Scientific Rivalries and Scandals

In the mid-1980s, some geneticists proposed a daring project to sequence the human genome. That meant figuring out the exact order of the three billion chemical pairs that make up human DNA. Sequencing the human genome could help scientists understand how our bodies work and help doctors diagnose, treat, and prevent certain diseases. The Human Genome Project launched in 1990, with scientists around the world collaborating on the research. They worked slowly and methodically, trying to produce the most accurate information possible. By 1991 one of these scientists, Craig Venter, became fed up with the HGP's slow pace. He challenged the HGP to move faster and started his own company to compete with the HGP. Racing neck and neck, the two organizations reached their goal years ahead of schedule. But the challenge also led to a bitter public argument, especially over who could use the sequence and how. This book reveals how ambition, persistence, ego, greed, and principle combined-often with explosive results-in the quest to decode our DNA.

In the early 1980s, doctors sounded the alarm. A mysterious new disease-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS-was spreading around the world. While many of the first AIDS patients were gay men, no one seemed to be immune from the deadly blood-borne disease. Researchers set to work to discover what was causing AIDS. They suspected a virus. Two teams of scientists-one in the United States and one in France-worked tirelessly to identify the virus and to develop a blood test to detect it. The news on April 23, 1984, that the U.S. team, led by Robert Gallo at the National Cancer Institute, had isolated the virus was a cause for celebration. But in Paris, France, Luc Montagnier and his team at the Pasteur Institute were furious and frustrated. They had uncovered the AIDS virus, they claimed, and now Gallo was taking credit for their discovery. The battle over who would be recognized for discovering the AIDS virus is a complex and compelling story, filled with mystery, deception, and hope. It involves sophisticated microbiology, the coveted Nobel Prize in Medicine, big egos, and great amounts of money. In this book, author Stuart Kallen chronicles this riveting human tale about a bitter scientific rivalry.

In the early 1880's, only a few wealthy people had electric lighting in their homes. Everyone else had use more dangerous lighting, such as gas lamps. Eager companies wanted to be the first to supply electricity to more Americans. The early providers would set the standards-and reap great profits. Inventor Thomas Edison already had a leading role in the industry: he had invented the first reliable electrical lightbulb. By 1882 his Edison Electric Light Company was distributing electricity using a system called direct current, or DC. But an inventor named Nikola Tesla challenged Edison. Tesla believed that an alternating current-or AC-system would be better. With an AC system, one power station could deliver electricity across many miles, compared to only about one mile for DC. Each inventor had his backers. Business tycoon George Westinghouse put his money behind Tesla and built AC power stations. Meanwhile, Edison and his DC backers said that AC could easily electrocute people. Edison believed this risk would sway public opinion toward DC power. The battle over which system would become standard became known as the War of the Currents. This exciting book tells the story of that war, the people who fought it, and the ways in which both kinds of electric power changed the world.

In the 1880's, science witnessed a major shift: Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution. People dug up the first dinosaur fossils. And the field of paleontology-the study of ancient plants and animals-emerged. Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope became enthralled with these new ideas, discoveries, and developments. Both were determined to become world-famous paleontologists. When they met in 1863, they started off as friends. But within a few years, competition drove the men apart. Each fought bitterly to discover more fossils, name more species, and publish more papers than the other. In their haste to outdo each other, they both produced some shoddy work. The resulting confusion took many years to discover and correct, and their toxic relationship crippled the field of paleontology for decades afterward. However, the competition also produced a wealth of fossils. These laid a firm foundation for the field of paleontology and supported Darwin's theory of evolution. Marsh's and Cope's discoveries generated keen public interest in prehistoric life and rich data for future generations of paleontologists. This book explores the great rivalry between Marsh and Cope, showing how it brought out the best and the worst in them-while bringing humankind a brand-new view of life on Earth.