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Hitching Research Paper

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Research Paper Gertrude B. Elion and George H. Hitchings were both scientists who work constantly in various locations and labs to come up with drugs to treat leukemia, several other illnesses, and also to make organ transplants possible. During their long collaboration, Hitchings and Elion produced a number of effective drugs to treat a variety of illnesses, including leukemia, gout, malaria, and herpes. Hitchings was born in 1905 in Hoquiam, Washington. His family moved frequently along the West Coast during his early years, and his father died when he was only 12. With this death happening unexpected, this led Hitchings into depression and anger because of his loss. This later turned into himself making a major in treating illnesses that hasn’t been cured yet. Louis Pasteur was greatly admired by Hitchings for his commitment into diseases. Elion was born in 1918 in New York City. The death of her grandfather from stomach cancer shortly before she began her studies made a decision to herself for her to devote her life to medicine. This dedication became more strongly after her fiancé died of an inflammation of the heart lining. Elion knew that she …show more content…

While working with Hitchings, she was attending Brooklyn Poly as a part time student. Brooklyn Poly authorities informed her that it would be necessary to become a full-time student to complete a Ph.D., but, Elion decided that she did not want to leave the exciting research she was doing with Hitchings to do this. She stayed at Wellcome for the remainder of her career. Hitchings assigned Elion to investigate purine, including adenine and guanine, two of DNA’s building blocks. They soon discovered that bacterial cells required certain purine in order to make DNA. They reasoned that if they could prevent these purines from being incorporated along the metabolic pathway that leads to DNA synthesis, then they could stop the production of DNA and thereby stop cell

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