Controversial Medical Experiments
Controversial Medical Experiments is a structured science dataset with 15 entries. Its fields include Experiment, Location, Years. The source values are preserved as a structured reference table.
Every row is shown below and is also available as CSV, JSON, or Excel.
Dataset details
- Table scope
- All 15 rows
- Fields
- 6 columns
- Source
- Community curated
- Data updated
- Apr 9, 2026
Included fields: Experiment, Location, Years, Subjects, Ethical Violation, and 1 more.
The table contains every record in this dataset; the same records are available in each download format.
Preview observations
- Years span
- 1920 to 1971
- Across 15 preview rows
Useful for
- Comparing Experiment, Location, and Years across science entries
- Building reference tables, charts, or analyses from 15 downloadable records
Experiment↕ | Location↕ | Years↕ | Subjects↕ | Ethical Violation↕ | Outcome↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tuskegee Syphilis Study | Alabama, USA | 1932-1972 | 399 Black sharecroppers with syphilis | Denied penicillin treatment for 25+ years; told they had 'bad blood' | Exposed 1972; led to Belmont Report and modern informed consent laws |
Unit 731 | Harbin, Manchuria | 1936-1945 | Chinese, Korean, Soviet prisoners (thousands) | Vivisection, frostbite testing, biological weapon development | US granted immunity to researchers in exchange for data; uncovered post-war |
Nazi Human Experiments | Auschwitz and other camps | 1939-1945 | Concentration camp prisoners | Hypothermia, high-altitude, twin studies under Mengele, forced sterilization | Nuremberg Trials 1947; established Nuremberg Code of research ethics |
Stanford Prison Experiment | Stanford University, USA | 1971 | 24 college student volunteers | Psychological abuse; guards dehumanized prisoners; study terminated early | Influenced prison reform debates; later criticized for methodological flaws |
Milgram Obedience Experiment | Yale University, USA | 1961 | 40 male volunteers | Severe psychological stress; deceived into believing they shocked others | Showed 65% obeyed authority to deliver 'lethal' shocks; reshaped ethics review |
Guatemala Syphilis Experiments | Guatemala | 1946-1948 | ~1,300 prisoners, soldiers, mental patients | Deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhea without consent | Exposed in 2010; US President Obama formally apologized |
Willowbrook Hepatitis Study | Staten Island, USA | 1955-1970 | Intellectually disabled children | Deliberately infected children with hepatitis to study progression | Contributed to the creation of IRB oversight in the US |
MKUltra | United States and Canada | 1953-1973 | Unwitting civilians, prisoners, soldiers | LSD dosing without consent, hypnosis, sensory deprivation for mind control | Exposed by 1975 Church Committee; most records destroyed by CIA |
Vipeholm Sugar Experiments | Lund, Sweden | 1945-1955 | Intellectually disabled patients | Force-fed sugar-rich toffees to study dental caries | Established link between sugar and cavities; spurred fluoride programs |
Henrietta Lacks and HeLa Cells | Johns Hopkins, USA | 1951 | Henrietta Lacks (cancer patient) | Cells taken and commercialized without consent; family uninformed for decades | HeLa cells used in polio vaccine, cloning; sparked debates on tissue rights |
Monster Study | Iowa, USA | 1939 | 22 orphaned children | Induced stuttering by labeling normal speakers as 'stutterers' | University of Iowa apologized in 2001; $925K settlement |
Little Albert Experiment | Johns Hopkins, USA | 1920 | 9-month-old infant | Classical conditioning of fear without consent; no deconditioning attempted | Influenced behaviorism; child reportedly died young from hydrocephalus |
Holmesburg Prison Experiments | Philadelphia, USA | 1951-1974 | Holmesburg prison inmates | Dioxin, mind-altering drugs and chemical weapon tests for cosmetics and military | Led to the 1978 ban on prisoner research in the US |
Operation Whitecoat | Fort Detrick, USA | 1954-1973 | ~2,300 Seventh-day Adventist soldiers | Exposed to bioweapons like tularemia and Q fever (with consent but limited info) | Contributed to biodefense vaccines; seen as more ethical than other programs |
Thalidomide Prescribing | Germany and worldwide | 1957-1962 | Pregnant women worldwide | Marketed without adequate safety testing; caused ~10,000 birth defects | Led to modern drug safety regulations (FDA Kefauver-Harris 1962) |
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Frequently asked questions
How is Controversial Medical Experiments organized?
The table starts in the source data's default order. You can sort and filter the loaded rows by the displayed fields.
How much data is available on this page?
This dataset contains 15 entries, and every row is available in the table and in the downloadable files.
Can I download the complete dataset?
Yes. CSV, JSON, and Excel downloads contain all 15 rows. Before republishing the data, review the source and any usage terms listed on this page; dtbse does not replace the original source's licensing terms.
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