The Demon Under The Microscope Summary

Advanced chemistry reading assignment

Book title and author

The Demon Under the Microscope by: Thomas Hager

Why I chose this book I chose this book because blurb on the back of the book, the front cover, and I like to learn about the events and history of world war I. The blurb on the back talked about discovering a drug that changes the way of modern medicine. This was really interesting to me because I had never heard about the new drug sulfa being used. I wanted to know more about what the drug is, who discovered it, how it works and so much more. The book also seemed interesting to me due to the fact the Nazis discovered the drug in world war I. I wanted to read this book because the Nazis were an interesting group of people who did

If a novice decided to make a drug they could accidently end lives by mixing the wrong compounds and elements. When Perkin discovered the colors he went further and found a number of more colors he could make with chemicals. The chemistry behind medicine is extensive. Our bodies react differently to every element it was these chemists job to find the right compound of elements to fight off infection. The chemist studied the way our bodies rejected some of their trial meds and then how they could use the body to help them find a drug to eliminate infection.

Questions the book lead me to ponder:

1. Will chemists cure cancer by finding a drug to pulverize the cancerous tissue and keep the good cells?

2. Do the colors of common medicines like ibuprofen and aspirin matter?

3. If there are 5 different types of bacteria how many strains could there be?

4. Why did the author title it the demon under the microscope?

5. Are there any infections the sulfa drug can’t cure?

6. Why is chemical research so difficult to get the right chemical or the right reaction?

7. Can you be addicted to antibiotics?

8. What would doctors do back before world war one if you got an

I personally have gotten strep throat every season since I was 10 that’s six years I’ve had it in a row. It’s really easy to go to the doctor and then they give me antibiotics and in two days I can go back to school and I feel better. In the years before chemists found the sulfa drugs people would die from things like strep throat and pneumonia. This book was worth reading because even though it’s non-fiction it is an emotion roller coaster with many stories of success using the sulfa drugs. Recommending it to a friend I would tell them if you want to learn more about diseases and what the Nazis accomplished by doing the horrible things they did. Without them we wouldn’t have the knowledge of bacterial infections we do now. It’s a great