AS RECD: What are some of the greatest discoveries/inventions made by Indians in the last 200 years? <https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-greatest-discoveries-inventions-made-by-Indians-in-the-last-200-years>
Yellapragada Subbarao Does the name ring any bell? Nope. No problem. Lets have a look at this pic then. [image: main-qimg-28e219e747bbd8d9ab1edf71973b22ac-lq.jpeg] Still nothing? Nada? I am pretty sure that most of you have never heard this name (except those living in Andhra Pradesh). Yet he was one of the most important biochemist and scientists of not only India but of entire world in the 20th century. He lead one of the most important medical researches in America during World War Two. 1. He discovered the role of phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as an energy source in the cell. This lead to the foundation of biochemistry and all the further discoveries in this field are directly or indirectly influenced by this. 2. He developed methotrexate for the treatment of cancer. This, without a doubt, is the single most important drug for the treatment of innumerable cancers. He has saved literally millions of life through this drug. 3. He discovered Diethylcarbamazine. This drug is the only good treatment available for filariasis or elephant foot, which if not treated, makes the life of the patient a living hell. 4. Working under Subbarao's guidance, Duggar <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Duggar> made his discovery of the world's first tetracycline <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetracycline_antibiotics> antibiotic <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic>, Aureomycin, in 1945. Do you have any idea what does word Aureo signifies. It is a latin word for Gold, meaning that it ushered the Golden era of antibiotics where millions of death will be prevented. Despite all these superhuman achievements: - Except few people who are working in this field, no one knows him, especially in India. - He was denied fellowship in Harvard. - He lived without a green card throughout his life. - He was wronged by many of his fellow colleagues, who took all the fame, glory and patents on his work. - He was awarded a lesser LMS certificate not a full MBBS degree despite being one of the best student in the class. This is because he wore Khadi surgical dresses on Gandhi's boycott call, which displeased Dr. Bradfield, his surgical professor. Please spread this message as much as you can about Dr. Subbarao. He is one of the best minds India has ever produced and I always cry when people display their ignorance by saying that why don't India have good scientists in medical field. He was, and still is, my inspiration to pursue excellence in all the endeavors of human life. No matter how constrained and tied you are in terms of resources, if you have talent and single-minded ruthless focus, like Dr. Subbarao, you can literally achieve whatever you want. Don't behave like dumb wits, worshiping celebrities, reality shows and stupid TV series and movies, which lowers the IQ of entire human race. Lets celebrate our true heroes, which make indelible impact on real life. Edit: Thanks for listening guys and promoting it. Keep it up and share it as much as you can, till all Indians are aware about this unrewarded genius. Sent from my iPhone Srinivasan Sridharan There existed only one SubbaRow: Yellapragada Subba Rao (1895–1948).1-6 The name Subba Rao is as ubiquitous in Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu-speaking part of India, as John Smith is in North America, so SubbaRow creatively modified his name. His creativity was more evident in his trailblazing discoveries. Isaac Newton worked on optics while “sleeping” on other topics such as mechanics, enabling him to leave his mark forever on all branches of physics. Yellapragada SubbaRow likewise made lasting contributions to biochemistry, pharmacology, microbiology, oncology, and nutritional science. SubbaRow did not receive a Nobel Prize, but his discoveries entitle him to be called the father of targeted cancer chemotherapy. He worked initially in the laboratory of Cyrus Fiske at Harvard Medical School, and later as Director of Research at the Lederle Laboratories. He first invented a method for measuring phosphorus, the Fiske-SubbaRow method,6 which led him to discover two critically important phosphate-containing molecules, phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). As of October 2013 his paper had been cited 22,547 times. ATP functions as the principal source of energy for metabolic processes. Phosphocreatine provides energy to the muscle and brain during periods of exaggerated need. Motivated by the death of two brothers from tropical sprue, SubbaRow led the research that synthesized folic acid, essential for the formation of DNA. This led him to conceive and develop the folic acid analogs aminopterin and amethopterin (methotrexate), which act as inhibitors of DNA synthesis in rapidly proliferating leukemic cells and resulted in the first remissions of childhood acute leukemia. SubbaRow also contributed to the discovery of vitamin B12 – by investigating liver extracts as cure for pernicious anemia. The parasitic disease, filariasis, rampant in SubbaRow’s birthplace in India, causes inflammation, blocks lymphatic flow, and produces disfiguring elephant-like legs. He developed diethylcarbamazine (Hetrazan), a highly effective agent against filariasis. SubbaRow also directed the research that discovered the first broad-spectrum antibiotic, the first tetracycline, chlortetracycline, fittingly called Aureomycin, auguring the golden era of antibiosis. These were not serendipitous discoveries, but the fruits of a brilliant, insightful mind. SubbaRow was born into a Brahmin family that cherished scholarly traditions and ideals. He grew up encircled by Telugu intellectuals and poets that set the highest standards of achievement at a time (in the 1910s) when basic education was inaccessible to the vast majority of the populace. SubbaRow’s opportunity for education is even more remarkable when one considers that as late as the 1960s children from villages had to walk ten miles to school. SubbaRow also witnessed his country’s brightest individuals joining the freedom movement and sacrificing their lives. Such backgrounds and circumstances compelled him to seek *Paramartha *(the highest truth) – not necessarily *Fame –* explaining the inseparable duality of a brilliant scientist and self-effacing man.3 We ask, what fame4,5 was there to be courted for a man who tried to escape to Kashi, the holy religious city on the river Ganga, and subsequently was schooled at the Ramakrishna Mission (founded by Swami Vivekananda, the man known for his historic speech on religious unity and tolerance at the first Parliament of World’s Religions held in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893)? Fashioned by such experiences, SubbaRow set sail in 1923 to Cambridge, Massachusetts, at a time when few Indians were seeking to or were even allowed to enter the United States. He was a pioneer for whom no barrier was insurmountable. Did he think that he attained *Paramartha*? We doubt it, judging by his poignant statement about his epochal scientific discoveries “Science simply prolongs life, but religion deepens it.” SubbaRow was among the greatest scientists of all time, and importantly also a humanist. KR (both taken to group) Thank you KR -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZor-B8%2BpVO5naRsS0tXbOg7x5S2Ap4XjzGd1E2tVvKffyQ%40mail.gmail.com.
