Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 20, 2007|Volume 35, Number 26

Computer stations in "Deciphering Cancer's Mysteries" invite visitors
to test their diagnostic skills.

Exhibit traces centuries-long
quest to understand cancer

Humans' centuries-long quest to understand a deadly disease is traced in the exhibition "Deciphering Cancer's Mysteries: From Eber's Papyrus to Nanotechnology," on view through June 3 in the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library at the Yale School of Medicine.

The exhibition presents a panoramic view of the history of the understanding of cancer -- a disease that, according to statistics from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), claims the lives of about 1,500 people daily. The NCI indicates that nearly 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and about 560,000 will die from the disease.

The Yale display is dedicated to "the many cancer survivors who by their own courage and aid to others daily encourage future research and developmental science, leading to deciphering cancer and other mysterious diseases," notes the exhibit's producer/director, Dr. Martin E. Gordon, clinical professor of internal medicine and chair of the board of trustees of the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Associates.

The exhibition includes both ancient texts about the disease and interactive displays looking at today's cutting-edge research.

The 3,000-year-old Eber's Papyrus, the world's oldest preserved medical document and part of the collection at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, is on view alongside hieroglyphic examples of tumor recognition and treatment.

At the entrance to the display is a rotating,
three-dimensional P.E.T. scan of a human
skull with the Chinese proverb: "I hear.
I see. I remember."

The practices of the ancient Chinese, who 4,000 years ago recognized the power of herbal mixtures to decrease side effects and maximize the benefits of treatments, are explored along with the scientific study of these herbal remedies now under way in the laboratory of Yale pharmacologist Yung-chi Cheng.

Interactive "Learning Center" stations will allow visitors to test their understanding of early cancer diagnostic clues such as armpit pigmentations. Other interactive displays highlight the advances in three-dimensional P.E.T. scanning, the study of aberrant cell biology structures through atomic microscopy and the newest Zeiss laser extraction micro-imaging of living cell structures. The exhibition also features images and text outlining recent discoveries by Robert A. Weinberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (who gave a keynote address opening the show on April 11) and Dr. Vincent T. DeVita Jr. of the Yale Cancer Center. The show also includes animations about cell biology, supplied by XVIVO Scientific Animation, which coordinates the Harvard Medical School's course on the topic.

Also featured are displays on some of the advances in new technologies in the study of cancer, such as the new high-powered Genome Sequencing System by 454 Life Sciences/Roche of Branford, Connecticut. Posters from Scandia National Laboratories in New Mexico illustrate the uses of nanotechnology in the fight against the disease.

Finally, a section on cancer survivorship examines the importance of social interactions in helping patients cope with the disease.

The Cushing/Whitney Medical Library is located at 333 Cedar St. For further information, visit the website at www.med.yale.edu/library.

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