More significant medical discoveries that changed our world
It is believed that the story of "lady capricious" and conditional declination does not tolerate. The world will never know what it was like if Newton had not been hit by an apple in his time, or Percy Spencer accidentally opened a microwave oven.
Random discoveries, it turns out, is much more than you think. But the most significant can be considered those that affected the life of each of us. So, we will talk about random medical discoveries, and start standing with penicillin.
And than only did not treat the Aesculapius unhappy patients: and herbs, and poultices, and leeches. But persistent bacteria and viruses rarely surrendered under such a weak onslaught, killing thousands of patients with meningitis, influenza and pneumonia. So far, in 1928, Alexander Fleming has absolutely not accidentally discovered the most common antibiotic in the world - penicillin. And it happened because of the usual absent-mindedness and slovenliness. It took a couple of weeks not to wash the laboratory dishes, in which he cultivated the spores of the flu. Not surprisingly, in this mess, mildew began to grow successfully, which could suppress a resistant bacterium of staphylococcus aureus. Thanks to this absurdity, now mankind has both penicillin and hundreds of its synthetic twinnings.
Each of us had to visit X-ray room. But not many know that X-rays are also a matter of chance. In 1895, unsuspecting Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen conducted another experiment with cathode rays. The scientist noticed that these rays leave a certain pattern on certain surfaces. Almost 2 months X-ray did not leave the laboratory, trying to reveal the regularity. And it happened. Also, the scientist was able to understand that the invention perfectly shines through the human body, and this can be useful in medicine.
It's hard to even assume that Viagra has also become a mistake. It began not in the distant 1992.The English pharmacological company has been developing a new medicine for angina and hypertension. Medications did not primarily affect the condition of patients. But male patients noted that the pills had a wonderful effect on sexual function and significantly improved the erection. Scientists decided to use this and released "Viagra" - from "Vigor"( power, energy) and "Niagara"( America's largest waterfall).The invention of the drug brought to the creators a financial benefit and the Nobel Prize.
Another important discovery for medicine was the pacemaker. In 1941, on the instructions of the government, the military doctor John Hopps was trying to find a quick way to heat a heavily frozen person. For heating, he used high-frequency radio emission. Hopps managed to "start" the stopped heart with the help of electrical impulses. And already in 10 years a full-fledged pacemaker was created.
Case and luck have become the engine for many important world discoveries. But we should not forget that scientific contingencies remain so only as long as they do not discern law.