re: #70 Shiplord Kirel

Daughter put this on her FB page tonight:

Frances Oldham Kelsey

I remember the thalidomide scandal quite clearly, the ghastly pictures in Life Magazine and the incredible story of how this horror was kept out of the United States.

Interesting thing about thalidomide is it’s the classic example of how molecular chirality can drastically impact how a drug works. It was only the S enantiomer, aka the left handed version of the molecule that caused birth defects. Unfortunately the manufacturer didn’t know that at the time nor did they have the ability to selectively produce only the right handed version of the molecule.

Also, point of interest, S stands for Sinister, the Latin term for Left.