Arthur Galston

Arthur Galston

Arthur Galston was a botanist and bioethicist who, as a graduate student at the University of Illinois, discovered the defoliant properties of the chemical that was studied by the United States Army for the development of Agent Orange.cite web|last=Schneider|first=Brandon|title=Agent Orange: A deadly member of the rainbow|url=http://research.yale.edu/ysm/article.jsp?articleID=48|date=Winter 2003|accessdate=2008-07-12] Galston taught as an associate professor at the California Institute of Technology early on in his career, before moving to Yale University where he taught from 1955 until his retirement as a professor emeritus in 1990. After his retirement he became interested in bioethical issues and was instrumental in founding the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics at Yale. He also co-edited two books on bioethics.

His thesis research at the University of Illinois was focused on finding a chemical means to make soybeans flower and fruit earlier. He discovered both that 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) would speed up the flowering of soybeans and that in higher concentrations it would defoliate the soybeans. In 1951 biological warfare scientists at Fort Detrick, Maryland began investigating defoliants based upon Galston's discoveries with TIBA, eventually producing the toxic defoliant Agent Orange used by the U. S. Air Force for defoliation in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Galston and U. S. geneticist Matthew S. Meselson appealed to the U. S. Department of Defense to investigate the human toxicology of Agent Orange.cite newspaper|lst=Pearce|first=Jeremy|title=Arthur Galston, Agent Orange Researcher, Is Dead at 88|date=2008-06-23|work=New York Times|accessdate=2008-07-12] The research conducted by the Department of Defense led to the discovery that Agent Orange caused birth defects in laboratory rats. In 1971 this information led to U. S. President Richard M. Nixon banning the use of the substance.

Galston died on June 15, 2008, in Hamden, Connecticut.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Galston — ist der Name mehrerer Orte: Galston (East Ayrshire), Schottland Galston (New South Wales), Australien Galston ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Arthur William Galston (1920–2008), US amerikanischer Pflanzenphysiologe und Bioethiker… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Galston, Arthur William — ▪ 2009       American plant physiologist and bioethicist born April 21, 1920, Brooklyn, N.Y. died June 15, 2008, Hamden, Conn. conducted research in the late 1950s into a powerful herbicide that later served as the basis for Agent Orange; Galston …   Universalium

  • Agent Orange — thumb|right|250px|A UH 1D helicopter from the336th Aviation Company sprays a defoliation agent on a dense jungle area in the Mekong Delta. 07/26/1969/National Archives photograph. Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and… …   Wikipedia

  • Biological warfare — For the use of biological agents by terrorists, see bioterrorism. Weapons of mass destruction …   Wikipedia

  • Communitarianism — is an ideology that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. That community may be the family unit, but it can also be understood in a far wider sense of personal interaction, of geographical location, or of shared… …   Wikipedia

  • New Year Honours 1997 — The New Year Honours 1997 for the United Kingdom and Hong Kong were announced on 31 December, 1996, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1997.The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new… …   Wikipedia

  • 1997 New Year Honours — The New Year Honours 1997 for the United Kingdom and Hong Kong were announced on 31 December 1996, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1997. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new… …   Wikipedia

  • Universe Championships — The Universe Championships are an annual bodybuilding event organised by the National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (NABBA). It has a number of competitions: NABBA Amateur Mr. Universe, Miss Figure, and Miss Toned Figure. First held in 1948,… …   Wikipedia

  • Brigades of the NSW RFS — Brigades of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Listing by Rural Fire District [http://www.bluemountains.rfs.nsw.gov.au/ Blue Mountains District] * Bell * Blackheath / Mt Victoria * Blaxland * Bullaburra * Faulconbridge * Glenbrook Lapstone *… …   Wikipedia

  • Mister Universe — Bodybuilder bei einem Mr. Universum Wettbewerb 2006 Mister Universum (engl. Mr. Universe) ist ein seit 1948 bestehender Titel, der einem erfolgreichen Bodybuilder verliehen wird. Dieser Preis wurde in Konkurrenz zu den im selben Jahr in London… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”