‘Like Nothing We Know’ and a ‘Discovery Leaving Scientists Dumbfounded‘ were just two of the May 31 news headlines blazing forth the detection of previously unknown radio signals emitted by a neutron star in the sky some 1,300 light years far off our planet. The revelation of the existence of the unexpected pulse from a neutron star was published in an article by the research team in Nature Astronomy on May 30, unleashing wide media interest. The development certainly merited the intensive attention, at least given that it added to human knowledge a piece of information that had never been known before: the existence of somewhat mysterious radio pulses beamed by a neutron star. “We spotted a strange-looking flash or ‘pulse’ that lasted about 300 milliseconds,’ one of the research team members was quoted as saying, adding “This wasn’t like anything we’d seen before.” From the angel of the history of science, the radio emission from the neutron star is new. Of special importance however the fact that that discovery was not eyed in itself by the researchers but was rather recognised as they were busy doing something else, observing one region of the Milky Way. As such, the new discovery brings us close to understanding the nature of scientific research and its huge potential for enriching human knowledge of the outer space which is doubtlessly tied to the very time-old aspiration to recognise the multitude of factors that affect or have relevance to life on the Earth.
A general reading of the progress of human civilisation suggests, inter alia, that several developments that have altered the modalities of life were in fact chance or accidental discoveries made recognisable through either pure scientific research or methodological observation and analysis. Two of the most glamorous such discoveries are those of penicillin and anesthesia. The former was made by Alexander Fleming in the year 1928 while experimenting with bacteria and the latter was identified by Horace Wells in the year 1844 when he recognised nitrous oxide as the early form of anesthesia after a friend of his had not realised that he had hurt his own leg when exposed to the gas. Needless to say, neither discovery could have been defined had it not been for the precision and scientific thinking that the discoverers demonstrated. The stories of several key discoveries that have changed human life augment this observation. Mention may be made in this respect to the well-known stories of the discovery of plastics, rubber, X-Ray and safety glass. Numerous and varied such discoveries are, they complement methodological and targeted scientific research, particularly the part of it pertaining to improving the quality of medicine, industry and likewise areas of social and economic life. And this is exactly where the advantages and benefits of science have been made all the more illustratable over the centuries.
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