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Asthma-like symptoms were first recorded about 3,500 years ago in Egypt. The first manuscript specifically written about asthma was in the year 1190, describing a condition characterized by sudden breathlessness. The treatments listed in this manuscript include chicken soup, herbs, and sexual abstinence.
Interferon was scarce and expensive until 1980, when the interferon gene was inserted into bacteria using recombinant DNA technology, allowing for mass cultivation and purification from bacterial cultures.
Cytomegalovirus affects nearly the same amount of newborns every year as Down syndrome.
About 100 new prescription or over-the-counter drugs come into the U.S. market every year.
Illicit drug use costs the United States approximately $181 billion every year.