Polio Virus Isolated!

On January 10, 1947 . . . 
Dr. Hubert Loring and assistant Dr. Carlton Schwerdt had a breakthrough in their research of the polio virus at Stanford. On this day the team announced they had isolated, with at least 80 percent purity, the virus responsible for polio.

Loring and Schwerdt went on to create the first introductory vaccine later that year in August. Schwerdt left Stanford that year to improve the technique at Berkeley. In 1953 Schwerdt and Dr. Bachrach would photograph polio in its pure form for the first time thus paving the way for Dr. Jonas Salk to create a safe vaccine in 1955.