HAPPY accidents
MARION MCMULLEN LOOKS AT HOW SOME OF THE GREAT MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS HAPPENED BY SHEER CHANCE
WHOOPS, they did it again. Many of the world’s biggest discoveries have happened by sheer fluke. Scientists working on the Astrazeneca-oxford University vaccine to beat Covid-19 recently revealed its effectiveness jumped from 70% up to 90% because of a dosing error.
Dr Mene Pangalos, head of Astrazeneca’s biopharmaceutical research, said the discovery that giving a half-dose at the start worked better was “serendipity’.’
Volunteers were expected to receive two full doses of the vaccine, however when those in the vaccine group reported much milder side effects, than predicted, the team went back and checked. “.. and we found out that they had underpredicted the dose of the vaccine by half,” said Dr Pangalos.
The team continued with the half-dose group, and administered the second, full dose booster shot at the scheduled time. The results showed the vaccine was 90 per cent effective among this group.
It is far from the first time an accident has led to a major medical breakthrough. Cornish chemist and inventor Humphry Davy was behind many groundbreaking ideas including the Davy safety lamp for miners. He also accidentally discovered the anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide while carrying out work on gases and published his findings in 1800.
He promptly named nitrous oxide “laughing gas” and it was later widely used by dentists. Davy said of his work: “I have learned more from my mistakes than from my successes.”
German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen also accidentally discovered x-rays in 1895 when he tried to block the light coming from a cathode ray tube he was working on. He put his hand in front of the light and saw the bones of his hand appear on a screen. He later performed the world’s first official x-ray on his wife Anna Bertha’s hand. It showed the bones of her hand and the ring she was wearing.
Röntgen’s discovery led to him being awarded the first Nobel prize in physics in 1901, although he later claimed: “Great discoveries are made accidentally less often than the populace likes to think”.
Scottish-born scientist Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 when he returned to his lab after a two-week holiday to find uncleaned petri dishes accidentally left out had mould growing all over them apart from areas were airborne spores of penicillium had landed, killing off the bacteria. His discovery led to him being awarded both a Nobel prize and a knighthood. “One sometimes finds what one is not looking for,” he said.
An American farmer in the 1930s worried about his cows bleeding to death led to the development of blood d thinner Warfarin. They discovered the e cows were suffering from an anticoagulant found in the hay they were eating. The first part of the name Warfarin comes from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, where work was carried out. It was first registered as a rat poison in America in 1948, but was accidentally found to be safe for human use when a young Navy recruit attempted to commit suicide by eating it, but survived.
Marketed as an anti-coagulant, it was prescribed for American President Dwight Eisenhower after he suffered a heart attack in 1955.
A slip of the hand led to the coronary angiography. American surgeon F Mason Sones was operating on a heart patient in 1958 when a large amount of dye was accidentally injected directly into the heart. He rushed to do an emergency open heart massage, but the patient’s heart started beating when he shouted at him to cough. Sones later found the dye allowed him to see the heart and blockage more clearly.
Viagra was initially intended as a heart medication to treat high blood pressure and angina pectoris, but clinical trials proved it was ineffective. However, it was discovered that men taking part in the trial reported it helped with erectile dysfunction.
Pfizer began a new trial involving 4,000 men which eventually saw the little blue pill being made patented in 1996.
Botox was originally used by American ophthalmologist Dr Alan Scott in the 1980s as a cure for crossed eyes. He worked on developing and
manufacturing the drug but accidentally discovered it had an unusual side effect – it made the wrinkles around the eyes disappear. Botox was approved for cosmetic use in America in 2002 and has gone on to become a major industry worldwide. When injected into facial muscles, Botox, or botulinum toxin, eliminates wrinkles by weakening or paralysing the muscles which keeps them from contracting. The effect lasted for up to three months.
Sometimes medical research can also produce brilliant, if unexpected side effects. British chemist Sir William Perkin was attempting to synthesise quinine for the treatment of malaria in 1856 when he extracted a brilliant purple dye instead which was subsequently named mauveine. He went on to create the modern synthetic dyestuffs industry and was knighted in 1906.
Maybe Huckleberry Finn author Mark Twain put it best: “Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.”
IT’S ONE of the most difficult times in family life – when grown-up children see their parents’ health declining. As well as the heartache it can bring, there’s also the agony of switching roles, as children need to become, in effect, their mum and dad’s guardians.
This is never an easy subject to broach – but sadly the bullet has to be bitten, especially nowadays, as dementia cases rise affecting the ability of old people to carry on managing on their finances.
Around 850,000 people have dementia in the UK, one in six of the over 80s, and this is expected to hit 1.6million by 2040.
So it’s best to be ready to manage your parents finances in later life. We’ve teamed up with Carolyn Matravers to help you.
Carolyn is a chartered financial planner and Society of Later Life Advisers accredited adviser at financial experts Old Mill.
Her six-step plan – GETSET – is just what you need after gently persuading your parents that it’s always best to be prepared.
GETTING THEIR DUCKS IN A ROW
ASK them exactly what assets they have and where. This will include bank accounts, investments, savings and pensions as well as material assets such as jewellery or collections.
If your mum and dad own property then it’s helpful to have all the information relating to that in one place, along with utilities information, and things like the TV licence and insurance documents.
Having this information readily accessible will make it easier if you need to step in and support.
ESTATE PLANNING
HAVING a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for both property and financial affairs, and also health and welfare, is vital.
An LPA allows someone, while they still have full mental capacity, to nominate a trusted friend or relative to make decisions on their behalf in cases of lost capacity.
LPAS give people peace of mind that they will not have to make complex choices about their financial and health needs if mental capacity is lost. Or if they simply decide they no longer wish to make judgment calls themselves – but have them made by someone they trust.
If your parents do decide to make you an attorney, make sure you understand what your responsibilities will be, and that the documentation is set up correctly with a solicitor.
You can register an LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian for £82 per document required – one for property and financial affairs and another for health and welfare – is vital (visit gov.uk/power-ofattorney). Or you can use a lawyer which will cost more.
Ensure your parents have an up-to-date will, and check the executors are alive, willing to act and understand their responsibilities.
TITLE AND TIMELINE
MAKE sure you know where the title deeds of any property your parents own are held. This is key if an asset (property or land) needs to be sold quickly in a crisis.
There could be financial gifts your parents have made over the years – some possibly forgotten.
Working through a timeline and documenting what gifts were made to whom, and when, will help when it comes to managing tax aspects of your parents’ estate.
SIMPLIFYING THEIR ASSETS
WHEN you have a clear understanding of all your parents’ assets it’s worth considering whether they could reduce the number of bank and savings accounts they have – while being mindful of the protection levels (£85,000 per person, per bank, up to
It’s important to prepare for all eventualities and make sure your wishes are clearly explained £170,000 for joint accounts) offered through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Check investments are held in easily accessible and understandable formats and in line with your parents’ attitude towards risk.
As parents age it becomes more important investments are adaptable to suit changing needs, such as funding care.
ESTABLISHING A RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRUSTED ADVISER
YOUR parents may already have an accountant or solicitor – and having a SOLLA accredited (Society of Later Life Advisers) financial planner who can co-ordinate matters could be really helpful, especially when managing things with the wider family.
TALKING
EVEN if you have never discussed your parents’ financial matters as a family – or if you feel uncomfortable talking to them about a declining health – plucking up the courage to have these conversations now will make it easier in the longer term.
Make sure you know their wishes should the need for care arise.
■ Do they want to be looked after in their home or would they be happy to move into a supported environment?
■ What do they want to happen to the house if they can no longer live at home?
■ And, however difficult it may be, find out what your parents’ wishes are about their funerals. A Sunlife Cost of Dying report shows only 1% of people organising a loved one’s funeral knew all their wishes. And 19% didn’t know any at all. So make sure you talk about it before it is too late.