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Dr. David W. Gregg, Ph.D. has died.

richvank

Senior Member
Messages
2,732
Hi, all.

I don't know if anyone here had interactions with Dr. David Gregg, who maintained the website www.krysalis.net (which is currently still up), but I want to note that Dr. Gregg passed away last Wednesday night, July 6, 2011. He had had heart bypass surgery 8 days earlier. and had just returned home. His heart stopped, and paramedics were not able to revive him.

David had been a good friend and inspiration to me for many years. We were coworkers at a national laboratory, and after retirement we continued to interact on a variety of health-related topics.

David was one of the rare people I have had the privilege of knowing who was what I would characterize as a creative genius. He had an intuitive sense that enabled him to come up with solutions to problems that were way outside the box. He had the courage to make his unusual ideas public. He was also a very loyal friend. I didn't always agree with David, and we had very animated discussions. He had the uncanny ability to be certain of something before I felt that there was enough evidence to support it, and very often he turned out to be right, which gave him great glee!

David's formal education was in chemistry and chemical engineering. Here's a very partial list of things David came up with:

He initiated the concept of using lasers to produce nuclear fusion reactions, which has become a very major research program.
.
He was the first person to apply a laser to a land surveying instrument. These are standard instruments in wide use now. He didn't patent it.

I'm sorry about the coarseness of the following, but David was named "Asshole of the Month" by Hustler magazine because of his suggestion during the Cold War that the best thing a person in a city could do if given a 20-minute warning of an impending nuclear attack would be to submerge their body in the nearest body of water (river, lake, or ocean). His logic was that this would give at least some protection against blast, heat and radiation. He noted that this was not a very satisfactory solution, and that cities should develop deep underground shelters stocked with food and water, which could double as parking garages in order to pay the cost. His suggestion was misunderstood, and he was made a laughingstock in newspapers. He subsequently self-published a book entitled "Beyond Star Wars," discussing civil defense against nuclear attack.

He developed, contracted for the production, and sold one of the first high-potency general vitamin and mineral supplements, which he called "Sparx." Its immediate impact on my energy level was the thing that caused me to become interested in the use of nutritional supplements for the treatment of health conditions.

He discovered four non-drug treatments for Crohn's disease, which have greatly helped many people, one of them being my late father-in-law.

You can see some of his other ideas on his website.

The last thing he was working on when he died was treatment for Alzheimer's, in an effort to help his companion of 20 years. That is discussed in the blog on his website.

His motivation in working on treatment for each of the disorders he worked on was to help someone he knew, who had that particular disorder. His work on cancer began when I developed colorectal cancer.

I will greatly miss David, and I'm very glad to have known him.

Rich Van Konynenburg
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
I am sorry for your loss, Rich. David sounds like was a very compassionate and brilliant man, as well as a good friend.

I offer you my condolences.
 

kurt

Senior Member
Messages
1,186
Location
USA
Rich,
Sorry to hear of David Gregg's passing, the loss of your friend. I just read through some of his website, which reminded me that I read this years ago, and even tried MSM and Vitamin C based on that hypothesis. David Gregg he had some innovative ideas based on good reasoning. His idea that CFS and Cancer have a similar cause in energy loss is fascinating. Sounds like he made a valuable contribution.
 

jewel

Senior Member
Messages
195
Rich-- Sorry for the loss of your good friend and colleague. He sounds like a creative thinker; thank you for letting us know about him. That is one way to pay tribute to your friend. Take care, J.
 

maddietod

Senior Member
Messages
2,859
Rich -

I'm sorry that you have lost a good friend, and I love to hear of the joy you shared in his company. It sounds like he was a bright light in your life.

Madie
 

WillowJ

คภภเє ɠรค๓թєl
Messages
4,940
Location
WA, USA
rich, I am sorry for your loss. Dr. David Gregg sounds like an amazing person.
 
Messages
88
Location
Canada Niagara Falls
Rich, I'm sorry for your loss. I've always loved "out side of the box" thinkers. It sounds to me Rich that after reading some of your research as well your friend David has rubbed off on you well. Thank you for letting us know of his passing. He will be missed by many people.

GaryK
 
That's very sad, Rich.

I came across Gregg's article on DMSO & B12 about a year ago, and I was immediately taken by the creativity of his thinking, his clarity of expression, and his willingness to experiment on himself.

I am not surprised that his Cold War suggestions got short thrift in the press. Originality exposes people to ridicule; that's why much of the establishment prefers to drift with the current.

I did not realize that you had contracted colorectal cancer. I hope it's behind you. I lost my mother to metastatic colorectal cancer earlier this year.
 

richvank

Senior Member
Messages
2,732
Thanks to everyone for the expressions of condolence. I appreciate them very much. I've posted David Gregg's comments on the treatment of Crohn's disease in the files section of one of the Yahoo Crohn's disease groups, so hopefully his work will be available to continue to help people with that disorder. I think that David's work on Crohn's disease was one of most significant things he did for relieving human misery.

Rich
 

aquariusgirl

Senior Member
Messages
1,732
A sad day for you Rich, but your enthusiasm for your friend & his work is touching. Sounds like a good guy. My condolences.
 

topaz

Senior Member
Messages
149
Sincere condolences. From your post, Dr Gregg was a wonderful human being and his passing really is a loss. Your respect and affection for your friend are clear from your post and I am sorry for our loss.
 

Sing

Senior Member
Messages
1,782
Location
New England
I'm glad you told us about David Gregg and your friendship. We here appreciate your dedication to helping us and "out of the box" thinking too. It is not surprising that you have kindred spirits who have travelled with you in life. Independent scientific thinkers are very valuable!

My Warm Regards,

Sing