ABOUT JLI
United States Department of Education in an evidence based meta-analysis of various studies conducted over a period of 12 years concluded that students who acquired higher education through online mode performed much better than those in regular class room courses. (www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/
opepd/ppss/reports.html)
The James Lind Legacy
Who was James Lind?
Born in the year 1716 in Edinburgh, James Lind, was the first to introduce control group in clinical research. After completing his schooling, he was apprenticed to a physician in 1731. He worked as a Surgeons mate for 8 years in British Navy and was then promoted to Surgeon in 1747.
During this time, scurvy was a grievous disease for the long voyage sailors across the Atlantic Ocean and the reason for it was unknown. James Lind took a challenge to answer this scientific question and experimented on the effectiveness of dietary supplements like oranges, lemon, cider, vinegar, salt, and garlic to prevent scurvy. He chose patients with symptoms of scurvy which includes bleeding gums, sunken eyes, loss of teeth etc., and came to a conclusion that among all supplements used, citrus fruits showed more efficiency against curing scurvy disease.
The administration of citrus fruits in curing scurvy disease was not accepted during his times. Later on, after his death in 1794, the British Navy recognized his work and adopted the practice of giving citrus fruits to the sailors as a dietary supplement.
Because James Lind unknowingly introduced the use of a control group through his experiments, he is considered as the “Father of Clinical Research”.
