Seeing Infrared
The U.S. Navy wanted to boost sailors' night vision so they could spot
infrared signal lights during World War II. However, infrared wavelengths are
normally beyond the sensitivity of human eyes. Scientists knew vitamin A
contained part of a specialized light-sensitive molecule in the eye's receptors,
and wondered if an alternate form of vitamin A could promote different light
sensitivity in the eye. They fed volunteers supplements made from the livers of
walleyed pikes, and the volunteers' vision began changing over several months to
extend into the infrared region. Such early success went down the drain after
other researchers developed an electronic snooperscope to see infrared, and the
human study was abandoned. Other nations also played with vitamin A during World
War II - Japan fed its pilots a preparation that boosted vitamin A absorption,
and saw their
night
vision improve by 100 percent in some cases.
Get Your Plutonium Shot
As the United States raced to build its first atomic bombs near the end of
World War II, scientists wanted to know more about the
hazards
of plutonium. Testing began on April 10, 1945 with the injection of
plutonium into the victim of a car accident in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to see how
quickly the human body rid itself of the radioactive substance. That was just
the first of over 400 human radiation experiments. Common studies included
seeing the biological effects of radiation with various doses, and testing
experimental treatments for cancer. Records of this research became public in
1995, after the U.S. Department of Energy published them.
Rocket Rider
Before man could launch into orbit and to the moon, he rode rocket sleds on
the ground first. NASA scientists developed decompression sleds that could race
at speeds of more than 400 mph before screeching to an abrupt halt, and early
testing often had fatal
results for chimpanzee subjects that suffered brain damage. Starting in
1954, Colonel John Stapp of the U.S. Air Force endured grueling tests that
subjected his body to forces 35 times that of gravity, including one
record-setting run of 632 miles per hour. As a flight surgeon, he voluntarily
took on the risks of 29 sled runs, during which he suffered concussions, cracked
ribs, a twice-fractured wrist, lost dental fillings, and burst blood vessels in
both eyes.