined the study. It caused the rats to have anaemia anyway despite how the diet was.
Her scientific breakthrough did come. It happened when Lucy carried out her food study experiments out on monkeys. The monkeys were on fed exactly what the ladies of India were eating. Only a few monkeys were allowed supplements as they were the control group. One of the monkeys on the strict diet got extremely unwell and blood tests were carried out on the animal. The red blood count was extremely low.
The monkey was given the commercial British yeast product - everyone knows as marmite in my country, made from the by-products of beer brewing. Remarkably, the monkey recovered! Lucy Wills managed to find a source of the missing part of the diet.
Wills learnt afterwards the analysis of marmite. The information came from a fellow female scientist - a British microbiologist Dame Harriette Chick. The yeast spread was rich with vitamin B. After trialling the marmite on 22 women and it working, Lucy wrote;
'Despite the small numbers, the results were, however, so striking that I feel justified in reporting them - more especially as I am leaving India and shall not be able to continue the work'
...
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This is Vitamin B₉
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
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Later studies, based on the research of Lucy Wills, discovered that marmite contains the vitamin B₉ or Folic Acid (seen above). Folic Acid (Vitamin B₉) is named from the latin word for leaf - folium, after being idenitifed from a spinach plant. The vitamin is needed in humans in order to make all the cells of the body. Although, the lack of vitamin B₉ is felt first as anaemia due to the naturally quick turn over of red blood cells - RBC only lasts around 120 days.
It doesn't just cause anaemia though. The lack of Folic Acid also causes another very serious birth defect in newborns known as Spina bifida. Spina bifida is when a part of the back does not fuse properly in babies - leaving a section of the spinal cord and nerves exposed to the outside world. Just like premature macrocytic anaemia, spina bifida is a condition which could be prevented just by the mother eating more sources of vitamin B in their diets. Due to both of these birth problems, the US and Canada fortified their flour with folic acid back in the year 1998. It caused a dramatic fall of these birth defects which is a nice consequence to read when researching.
Worryingly in my opinion though, the UK (my own country) only recently fortified their flour last year, 2018! It was after a long campaign from medical groups. Though, I guess that shows how much I ate cereals or products containing flour which wasn't manufactured in the UK (I had a lot of Nestlé cereals which is a swiss company).
... Author's Notes ...
I hope you found Lucy Will's story a pleasant one and whether you love or hate Marmite, you try to find a vitamin B source in your diet. Especally if pregenant 😊
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