he search for a vaccine that would eradicate polio was a quest that frustrated the brightest minds in medicine. But in the early 1950s, a young American doctor named Jonas Salk made a revolutionary breakthrough that forever changed the world and ultimately saved millions of lives. Through interviews with both polio victims and scientists, this installment of the History Channel's "Modern Marvels" series illuminates Salk's dramatic discovery.

It was once one of the most feared human afflictions - a disease that struck without warning, crippling and killing thousands each year.

In the early 1900s, the search for a vaccine that would eradicate poliomyelitis (better known as polio) was a quest that frustrated even the brightest minds in medicine. Despite massive funding, polio remained a serious threat in both developing and industrialized nations through the mid-20th century. But then in the early1950s, a young American doctor named Jonas Salk made a revolutionary breakthrough that forever changed the world of medicine and ultimately saved millions of lives - he discovered a successful vaccine.

In this dramatic story brought to you by THE HISTORY CHANNEL, meet polio victims who describe the disease's horrors and scientists who recount the great medical triumph that would later spare the lives of so many.