University of Minnesota researcher rescues valuable tissue samples

Thanks in part to a professor at the University of Minnesota, tissue samples gathered decades ago are being used today for important medical research. A new DNA analysis process called polymerase chain reaction is revealing new information about infectious diseases.

For example, scientists have learned new things about Hepatitis C by analyzing blood serum that was collected from airmen during the Korean War. It's likely that blood serum would have been destroyed if it wasn't for the efforts of Dr. Edward Kaplan. He's a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.

He told MPR's Cathy Wurzer that when he found out about the serum samples, being stored in Cleveland, he came up with an innovative and inexpensive way to get them delivered to the University of Minnesota.

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