By 1960 an extremely rare type of birth defect was appearing across Germany. Babies were born with hands and feet attached directly to the body a condition known as phocomelia.

• 导至这一悲剧的原因：“反应停”在大鼠身上的通过的动物试验试验结果用于临床是有瑕疵的，大鼠身上有人所没有一种的酶，它使大鼠不会产生的海豹畸形儿。