Accidental Discoveries

 When considering how technologies have been conceived. One may think of a think tank full of great minds that are constantly thinking of new ideas that will change the world (Zhao & Zhu, 2023). However, not all of the great discoveries that have been made were intentional. Some of the more prolific discoveries were made completely by accident. These happy accidents have produced life-saving medicines, soft drinks, and game-changing transportation. Without these happy accidents, it may have taken much longer to make the discoveries naturally.

In this individual project, two of these happy accidents will be discussed. The accidental discoveries to be discussed are the smallpox vaccination in 1796 and the discovery of warfarin in 1920s. The discussion of each discovery will also include the forces that supported each discovery.

Smallpox Vaccination
Accidental Discovery
            The discovery of the smallpox was made by Dr. Edward Jenner in 1796 (Riedel, 2005). The discovery was made when it was observed that dairy workers were somehow being protected from smallpox (Riedel, 2005). It was ascertained that the dairy workers had contracted a similar disease called cowpox. Dr. Jenner concluded that those that had been infected with cowpox would not develop smallpox. He used infected matter from a cowpox lesion from dairymaid Sarah Nelms and inoculated an 8-year-old boy James Phipps with the matter (Riedel, 2005). Though Phipps developed symptoms of cowpox, he made a recovery in under two weeks. To test his theory, Dr. Jenner repeated the inoculation with matter from a smallpox lesion. The boy did not develop smallpox and was considered to be fully protected.
Force that Supported Discovery
Blood-Thinner Warfarin
Accidental Discovery
            The initial discovery of warfarin began when cattle and sheep ranchers of North America observed their livestock suffering internal bleeding during damp weather (Lim, 2017). The animals would graze on sweet clover hay during this time and the hay would be infected with mold. This hay would be normally discarded, but financial hardships of the 1920s meant farmers could not afford to spare the hay. Veterinarians Frank W. Schofield and Lee M. Roderick were able to determine a treatment by removing the tainted hay and transfusing fresh blood into infected animals (Lim, 2017).
Forces that Supported Discovery
Conclusion
References

The first accidental discovery will be the smallpox vaccination of 1796. Smallpox was responsible for about 400,000 deaths per year during the 18th century in Europe (Hasselgren, 2020). During the 1780s in North America, smallpox was responsible for causing death of fifty percent of the native population (Carlos & Lewis, 2012). In the modern era, smallpox is the first human disease to be eradicated (Riedel, 2005). This feat began with the accidental discovery of smallpox vaccination.

While Dr. Jenner did face challenges when submitting his theory and experiments, there were forces that supported his accidental discovery (Hasselgren, 2020). The first support would have been societal. Smallpox would decimate populations with a thirty percent mortality rate (Riedel, 2005). An effective treatment such as this would certainly be supported. Considering the success rate of the vaccine was ninety-five percent, society was without a doubt supportive (Riedel, 2005).

The second accidental discovery was the blood-thinner medication warfarin. Warfarin is a drug commonly used to treat and prevent blood clots (Lim, 2017). This drug can be a treatment for stroke, heart-attack, and deep vein thrombosis. Warfarin was instrumental President Dwight D. Eisenhower recover from a heart attack in 1955 (Lim, 2017). The discovery was made in 1920s in North America but did not see use for medicine until 1954.

Several decades after this discovery, a biochemist Karl Link was able to isolate the substance within the mold and deduced that it could be used as rodenticide (Lim, 2017). In 1948, an effective rodenticide was produced from the mold and given the name “warfarin”. In 1951, a US Army recruit attempted suicide by consuming multiple doses of warfarin. The recruit was able to recover with vitamin K (Lim, 2017). The blood-thinning aspects were discovered during this treatment and more study took place for warfarin as a therapeutic. In 1954, warfarin was approved for clinical use. A year later, warfarin was able to save US President Dwight D. Eisenhower during an otherwise lethal heart attack.

The primary force that promoted the use of warfarin was natural and medical (Lim, 2017). The primary compound of warfarin, coumarin, had a high bioavailability. This means that the compound could easily be reproduced with a yield of production. It was not difficult to build a supply of the primary compound. The second force would be the simple treatment of vitamin K to reverse the use of warfarin. A cheap to make, highly available, and easily reversed treatment had a positive impact on the use of warfarin.

There are multiple discoveries that are made by accident. The examples of the smallpox vaccine and warfarin are only two. Many of humanity’s most important discoveries have been made by accident, and this will likely not change. As the march of time continues, humans will likely make more discoveries without meaning to.

 

           

 

Carlos, A. M., & Lewis, F. D. (2012, 2012/07/01/). Smallpox and Native American mortality: The 1780s epidemic in the Hudson Bay region. Explorations in Economic History, 49(3), 277-290. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2012.04.003

 

Hasselgren, P. O. (2020, Sep). The Smallpox Epidemics in America in the 1700s and the Role of the Surgeons: Lessons to be Learned During the Global Outbreak of COVID-19. World J Surg, 44(9), 2837-2841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-020-05670-4

 

Lim, G. B. (2017, 2017/12/14). Warfarin: from rat poison to clinical use. Nature Reviews Cardiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2017.172

 

Riedel, S. (2005, Jan). Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent), 18(1), 21-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.2005.11928028

 

Zhao, J., & Zhu, X. (2023). Spreading expertise: Think tanks as digital advocators in the social media era. Policy and Society, puad025.

 

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