Gone Sideways. Serendipity in Science

Description

Chance plays an enormous role in many major scientific discoveries. In this program, host David Suzuki explores three serendipitous, or chance, findings in medical, technological, and paleontological research. Segment one focuses on Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming, who stumbled upon penicillin when his poor housekeeping allowed mold to start growing on a petri dish of bacteria. Segment two spotlights amateur inventor George de Mestral, who took a walk, noticed burs adhering to his clothing, examined their structure under his microscope, and went on to create Velcro. And segment three tells the story of a railroad surveyor working in British Columbia who unintentionally found trilobite fossils in the rocks. Includes discussion of what makes serendipitous discoveries possible.

Runtime

44 min

Subjects

Genre

Date of Publication

[2009], c2008

Database

Films on Demand

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