24 Of eighty cultures M. I. Nakhimovskaia, “The Antagonism Between Actinomycetes and Soil Bacteria,” Microbiologia 6 (1937): 131–57.
24 gramicidin S Gramicidin S was discovered by G. F. Gause and N. Brazhnikova when, after screening hundreds of bacteria, they finally found the same one as René Dubos, Bacillus brevis. Many consider Dubos unlucky not to have won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery. He wrote and lectured on environmental and social issues and won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction for his warnings regarding the health regarding the earth.
24 “one cannot escape the possibility” N. A. Krassilnikov and A. I. Korenyako, “The Bacterial Substance of the Actinomycetes,” Microbiologia 8 (1939): 673–85.
4. The Sponsor
27 not even his deputy Robert Starkey, deposition, Schatz v. Waksman, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Docket C-1261-49, July 18, 1950, 337.
27 exact distribution Selman Waksman, “Statement Concerning My Relations with Merck & Co.,” undated, and “My Connections with Merck & Co.,” March 4, 1970, SAW, box 6, 17.
27 “chemotherapeutic agents” Selman Waksman, “My Connections with Merck & Co.,” March 4, 1970, SAW, Box 6, 7. See also Randolph Major to Selman Waksman, December 15, 1942, SAW, box 1, 3.
27 “does not appear practicable” W. H. Helfand et al., “Wartime Initial Development of Penicillin in the United States,” in The History of Antibiotics: A Symposium, ed. John Parascandola (Madison, WI: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 1980), 31.
28 exclusive right Randolph Major to Selman Waksman, February 17, 1941, SAW, box 1, 3.
29 “Command me” Helfand et al., “Wartime Initial Development,” 39.
29 professor of pomology Ernest Christ, “A History of the New Jersey Peach,” www.njaes.rutgers.edu/peach.
29 50-50 split H. L. Russell to A. S. Johnson, November 9, 1937, RREF, Box 8, 3.
30 “off on the wrong foot” A. S. Johnson to Philip Brett, November 22, 1939, RREF, box 8, 5.
30 Waksman’s graduate students H. Boyd Woodruff, “Fifty Years Experience with Actinomycete Ecology,” Actinomycetologica 3, no. 2 (1989): 79–88.
30 above the chicken house H. Boyd Woodruff, “A Soil Microbiologist’s Odyssey,” Annual Review of Microbiology 35, no. 1 (1981): 7, 28.
30 “great provider” Charles Renner to Hubert Lechevalier, June 6, 1988, HL.
31 “drop everything” Woodruff, “A Soil Microbiologist’s Odyssey,” 33, 7.
31 “killing machines” H. Boyd Woodruff, author interviews, December 3, 2010 and September 21, 2011.
32 “truly excited” Woodruff, ibid.
32 “everything changed” Woodruff, ibid.
32 no specific name Woodruff, ibid.
33 “eyes and ears” Woodruff, ibid.
33 “all going to die” Woodruff, ibid.
34 400 cultures Selman Waksman to A. N. Richards, October 1, 1942, LOC, box 3.
34 on four microbes Selman Waksman to A. N. Richards, October 1, 1942, LOC, box 3.
34 “Great White Father” Doris Jones, “A Personal Glimpse at the Discovery of Streptomycin,” undated, 1960, AS personal archive. See also Hubert Lechevalier, “Selman Waksman, Recollections of a ‘Latter Day Student and Associate,’” speech on Waksman centenary, Rutgers, May 19, 1988, 2.
34 “Jewish intellectual” Hubert Lechevalier, “The Search for Antibiotics at Rutgers University,” in History of Antibiotics, 113.
34 work on ... clavacin Selman Waksman to Albert Schatz, July 3, 1942, AS personal archive.
35 Commonwealth Fund A. N. Richards to Selman Waksman, December 4, 1942, LOC, box 3.
35 “more valuable” Selman Waksman to A. N. Richards, October 1, 1942, LOC, box 3.
36 “eager for the war to end” Albert Schatz to Selman Waksman, March 31, 1943, SAW, box 14, 4.
36 Good Conduct Medal Col. Joseph Benson, U.S. Army Air Corps, Albert Schatz Honorable Discharge, Miami Beach, Florida, June 15, 1943, AS personal archive.
37 “in his cloth” Albert Schatz to Ross Tucker, undated letter, AS personal archive.
5. A Distinguished Visitor
38 “well-padded bones” Doris Jones Ralston, “A Personal Glimpse at the Discovery of Streptomycin,” undated, 1960, AS personal archive, 4.
38 “I worship him” Jones Ralston, ibid., 4.
38 “offer hope” Sam Epstein, “Streptomycin Background Material,” undated, SAW, box 14, 5.
38 Byron’s letter Waksman produced quotes from the letter in My Life with the Microbes (London: Robert Hale, 1958), 212. He wrote that he received the letter in May 1942, but the letter itself was not found in the archives, and Byron Waksman did not know of its whereabouts. Byron Waksman, author interview, April 20, 2011.
39 “The time has not come yet” Waksman, My Life (London: Robert Hale, 1958), 212.
39 “early in 1943” Waksman, My Life, 212.
39 “bacteriostatic substances” Selman Waksman’s Rutgers expenses for the trip to New York, June 1, 1943, SAW, box 1, 13.
39 dried cells of the human TB Selman Waksman to Florence B. Seibert, June 18, 1943, SAW, box 14, 3. See also Seibert to Waksman, June 21, 1943.
39 sent one of each Selman Waksman to Florence Seibert, June 23, 1943, SAW, box 14, 3.
40 “true devotee” W. I. B. Beveridge, The Art of Scientific Investigation: An Entirely New Approach to the Intellectual Adventure of Scientific Research (New York: Vintage Books, 1957), 203.
40 “playing about” Beveridge, Art of Scientific Investigation, 204.
40 “silly simple” Hubert Lechevalier, “Antibiotics at Rutgers,” in The History of Antibiotics, ed. John Parascandola (Madison, WI: American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, 1980), 120.
42 “excitement that prevailed” Samuel Epstein and Beryl Williams, Miracles from Microbes: The Road to Streptomycin (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1946), 139.
43 “I’m paralyzed” Jones Ralston, “A Personal Glimpse at the Discovery of Streptomycin,” undated, AS personal archive, 6.
43 “designated as streptomycin” Selman Waksman to Randolph Major, October 28, 1943, SAW, box 6, 7.
43 call his discovery streptomycin Albert Schatz, “The True Story of the Discovery of Streptomycin,” Actinomycetes 4, no. 2 (August 1993): 32.
44 childhood in Glasgow Frank Ryan, Tuberculosis: The Greatest Story Never Told (Bromsgrove, UK: Swift, 1992), 225.
44 “foot in the door” William Feldman, “Streptomycin: Some Historical Aspects of Its Development as a Chemotherapeutic Agent in Tuberculosis,” American Review of Tuberculosis 69, no. 6 (1954): 861.
44 “wasting their time” Feldman, “Streptomycin,” 859–68.
45 Jacob Joffe Albert Schatz, lecture to the Biotechnology Club, Rutgers University, April 22, 1993, AS personal archive. See also David Pramer, author interview, March 26, 2011.
46 heard him complain Albert Schatz to Peter Lawrence, undated 2002, AS personal archive.
47 first scientific paper Albert Schatz, Elizabeth Bugie, and Selman Waksman, “Streptomycin, a Substance Exhibiting Antibiotic Activity Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria,” Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 55 (1944): 66–69.
6. The Race to Publish
48 non-pathogenic strain Corwin Hinshaw to Dr. and Mrs. Howard A. Anderson, September 19, 1989, AS personal archive.
48 a sample of streptomycin Selman Waksman to William Feldman, March 1, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
48 four to six guinea pigs William Feldman to Selman Waksman, March 7, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
49 he had pneumonia Elizabeth Clark to Vivian Schatz, January 1944, AS personal archive.
49 only member of the staff Albert Schatz, lecture, Chilean Society for Diseases of the Chest and Thorax, Santiago, Chile, November 5, 1964; Pakistan Dental Review 15 (1965), 124–34.
50 problem of logistics William Feldman to Selman Waksman, April 27, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
50 “one of the finest l
abs” William Feldman to Selman Waksman, April 27, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
51 “any possible confusion” Selman Waksman to William Feldman, May 8, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
51 Feldman agreed William Feldman to Selman Waksman, May 11, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
51 “mysterious and delicious” Corwin Hinshaw, biographical notes, December 15, 1990, APS, Corwin Hinshaw papers, series 4, misc.
53 “sometime Monday morning” William Feldman to Selman Waksman, July 1, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
53 they were called back Boyd Woodruff, author interview, December 3, 2010.
53 only by code names William Feldman to Selman Waksman, July 19, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
54 “completely inhibited” Fordyce Heilman to Selman Waksman, August 8, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
54 “definite” confirmation William Feldman to Selman Waksman, transcript of phone conversation, September 19, 1944, APS, Corwin Hinshaw papers, series 1, correspondence, box 1.
55 “it would be proper” William Feldman to Selman Waksman, September 19, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
55 “quite understood” Randolph Major to William Feldman, September 28, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
56 Feldman agreed to a delay William Feldman to Randolph Major, October 10, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
56 “We have with us today” Selman Waksman, My Life with the Microbes (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954), 208–15.
57 “six-step” Selman Waksman, Elizabeth Bugie, and Albert Schatz, “Isolation of Antibiotic Substances from Soil Micro-organisms with Special Reference to Streptothricin and Streptomycin,” Proceedings of the Staff Meetings of the Mayo Clinic 19 (1944): 537–48.
57 did not produce a clear zone Albert Schatz, “Report on Waksman’s Evaluation of My Role in the Discovery of Streptomycin,” 2001, AS personal archive.
58 “perhaps some intuition” Douglas Eveleigh and Carl Schaffner, “Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Streptomycin,” Society for Industrial Microbiology News 44, no. 4 (July/August 1994): 177–84. Also given as a paper by Douglas Eveleigh for the New Jersey Experiment Station Series D-01111-02.
58 footnote was printed Albert Schatz and Selman A. Waksman, “Effect of Streptomycin and Other Antibiotic Substances upon Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and Related Organisms,” Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 57 (1944): 247.
7. A Conflict of Interest
60 bizarre operation John Marquand to S. Bayne-Jones, “Digest of Information Regarding Axis Activities in the Field of Bacteriological Warfare,” January 8, 1943, NA, Modern Military Records, Record Group 175.
61 “bacteria of every description” Ibid.
61 “most promising” E. B. Fred, “Special Conference Concerning the BW Agents and WRS,” memorandum, June 17, 1943, NAS Committees on Biological Warfare, series 1, “War Bureau of Consultants” Committee, box 6.
62 “most of the burns” Selman Waksman to Randolph Major, October 28, 1943, SAW, box 6, 7.
62 “hardly fair” Ibid.
62 “quite understood” Randolph Major to Selman Waksman, November 3, 1943, SAW, box 6, 7.
62 “concrete information” and “feasible” “Biological Warfare: Report to the Secretary of War by Mr. George Merck, Special Consultant,” January 3, 1945, NAS, Committees on Biological Warfare, series 1, “WBC” Committee, box 6.
63 “special service” George Merck to Vice Admiral Ross McIntire and Surgeon General, August 11, 1944, Secret, declassified November 9, 1989, NA.
63 “except to the federal services” Lewis Weed to Major General Norman Kirk, September 27, 1945, NA.
63 “correspondence and conversations” Carl Anderson to Selman Waksman, draft letter, June 19, 1944, SAW, box 6, 7.
63 became a formal letter Merck & Co. to Selman Waksman, August 17, 1944, SAW, box 6, 7.
63 “voluntarily abandoned” Trustees meeting report on compensation paid to Selman A. Waksman, Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation, New York, December 1950, SAW, box 14, 7.
64 memorandum of invention Photostat copy August 14, 1944, RREF, box 3, 24.
64 “is described in detail” It is not possible to tell whether Waksman actually carried out these experiments, or whether they were done by one of his graduate students and he then wrote up the results in his notebook. This happened sometimes. The student who might have done the work was Betty Bugie, but her notebooks have not survived.
64 “whose interests were profits” Albert Schatz to Jerome Eisenberg, handwritten memo, February 13, 1950, AS, box 2, 25.
65 “without special permission” Secret memo regarding infant, D. W. Richards to Medical Department, Columbia University, September 27, 1944, SAW, box 6, 4.
65 results were mixed Edward Miller to N. Paul Hudson, “Conference on Streptomycin at Merck and Company,” November 11, 1944, NA, Modern Military Records, Record Group 175.
66 avoiding overly optimistic statements Corwin Hinshaw, “Historical Notes on Earliest Use of Streptomycin in Clinical Tuberculosis,” American Review of Tuberculosis 70 (1954): 9–14.
67 “Long term crucial” Selman A. Waksman, The Conquest of Tuberculosis (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964), 128.
67 fifty-four cases of TB William Feldman and Corwin Hinshaw, “Streptomycin: A Summary of Clinical and Experimental Observations,” Journal of Pediatrics 28 (1946): 269. A preliminary report on thirty-four cases was published in September 1945. H. C. Hinshaw and W. H. Feldman, “Streptomycin in Treatment of Clinical Tuberculosis: A Preliminary Report,” Proceedings of the Staff Meetings of the Mayo Clinic 20 (1945): 313.
67 “no conclusive statements” Samuel Epstein and Beryl Williams, Miracles from Microbes: The Road to Streptomycin (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1946), ix.
67 “Schatz and I have discovered” Selman Waksman, affidavit in the United States Patent Office, in the application of Selman Waksman and Albert Schatz, serial number 577136, February 9, 1945.
PART II: THE RIFT
8. The Lilac Gardens
72 Lilac Gardens Vivian Schatz, author interview, November 8, 2008.
73 four test tubes Vivian Schatz, author interview, ibid.
73 “Each morning” Albert Schatz to Selman Waksman, March 27, 1945, MW.
73 finished his thesis Albert Schatz, “Streptomycin: An Antibiotic Agent Produced by Actinomyces Griseus,” Ph.D. thesis, Rutgers University, 1945, AS personal archive.
74 “Certain strains of Streptomyces griseus” Selman Waksman, Microbial Antagonisms and Antibiotic Substances (New York: Commonwealth Fund, 1945), 117–23.
74 new genera, Streptomyces During the 1920s and 1930s, Selman Waksman and others attempted to reclassify members of the group of microbes known as Actinomycetales, but there were so many different types and forms that these efforts failed. In 1943, Waksman and a colleague, Arthur Henrici, laid down new criteria and five genera were recognized. One of these, Streptomyces, included the original genus Actinomycetes. Thus, Actinomyces griseus, which produced streptomycin, became Streptomyces griseus.
74 “all infectious diseases” J. D. Ratcliff, “Keep Your Eye on Streptomycin,” Liberty Magazine, June 30, 1945, 24–25 and 72.
75 “Passaic Youth” Edward Reardon, “Passaic Youth Discovers Drug That May Stamp Out Dread TB,” Passaic Herald-News, July 2, 1945, 1.
76 “Magic Germ Killer” Mona Gardner, “Magic Germ Killer,” Collier’s, August 18, 1945, 23–25.
76 thirteen-page review Selman Waksman and Albert Schatz, “A Review: Streptomycin,” Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association 6, no. 11 (1945): 308–21.
76 atomic bomb “Ten Important Science Developments of Year,” Science Newsletter, December 22, 1945, 396.
9. The Parable of the Sick Chicken
78 “things began to happen” Selman Waksman, deposition, Schatz v. Waksman, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Docket C-1261-49, March 25, 1950, 128.
78 “began to feel uneasy” Frank Ryan, Tuberculosis: The Greatest Story Never
Told (Bromsgrove, UK: Swift, 1992), 204.
78 “all improvements” A. S. Johnson to Russell Watson, February 1, 1946, RREF.
79 replaced with “20” A. S. Johnson, draft agreement between Selman Waksman and Rutgers Research and Endowment Foundation, March 8, 1946, RREF.
79 “Think it over” Jerome Eisenberg, notes on interview with Albert Schatz, February 13, 1950, AS, box 4, 38.
79 “kill job chances” Jerome Eisenberg, chronology, 1950, MW.
80 omission of two key papers J. J. Martin to Robert Strong, April 30, 1946, SAW, box 14, 3.
80 contacted Waksman Robert Strong to Selman Waksman, May 23, 1946, SAW, box 14, 1.
81 “a footnote in the paper” Selman Waksman to Robert Strong, May 31, 1946, SAW, box 14, 1.
82 Schatz explained Albert Schatz to Howard Huber, May 21, 1946, SAW, box 14, 3.
82 at the company’s request Selman Waksman to J. F. Gerkens, May 5 or 7 (two dates are given on separate pages), 1946, SAW, box 14, 2.
83 “confidentially” Doris Jones, deposition, Schatz v. Waksman, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Docket C-1261-49, September 26, 1950, 452. Also in D. Ralston, “A Glimpse at the Discovery of Streptomycin,” circa 1960, 1, AS.
83 senior bacteriologist Harold Lyall to Selman Waksman, April 2, 1946, SAW, box 14, 8.
84 “has a mature judgment” Selman Waksman to Harold Lyall, April 4, 1946, SAW, box 14, 8.
84 “became incensed” Albert Schatz to Peter Lawrence and Veronique Mistiaen, undated 2002.
84 “Schatz claim” Russell Watson to A. S. Johnson, December 30, 1947, RREF.
84 “no matter how small” Albert Schatz to Selman Waksman, May 21, 1946, SAW, box 14, 4.
10. Mold in Their Pockets
86 sudden rise of infectious diseases Thomas Parran, “The Control of Tuberculosis in the Americas,” Public Health Reports (1896–1970) 62, 63, Tuberculosis Control issue, no. 16 (June 6, 1947): 827—833.
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