Trace Elements and Epidemiology.

In the one hundred years since the birthday of Academician W. J. Vernadsky, in whose honour this Geochemical Conference is being held, the population of our world has grown from about 1,250 million to not far short of 3,150 million, an addition of some 1,900 million persons. Thus, there are approximately two and one half times as many people in the world today as there were when Academician Vernadsky was born. Furthermore, in many parts of the world people live longer today than they did one hundred years ago. Thus it is not surprising that, partly as a result of greater medical knowledge, and partly because man now tends to live longer, and in places where formerly he did not live, today different diseases are demanding priorities in research than was the case one hundred years ago. Today we know the causes of such diseases as malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, typhus, and typhoid; we have merely to apply our knowledge. At present we face a new series of afflictions including coronary diseases, cancers, and equally challenging but less publicized ones, such as multiple sclerosis, a disease that was barely recognized one hundred years ago. I believe that geochemistry has an important role to play in determining the causes of some of those diseases which give most concern in the world today.