One of the greatest scientific developments of the past 150
years is the discovery of antibiotics. For some basic background on
antibiotics, listen to this very brief Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) podcast about antibiotics:
http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=10055
There is, however, a dirty little secret about Alexander Fleming
and his discovery: it was an accident! As Fleming worked in his lab
in the late 1920s growing disease-causing bacteria in tiny petri
dishes, he got a little sloppy by leaving the petri dishes
uncovered too long. One story even suggests that he may have
sneezed into one of his petri dishes. Regardless of the exact
cause, what resulted was a mold infestation on some of his
bacterial dishes. However messy Fleming was, he was also smart
enough to see that the mold infestation was killing off the
bacteria he was studying. Completely by accident, he had found
something that killed disease-causing organisms. Such "happy accidents" are not uncommon in science. Some notable
examples include aspartame (NutraSweet) which was discovered by a
drug chemist who forgot to wash his hands. Even Isaac Newton
benefited from a little accidental inspiration when he (supposedly)
came up with a description of the concept of gravity after being
knocked on the head by a falling apple. Scientists, like everyone
else, make mistakes but, the best scientists use their mistakes and
learn from them. Reflect about the famous Louis Pasteur quote: "Chance favors the
prepared mind," as well as what you learned about scientific
inquiry throughout the course. Then, during the week, address the
following: What do you think it means for a person (especially a scientist)
to have a "prepared mind," as Pasteur describes? How can a person prepare his or her mind to be open to chance
within any particular discipline? What roles might education, job
experience, and life experience play in creating a prepared
mind? What about science makes it particularly good at allowing people
to analyze their accidents? What are some risks associated with research that involves
chance consider the risks associated with stem cell research,
cloning, gene therapy, HIV.] Are there circumstances when research
should not be conducted due to risks or are there ways to reduce
risk?
Total of 200 words for all questions.
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