Berson, Yalow, and Radioimmunoassay (Berson, Yalow 와 방사선 면역 검정)
Blood tests are a powerful diagnostic tool that can allow doctors to detect diseases that may be lurking in the body. one of the most important types, called a radioimmunoassay, was developed in the 1950s by two researchers who stumbled upon the idea while conducting diabetes research.
혈액 검사는 의사가 신체에 숨어있을 수있는 질병을 감지 할 수있는 강력한 진단 도구입니다. 방사선 면역 검정 (radioimmunoassay)이라 불리는 가장 중요한 유형 중 하나는 1950 년대에 당뇨병 연구를 수행하면서 아이디어를 우연히 발견 한 두 명의 연구원에 의해 개발되었습니다.
A radioimmunoassay (RIA) test uses radioactive particles to detect disease like hepatitis in the bloodstream. When it was invented, RIA was far more sensitive than any other blood test then available to doctors. Instead of looking for the disease itself, radioimmunoassay tests work by searching for the antibiotics that the body produces to fight a disease ― a telltale sign of infection.

Yalow and Berson theorized that animal insulin must provoke an immune reaction in the body. If so, they realized, there would be antibodies in the bloodstream. To test this hypothesis, the devised the first RIA to look for antibodies and track the effects of animal insulin in the body.
The test helped them develop a better understanding of how the body responds to animal insulin. But it soon dawned on Berson and Yalow that the same method could be used to look for antibodies directed at many other kinds of molecules associated with other hormones, drugs, diseases and infections, and many other agents. Berson and Yalow published their results in 1959, opening up a breakthrough technology to the scientific community.

Along with Andrew Schall (1926-) and Roger Guillemin (1924-), Rosalyn Yalow received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977 for pioneering work in the field of diabetes. Berson did not live to share the prize with her; he died of a heart attack in 1972.
Berson and Yalow could have worked with any number of hormones in their early work, but they chose insulin because it was really available and easy to work with ― and possibly because Yalow's husband had diabetes, which gave her a special interest in the research.
Berson과 Yalow는 초기 작업에서 여러 가지 호르몬으로 작업 할 수 있었지만 실제로 사용할 수 있고 다루기 쉽기 때문에 인슐린을 선택했습니다. 아마도 Yalow의 남편이 당뇨병에 걸렸기 때문에 연구에 특별한 관심을 보였습니다.
Berson and Yalow never patented their invention. "Patents are about keeping things away from people for the purpose of making money." Yalow explained. "We wanted others to be able to use 〔radioimmunoassay〕."