Patenting the Sun: Jonas Salk, the Polio Vaccine, and the Burden of Fame
pplpod · pplpod
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (content.rss.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
In April 1955, Jonas Salk was hailed as a "miracle worker" after his killed-virus vaccine was declared safe, effectively ending the terror of the polio epidemic in the United States,. In this episode, we explore the life of the New York-born scientist who, despite skipping multiple grades and attending the competitive City College of New York, originally had no interest in science until he discovered the laboratory gave new direction to his life,,.
We delve into the massive 1954 field trials involving over 1.8 million "polio pioneers" and Salk’s subsequent rise to the status of a folk hero—a level of celebrity that he found disturbing and felt interfered with his work,,. Listeners will learn about his famous decision not to patent the vaccine to maximize its global distribution, famously asking, "Could you patent the sun?",. Finally, we discuss his legacy beyond polio, including the founding of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, his later research into an AIDS vaccine, and his dedication to "biophilosophy" before his death in 1995,,.