Timeline of United States discoveries 4–6, 1942 and the decisive turning point of the Pacific War when the United States Navy defeated an attack by the Empire of Japan. First known as "Middlebrooks Islands", Midway Atoll was discovered by U.S. Captain N.C. Brooks aboard his ship, "Gambia", on July 8, 1859. 1859 Petroleum jelly Petroleum jelly, petrolatum or soft paraffin is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties. The raw material for petroleum jelly was discovered in 1859 by Robert Chesebrough, a chemist from New York. In 1870, this product was branded as Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. 1873
Wharton's jelly Wharton's jelly Wharton's jelly ("substantia gelatinea funiculi umbilicalis") is a gelatinous substance within the umbilical cord also present in vitreous humor of the eyeball, largely made up of mucopolysaccharides (hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate). It also contains some fibroblasts and macrophages. It is derived from extra-embryonic mesoderm. As a mucous tissue, it protects and insulates umbilical blood vessels. Wharton's jelly, when exposed to temperature changes, collapses structures within the umbilical cord and thus provides a physiological clamping of the cord (an average of) 5 minutes after birth. Cells in Wharton's jelly express several stem cell genes, including telomerase. They can