Science is full of examples of serendipity leading to discovery. Some of them are the stuff of legend.
However, far more often, this isn’t how science and technology moves forward. Most of the time, there are no wet Greek mathematicians storming out of their baths and running naked down Syracuse streets shouting “Eureka!” More often, the path to discovery and invention is made in a fashion described by Thomas Edison. It is achieved not so much through luck or inspiration, but through perspiration. It also happens in small increments, but over time, the incremental improvements add up to big changes.
In few areas is this truer than in cancer research. Cancer is a tough, complex set of biological and medical problems to solve. And it really isn’t a single disease. We’ve spent many decades looking for a cure, but a true magic bullet has eluded us.
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