"Serendipity n. the faculty of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." -Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, First Edition

Most of us think of chili peppers as objects that cause pain, not cure it. But some very perceptive scientists made an observation about this fiery food that could help millions of people. Peppers burns the mouth at first, of course. But then, taste and pain receptors on the tongue turn numb. Wendye Robbins, an anesthesiologist, wondered if the compounds found in hot chilies might also deaden pain receptors elsewhere in the body. In "Why Are Peppers Hot"she proves that it can. In clinical trials, her pepper-based cream is able to ease one patient's unbearable foot pain, dramatically improving his quality of life.

We are all familiar with the tale of Newton's apple. While sitting in his orchard one day in 1665, Isaac Newton's curiosity was sparked by a falling apple, leading him to 'discover' the law of gravity. As doubtful as the story sounds, writings by Newton and his contemporaries verify the incident. Though science often seems an orderly and methodical process, history is dotted with surprising discoveries such as these. Were they merely luck? Or the results of a gifted mind? Actually, a bit of both. Sometimes scientific discoveries come from the most unexpected places, when talented people are watching out for them.

Here are just a few examples of similarly serendipitous finds.
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The Smallpox Cure

Ali Maow Maalin of Somalia contracted the last known case of small pox in 1977

In the late 1700's, Edward Jenner, a young English doctor-in-training, was told by a local milkmaid that she was safe from smallpox because she had already had cowpox. Like its deadly cousin, cowpox also produced painful blisters, yet doctors had not made a connection between the two diseases. After extensive research, Jenner discovered that what she said was true - milkmaids exposed to a common strain of cowpox almost never contracted smallpox.

Jenner's supervising physicians took little interest in his findings. Then, in 1796, he injected a young boy named James Phipps with tissue taken from a cowpox blister on a milkmaid's hand. He then exposed the boy to the deadly smallpox virus. So pervasive and devastating was this disease at the time that the boy's family was willing to take this unimaginable risk. But their gamble paid off. Young James remained completely healthy, and the vaccination process was born.

Jenner's idea opened the door not only to the eradication of smallpox but to the subsequent perfection of the immunization procedure by Louis Pasteur. The modern term "vaccine," from the Latin word for "cow," honors Jenner and his life-saving inspiration.

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Photos: CDC; March of Dimes ("Elvis gets his Polio Vaccine.")