Jack Barnes Jellyfish
It was he who in 1964 conducted a bold experiment that discovered the whole truth about the action of the toxin.
Jack barnes jellyfish. Request pdf the jellyfish hunter jack barnes. In 1964 jack barnes confirmed the cause of the syndrome was a sting from a small box jellyfish. Barnes collected two undescribed box jellyfish near the site of a previous irukandji syndrome case.
The jellyfish was a white spot in the world of science until dr. The jellyfish hunter jack barnes. Despite the terrible pain he consistently described all the sensations received after the bite.
Pearn j 1 fenner p. Jack barnes was a cairns general practitioner who then took over the quest from dr hugo flecker for the irukandji. Southcott named the carybdeid jellyfish carukia barnesi in honour of the intrepid jack barnes with the generic name compounded from carydea and irukandji.
When he observed these animals he thought the small size and translucent bodies were good candidates for causing irukandji syndrome but instead of moving to animal models he did something much less conventional. Jack barnes took it. John handyside jack barnes 1922 1985 medical practitioner and toxinologist was born on 2 april 1922 at charleville queensland younger child of queensland born henry edward barnes chemist and his wife vera adeline née east who came from new south wales.
The species was discovered by dr. Barnes allowed the jellyfish to sting itself. He surmised that the organism had to be a very small jellyfish that swam very quickly and probably close to the surface.
The jellyfish was later named after him. The story which tells us why it got his name is fascinating. Jack barnes of cairns australia who while on an exploration mission aimed at determining the reason for irukandji syndrome allowed himself to be stung by the jellyfish while his 14 year old son and a lifeguard looked on.
A pioneer medical toxinologist in australia dr jack handyside barnes 1922 1985 was one of the small and elite group of pacific marine. A pioneer medical toxinologist in australia. A full description of this malevolent little creature was published by southcott in 1956.
The irukandji jellyfish which can fire venom filled stingers out of its body and into passing victims. As a totally conclusive test that this particular jellyfish s sting caused irukandji syndrome he decided to perform an experiment that would challenge even john hunter s auto inoculation with venereal disease for sheer bravado. In his paper cause and effect in irukandji stinging toxinologist jack h.
