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Alec Bangham Dies

Apr 01, 2010

Hematologist Alec Bangham died, reports the Guardian. He was 88. Bangham was best known for discovering liposomes while he was studying the surface chemistry of blood cells, leading him to be nicknamed "the father of liposomes." He always had a small laboratory of only two or three staff members and constantly received visiting scientists from all over the world. His interests extended to the fusion and stickiness of membranes, blood clotting, anesthetics, and vitamin A intoxication. Bangham closely followed how liposomes could be used to treat disease. "They could be used stealthily, like a Trojan horse, to deliver toxic drugs to their targets, as adjuvants for immunization, and to deliver healthy genes where they were needed," writes Brian Heap in the Guardian.

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