Model organism anticonvulsant properties of lithium salts, which revolutionized the treatment of bipolar disorder, replacing the previous treatments of lobotomy or electroconvulsive therapy. Modern general anaesthetics, such as halothane and related compounds, were also developed through studies on model organisms, and are necessary for modern, complex surgical operations. In the 1940s, Jonas Salk used rhesus monkey studies to isolate the most virulent forms of the polio virus, which led to his creation of a polio vaccine. The vaccine, which was made publicly available in 1955, reduced the incidence of polio 15-fold in the United States over the following five years. Albert Sabin
Lee Salk his older brother. Salk attended the University of Michigan. Salk's published work investigated the effect of retirement on mortality, the effect of the mother's heartbeat on the newborn, and the relationship between adverse maternal and perinatal conditions and later self-destructive behavior. He was the author of eight books. Salk was married twice, first to Kerstin and then Mary Jane. He had two children from his first marriage, a son Eric and daughter Pia. Salk developed cancer and died in hospital in Manhattan at age 65 on May 2, 1992. Salk was a professor at Cornell University Medical Center. Lee Salk