How one cow from St. Croix County saved millions of lives
submitted by Shannon Geddes, PR associate with 160over90
Over the past 169 years, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) has benefited greatly from the support and contributions of citizens from every corner of the state. Such unyielding support has allowed the university to continue to strengthen both in graduates and in great accomplishments – accomplishments that have in turn made an indelible impact on the lives of residents across Wisconsin. And for that, the university would like to say, “Thank You!”
Last year UW-Madison launched Project 72, an initiative aimed at recognizing the powerful partnership between the university and the state’s 72 counties. This year, the university is elevating that message. Through its recently launched “Thank You 72” campaign, UW-Madison is recognizing all whose support has helped to enhance the strength and reputation of the state’s flagship university. And a cow from Saint Croix County is just one example.
Back in the winter of 1933, Ed Carlson, a Saint Croix County dairy farmer’s cows were dropping dead for unknown reasons. But unlike other farmers, Ed Carlson was not going to accept that ‘sweet clover disease’ – a vitamin deficiency declared by veterinarians – was the culprit for the deaths. So he took his dead heifer and drove 200 miles through a blizzard to Madison to consult with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
It was there that Carlson connected with Karl Paul Link – a chemist with a strong interest in sweet clover disease – who believed that the problem with all the cows was actually a chemical inbalance rather than a dietary problem. So Link and his lab students researched Carlson’s cow and made a discovery that would eventually change the world.
After 7 years of research, Link isolated the chemical dicoumerol, a powerful blood thinner, which he learned how to synthesize in the lab. He took this to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation — WARF, UW–Madison’s patent-and-licensing organization — and WARF marketed the chemical as warfarin, a rat poison, in 1948.
But there’s more to the warfarin story than that. Ed Carlson’s cow from St. Croix County has saved thousands — possibly millions — of lives.
In the 1940s, doctors began to take notice of warfarin’s blood-thinning qualities and started to think about how it could save lives, not just destroy them. It could, they suspected, be a boon for those at risk of stroke, and in the 1950s, the first patients were prescribed warfarin to treat high blood pressure — and one of those patients was U.S. president, Dwight Eisenhower, who had suffered a serious heart attack in 1955.
And so UW–Madison thanks you, St. Croix County, for Ed Carlson and his cow, and for helping us to change the world for the better.
Through “Thank You 72,” the university expresses appreciation for every county’s long-time support – from producing outstanding students and legendary leaders, to investing research dollars, to gainfully employing UW-Madison graduates who go on to become the best thinkers, athletes, builders, scientists, reformers, writers, scholars, engineers, and heroes.
