Accidental observations

The scientific method, as mentioned, involves observation and experimentation (research) to discover or establish facts. These are followed by deduction or hypothesis, establishing theories or principles. This sequence, however, may be reversed. The noted twentieth-century philosopher Karl Popper, who also dealt with science, expressed the view that the scientist s work starts not with collection of data (observation) but with selection of a suitable problem (theory). In fact, both of these paths can be involved. vSignificant and sometimes accidental observations can be made without any preconceived idea of a problem or theory and vice versa. The scientist, however, must have a well-prepared, open mind to be able to recognize the significance of such observations and must be able to follow them through. Science always demands rigorous standards of procedure, reproducibility, and open discussion that set reason over irrational belief. 

Millions of people with type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus inject themselves daily with pure insulin to compensate for the lack of production of this critical hormone by their own pancreatic fi cells. Insulin injection is not a cure for diabetes, but it allows people who otherwise would have died young to lead long and productive lives. The discovery of insulin, which began with an accidental observation, illustrates the combination of serendipity and careful experimentation that led to the discovery of many of the hormones. 

Initial efforts aimed to identify a specific activity may, also, lead to a secondary response which may be unanticipated and eventually more useful and economically important. Many plant growth regulators have been developed in this way after accidental observations or via serendipity. Alar and ethephon are examples ( 5,6). 

Cinnamic Acid.—Cinnamic acid, investigated by Brester,5 showed a similar behavior in the electrolysis of both the free acid and the neutral solutions of its salts. Lob 6 has reported an accidental observation on the formation of bromstyrene by electrolysis of cinnamic acid in the presence of potassium bromide. 

It was not the sort of accident to reach the front pages of newspapers, although its result was world-shaking From this accidental observation came a train of events which culminated in the triumphal work of Mme Curie Quite by accident, Becquerel had placed a piece of uranium ore upon a sensitized photographic plate lying on a table m his darkroom. Uranium salts had been known since 1789, they had been used to color glass. There was nothing very remarkable about this substance. 

The development of the polymer industry provides a striking example of the importance of serendipity in the progress of science. Many discoveries in polymer chemistry arose from accidental observations that scientists followed up. 

The crystallization of the photosynthetic reaction centre was crucial for the structure determination. One has to keep in mind that the photosynthetic reaction centre is a complex of membrane proteins, and it was considered to be impossible to crystallize membrane proteins at that time. The reaction centre was therefore the first membrane protein or complex of membrane protein whose structure could be determined. I had started the crystallization of membrane proteins in 1978 when working as a post doc in Dieter Oesterhelt s lab in Wurzburg. My attempts were caused by an accidental observation, which I had made with bacteriorhodopsin and which led me to try to crystallize membrane proteins and to develop strategies to achieve this. The results were two papers in the Proceedings of the National Aeademy of Sciences of the U.S.A. with D. Oesterhelt in 1980 (77, 338-342 77, 1283-1285). One described the formation and analysis of a new two-dimensional crystal form of bacteriorhodopsin and the other was about the first true three-dimensional crystallization of any membrane protein, namely bacteriorhodopsin. 

There was no single crucial moment. There were many crucial steps first the accidental observation, then seeing the first bacteriorhodopsin crystals. 

The accidental observation in 1957 that allyl halides reacted with tin hydrides not by addition across the double bond, but by replacement of the halogen by hydrogen, provided the basis for the extensive use which the tin hydrides (Section 15.3.5), distannanes (Section 18.2.3), allylstannanes (Section 9.1.3.3), and related compounds now find in organic synthesis. The reaction involves bimolecular homolytic substitution (Sh2) at the halogen centre, and ab initio calculations indicate that, when R = H, R = Me, and X = Cl, Br, or I, the transition state is colinear, as illustrated in equation 20-18.58... 

Considerations of this kind led the author to undertake an investigation using enzymes to reveal the chemical nature of phosphorus bonds that may occur in phosphoproteins. This interest came through the accidental observation that a variety of phosphomonoesterases of mammalian origin and from plants will dephosphorylate ovalbumin, a protein with a low phosphorus content. Of course, a prerequisite in the selection of the enzymes for such work is that the dephosphorylation process should not be accompanied by any other enzymatic reactions that might result from the presence of small amounts of impurities in even highly purified phosphatase preparation. in particular, an extensive proteolysis has to be excluded. 

Several important discoveries in medicine and the sciences have arisen from accidental observations. A health care worker or scientist may see something quite rmexpected. Whether this results in an important discovery or is ignored depends on the training and preparedness of the observer. 

The hint, which led us to this finding, was the accidental observation of paralytic syndrome in silkworms that had digested an extract of a certain isolate. We had been screening numerous soil isolates for their insecticidal activity against silkworms upon oral administration in the usual manner. It was of great interest that the strain Aspergillus japonicus Saito JV-23 resulted in paralysis in silkworms. 

Thermal convection, driven by gravity, seems to have been recorded first by Count Rumford in 1797 (R4). After accidentally observing the behavior of fluid in a thermometer he reported ... 

The story of herbicide safeners began in 1947 with an accidental observation by Otto Hoffmann, a researcher in the Gulf Oil Company. On entering his greenhouse on a hot summer afternoon he saw that tomato plants had suffered injury that he presumed was from 2,4-D vapor drift. However, plants treated with 2,4,6-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid showed no symptoms of this injury [4]. Hoffmann recognized the potential use of such an effect and started research into compounds that could protect crops from herbicide injury. 

Bockris and Matthews measured the separation factor at -71°C by using concentrated HCl solutions. During this work, they accidentally observed an important effect, namely, the considerable variation of the separation factor with potential (Figure 4). 

The first systematic laboratory experiments relevant to the study of tsunamis were introduced by Russell after he accidentally observed the generation of a solitary wave in August 1834 while investigating ship waves. His historic remark is as follows ... 

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