The Most Important Scientific Discovery by Mankind Ever #2 (Essay Sample)

The Most Important Scientific Discovery by Mankind Ever
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The Most Important Scientific Discovery by Mankind Ever
Diverse standpoints have been expressed as to which scientific discovery remains the most important in the history of humanity. In many cases, notable contributions like those of Nicholas Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein, Georges Lemaître, Alexander Fleming, James Watson, and Luc Montagnier are considered. Their discoveries include the Copernican system, the law of gravity, electricity, evolution, antibiotics, the theory of relativity, the Big Bang theory, Penicillin, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) respectively (Carlisle, 2005). For a discovery to be considered the most important, it must influence many lives to an extent that its withdrawal would not be tolerable to humanity. Viewed closely, electricity and antibiotics widely present such characteristics and undeviating consideration would settle on one of the two.
Conversely, a comparative review of the remaining discoveries reveals some important facts that cannot be disregarded. The unearthing of HIV by Luc Montagnier may not be used as much as electricity. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the virus still has no curative medicine. If the virus had not been discovered, even substantial milestones achieved in the development of antiretroviral therapy and vaccines would not have been possible. As at the time of its discovery, it was one of the major threats to humanity (Learn & Rodrigo, 2001). In a similar way, DNA analysis may not be relevant in all life’s circumstances. Nonetheless, it has successfully assisted humanity to explain genetic orientations, understand, predict, and cure inherited diseases, explain human ancestry, and solve criminal cases as it is a strong tracking tool for evidence examination (Watson & Berry, 2003).
Exposed by Michael Faraday in 1821, electricity would probably stand out as an important innovation (Carlisle, 2005). The most commonly used form of electricity is generated by hydroelectric power stations constructed on dams. As a source of energy, it serves large parts of the world and humanity is relatively highly dependent on it. Nonetheless, the importance of electricity is downplayed by a number of factors. The most central of these is the fact that there are numerous alternatives that could substitute electricity. These include the use of solar power, briquettes, biogas, wind energy, biodiesel, bioethanol, and nuclear power.
Defined as substances which inhibit the development of other microorganisms and destroy them, the discovery of antibiotics stands out as the most important by mankind ever. The most imminent discovery was by Professor Alexander Fleming in form of Penicillium Notatum in 1928 (Cunha, 2010). Other notable contributors to the development of antibiotics include Gerhard Domagk of Germany, Louis Pasteur and Ernest Duchesne of France, and John Tyndall, Joseph Lister, and Sir John Scott of England (Cunha, 2010). With time, they have been enhanced to cure a range of common diseases and conditions including ear pains caused by bacterial infections, sinus contaminations, coughs, bronchitis, sore throats, and cases of cold and common flu (Cunha, 2010). The reason antibiotics would be considered the most important is the fact that these diseases are quit...