Focused+Research+Successes

Enter your description of research resulting from focused efforts by research scientists.

The Human Genome Project was an international effort to determine the base pair sequence composing DNA and mapping the genes that comprise the human genome. Dr. James Watson initiated the project, and thirteen years later, the complete human genome was mapped and was released. The goal of the project as stated by the US Department of Energy was to increase “knowledge of the human as necessary to the continuing progress of medicine and other health sciences as knowledge of human anatomy. . . for the present state of medicine.” Since the human genome mapping has been completed, the project has expanded to other organisms such as //Drosophila//, //E. coli,// and lab mice. (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/faq/faqs1.shtml) - Shalini

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) is still applauded today for his vast work in the field of astronomy. Tycho Brahe made a remarkable star catalogue of over 1000 stars, each with a position accurate to one minute, or 1/60th of a degree. These observations took him well over 30 years. Had he not died of a fluke accident, he likely would have continued his work for many more years. Every tool he used came from his own workshop, and every book he printed came from his own press. The information he gathered was crucial to the discovery of Kepler's Laws of Motion and Newton's Universal law of Gravitation. - Akhil

The development of telescopes during the 17th centuries was a massive European effort, and upon this continued improvement on the original ideas stand many of today's understanding of astronomy and theories dealing with astrophysics. Dutch watchmakers and amateur astrophysicists are credited for developing the first telescopes: Hans Lippershey is credited as designing and producing the first practical telescope in 1608, beating the other designers by a mere couple of weeks. Soon after, Galileo had made great contributions to the astronomical community through use of the telescope by discovering several planets and confirming Copernicus' observation of heliocentrism. As the centuries went on, complex and more versatile telescopes were made, and now researchers in the field of astrophysics are able to study the skies across the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation and in unprecendented resolution and clarity. (http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/lippershey.html) -Nikita

The Physiome Project Peter Hunter, director of the University of Auckland’s Bioengineering Institute, headed the Physiome Project for 20 years. It is an international catalog of linked research groups (such as those in Oxford, MIT, and the University of California) devoted to using databasing, computer modeling, biochemistry, biophysics, mathematics, and the anatomy of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems to define all aspects of human physiology. Their goal was to provide a mathematical model for the entire human body. This will allow specialists to use an individual’s entire body in all their physiological detail to diagnose customized drug treatment for patient. Even though the project is not complete yet, Hunter has already made a mathematical modeling of the human heart. He says that his goal is to finish the project in his lifetime. - Sarah http://unlimited.co.nz/unlimited.nsf/ulfuture/ED158067F7209A18CC25720500137BF4

Gregor Mendel and Genes Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) is considered to be the father of genetics. Mendel studied the inheritance of traits in pea plants. Through this he discovered the laws guiding the passage of traits from parent to child. The first law states that the sex cells of a plant may contain two different traits, but not both of those traits. The second law stated that characteristics are inherited independently from another (the basis for recessive and dominant gene composition). The third theory states that each inherited characteristic is determined by two genes, one from each parent, which decides whether a gene is dominant or recessive. From his work many things were discovered including dominant and recessive traits, particular inheritance, and personally he discovered actual proof of the existence of genes. From his work the basis of modern genetics is found. -Jessica http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/mendel_gregor.html

Microscopic Discoveries Antony van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch scientist who made discoveries in the field of microscopic life. He made great advancements in observing these small lifeforms, especially by grinding at least 500 lenses by himself. Through persistence and care, Leeuwennhoek could grind lenses that could magnify hundreds of times better than other microscopes at the time. Leeuwenhoek made observations with the lenses that he created, and in the process made many new discoveries, including some of the very first observations of bacteria, blood cells, and microscopic animals. When he found microscopic lifeforms, he would continue to try and find more in order to get a better picture of what the creature was. For example, he once examined the plaque in his teeth; when he found microscopic life in the sample from his mouth, he went on to perform the same observations on samples from other people's teeth.-Ashley http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/leeuwenhoek.html

Gas lighting was a mature field by the time Edison started tinkering around with filament electric lighting. The other form of electric lighting—electric arc lights—were much too bright for normal, everyday usage. The first filament Edison tried lasted for about 12 hours, but eventually, he discovered one that lasted over 1200, a filament composed of carbonized bamboo. Edison is considered by many to be a prime example of what an inventor/scientist should be, and his brainchild General Electric still exists today. -- Saumil (http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/lightbulb.htm)

Carl Sagan (1934-1996) is still cited as a reference on the climates of Venus and Mars. In the 1960s, no one knew for sure the conditions of the surface of Venus. He hypothesized that Venus was dry and very hot as opposed to the popular view that Venus was a “balmy paradise.” He investigated radio emissions from Venus and concluded that the surface temperature is 500 ̊ C. By 1973, Sagan devoted considerable attention on Mars and suggested that the seasonal changes on Mars were due to windblown dust, not vegetation changes as others had suggested. He contributed to the first Mariner missions to Venus, and Mariner 2 confirmed his results in 1962. Through his research on Venus, Sagan perceived global warming as a man-made danger and compared it to the development of Venus into a hot, hostile planet through greenhouse gases. -Eugene www.crystalinks.com/**sagan**.html

Louis Pasteur's Germ Theory Prior to Louis Pasteur's findings in the 19th century, the popular explanation of the spread of sickness and disease involved spontaneous generation (life could originate from nonliving matter). Through Pasteur's experiments, he showed that fermentation is caused by the growth of microorganisms that did not spontaneously appear by the presence of the broth. In these experiments, Pasteur had 2 flasks of boiled broth which he exposed to air through tubes that filtered to only allow air, no particles and living organisms from outside. Nothing grew as long as this filter was in place. Upon Pasteur's breaking those filters, microorganisms began to grow in the broth. Through Pasteur's experiments, he was able to convince the general and scientific populace of the correctness of the "germ theory" (diseases are caused by microorganisms). Pasteur also invented a process in which liquids are heated prior to consumption in order to kill any bacteria that are present, pasteurization. Additionally, he developed techniques of inoculation, developing the first vaccine for rabies. http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/louis-pasteur/germ-theory.html Stefanie

Using mass spectrometry, peaks such as the ones observed in the experiments performed by our own second trimester Research in Chemistry students were seen that corresponded with the exact masses of 60, or 70 and more carbon atoms. In 1985, Harold Kroto, James R. Heath, Sean O-Brien, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley from Rice University discovered C60, and then soon after was discovered fullerene. Kroto, Curl, and Smalley were awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering fullerene. This discovery had first been predicted in 1970 by Japanese scientist Eiji Osawa of Toyohashi University of Technology and he had published this prediction in a Japanese magazine. Years were spent after this trying to discover fullerene until Kroto, Smalley, and Curl finally found it. [] -Anku
 * Discovery of Fullerene **