The Pill - Adolf Butenandt and the Sexual Hormones (52/108)

The Pill - Adolf Butenandt and the Sexual Hormones (52/108)

In the series important inventions and discoveries from the spheres of geoscience and civil engineering are presented. The viewer gains insight into both the scientific and the socio-political background of a discovery or an invention. Pioneers of science are portrayed, subjects of research are presented and their further development up to the present day is traced. The process and functioning of the research objects are explained by means of computer animation. Dramatized scenes shed light on the working conditions and methods of the scientists. Particularly impressive are the historical film documents, some of which date back to the early years of cinematography. Die Idee eines hormonellen Verhütungsmittels hatte der Österreicher Ludwig Haberlandt bereits 1919. Doch mangelte es an den dazu benötigten reinen Sexualhormonen. 1929 isolierte der Deutsche Chemiker Adolf Butenandt das erste von drei Sexualhormonen aus natürlichem Material. Isolierung und chemischer Strukturbeweis waren unerläßlich, um die Sexualhormone gegebenenfalls synthetisch oder halbsynthetisch herstellen zu können. In den 50er Jahren wurde aufbauend darauf in den USA die erste Pille entwickelt.

WorldMediaFestival 2007 - GRAND Award for "Documentaries" WorldMediaFestival 2007 - GOLD Award for "Documentaries: Research and Science"