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The Sorby Research Institute was a research facility that operated in the UK around the time of World War II in Sheffield, England. The Institute mostly investigated questions of nutrition. This was an important consideration in wartime Britain where food was in short supply. The experiments into deficiency of vitamin A and vitamin C were particularly notable. However, other kinds of medical research was also undertaken, such as research into the transmission of scabies. The leading figures in the institute were Kenneth Mellanby and Hans Adolf Krebs. The volunteers were conscientious objectors to military service. Some of the experiments were unpleasant, or even dangerous. The Institute closed in 1946, soon after the end of the war. ==History== At the outbreak of World War II, a number of volunteers, mainly pacifist conscientious objectors, were established in a large house〔"Fairholme", 18 Oakholme Drive, Broomhill, Sheffield〕 in a residential area of Sheffield for research that would "benefit humanity". Various medical experiments were conducted on the volunteers. No work that had a direct military application was undertaken since this would not have been acceptable to many conscientious objectors. This establishment became known as the Sorby Research Institute, so named because the leading researcher, Kenneth Mellanby, was a Sorby Research Fellow of the Royal Society at Sheffield University. The fellowship is itself named after Henry Clifton Sorby, a notable Sheffield scientist. Hans Adolf Krebs took over the management of the volunteers in 1943 when Mellanby left to work for the army. The establishment was founded on the personal initiative of Mellanby and at first he was free to carry out whatever investigations he chose. Mellanby's status as a scientist meant that he was in a reserved occupation and forbidden from joining the armed forces. Although he wished to do something for the war effort, the military of the time had no use for biologists. Consequently, Mellanby initiated what he considered useful work himself.〔Dixon, p. 208〕 One of the first experiments was an investigation into scabies. Mellanby had an interest in head lice infestation and scabies was thus a natural area of research for him. Another early experiment looked into water deprivation of survivors in lifeboats. However, the most important work of the Institute was into nutrition, particularly vitamin deficiency. In a period of severe rationing in Britain, it was important for the government to know how far this could be taken and what the consequences would be. This work was commissioned by the Medical Research Council at the request of the Ministry of Health. The work of the Sorby Research Institute continued until early 1946.〔Sorby Collection〕 The building is now used as residential accommodation for students from Sheffield University.〔Collins, p. 559〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sorby Research Institute」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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