I'm not sure which I find more mind-boggling--that University of Pittsburgh scientists are bringing clinically dead dogs back to life, or that Australian newspapers actually refer to scientists as boffins in writing. (Article illustrated with one of the freakiest dog photos I've ever seen.) More, seriously, Peter Safar, the founder of the Safar Center that conducts this research, has a very interesting obituary: he's apparently termed the father of CPR and helped create the modern American ambulance and paramedic service. Poignantly, his interest in resuscitation came after the death of his 11-year old daughter Elizabeth, after a severe asthma attack. Even before becoming an accomplished medical doctor, he already had a noteworthy biography:
Dr. Safar was born on April 12, 1924, in Vienna, Austria. He was conscripted into the German army during World War II, but he parlayed the onset of a skin condition into long-term hospital treatment. He thus avoided serving as a soldier, or "cannon fodder," as he would later put it. He entered medical school in 1943, when an administrator turned a blind eye to his Jewish ancestry. He graduated in 1948.Quite a jam-packed and unusual life. Original link to the Boffin article swiped from TK.
