Chance, creativity, and the discovery of the nerve growth factor.
This essay analyzes the history of the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) discovery, relating some of the principles of the theory of scientific creativity to the cognitive and personal qualities of the scientists that participated in the discovery, particularly Rita Levi-Montalcini and Viktor Hamburger. The discovery of NGF is especially attractive for the history of science as it involves chance, luck, creativity, and some extraordinary scientists.
de Romo
Ana Cecilia Rodríguez
AC
Department of the History and Philosophy of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, Laboratory of the History of Medicine, National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Del Tlalpan, CP, Mexico. ceciliar@servidor.unam.mx
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000266:history*; D003405:Creativity; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000266:history*; D011336:Probability
D009414:Nerve Growth Factors