Pandora's box and the history of the respiratory viruses: a case study of serendipity in research.
As fastidious human parasites, the respiratory viruses other than influenza viruses have been among the last of the human viruses to be isolated. Their recognition has been dependent upon the evolving technology of cell culture and equally upon a series of fortuitous observations by astute investigators. Adenoviruses were discovered independently by two different groups of scientists, one utilizing explantation of ostensibly normal human tissues and the other recovering virus directly from epidemics of acute disease. In other studies, a technique developed for detection of influenza virus in cell culture led to the discovery of other hemagglutinating viruses, now known as parainfluenza viruses. From such shreds of laboratory evidence, the structural and molecular characteristics of these diverse viruses have been defined, and each in turn has been retrospectively linked to a legacy of previously described clinical syndromes and epidemic patterns. Thus, neither technology or human imagination alone is sufficient for scientific advance, but, when combined, are the essence of scientific discovery.
Kilbourne
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Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla.
D000257:Adenoviridae Infections / Q000266:history / Q000382:microbiology; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000266:history / Q000382:microbiology; D012106:Research; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000266:history* / Q000382:microbiology; D014773:Virology / Q000266:history*