Lesson-6

The Making of a Scientist

Introduction to the lesson

The plot revolves around Richard H. Ebright, who grew up in the Pennsylvania town of Reading. Collecting things was his hobby because he didn't have much to do there. As a child in kindergarten, he used to collect butterflies. Let's take a look at how this inquisitive child who collected butterflies grew up to become one of the world's greatest scientists.

The Making of a scientist Summary

The chapter 'The Making of a Scientist' tells the storey of the well-known scientist Richard Ebright. Richie, as his mother used to call him, was a naturally inquisitive child. He began collecting butterflies as a child, and by the age of two, he had collected all 25 species found near his hometown. He thought his butterfly collection had come to an end until his mother bought him a book called 'The Travels of Monarch X.' This was a watershed moment in his life, and he became far more interested in dealing with science. He began by tagging butterflies, a task assigned at the end of the book his mother had purchased for him. When he first entered the county science fair with a slide of frog tissue, he was disqualified. Everyone received a prize, except for his project, which did not receive a prize. He was sad, but he also realised that in order to win, he needed to conduct real experiments rather than just make neat and clean models. Then he wrote to Dr. Urquhart at the University of Toronto, asking for project ideas. Throughout high school, he kept himself busy by working on the lengthy list given to him by Dr. Urquhart. Then, for the following year's fair, he chose to investigate the viral disease that killed nearly all monarch caterpillars every few years. He reasoned that the cause could be a beetle, so he began raising caterpillars in the presence of beetles, but he got no results. As a result, when he presented his trial experiment at the county science fair, his project was awarded a prize. The following year, he conducted an experiment to demonstrate that viceroy butterflies imitated monarchs. This project also resulted in him receiving awards. Then he began his investigation into the significance of the 12 golden spots on the back of a monarch pupa.

Everyone thought it was just a design, but Dr. Urquhart disagreed. Then Ebright and another brilliant science student collaborated to create a device that could demonstrate that the gold spots were responsible for the release of a hormone required for its growth. He was given the opportunity to work with sophisticated instruments in one of the labs and discovered the chemical structure of the hormone in the gold spots. Then, one day, while looking at a photo of the chemical structure, he solved one of life's most difficult puzzles. He discovered how a cell's DNA is blueprinted. It was a significant breakthrough that was published in a magazine.

He also had many other interests and admired his social studies teacher because he was the one who would always come up with new ideas for him. He excelled at debating, public speaking, and canoeing. He never used to win for the sake of winning or for prizes, but rather to be the best at whatever he did. This chapter demonstrates that being a scientist requires a healthy dose of curiosity, a sharp mind, and a strong desire to win for the right reasons. His mother also played an important role in shaping him as he was the one who supported him throughout his journey and bought him the book 'The Travels of Monarch X,' which piqued his interest in science.

The Making of a scientist Lesson and explanation

At the age of twenty-two, a former ‘scout of the year’ excited the scientific world with a new theory on how cells work. Richard H. Ebright and his college room-mate explained the theory in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. It was the first time this important scientific journal had ever published the work of college students. In sports, that would be like making the big leagues at the age of fifteen and hitting a home run your first time at bat*. For Richard Ebright, it was the first in a long string of achievements in science and other fields. And it all started with butterflies. An only child, Ebright grew up north of Reading, Pennsylvania. “There wasn’t much I could do there,” he said. “I certainly couldn’t lay football or baseball with a team of one. But there was one thing I could do — collect things.” So he did, and did he ever! Beginning in kindergarten, Ebright collected butterflies with the same determination that has marked all his activities. He also collected rocks, fossils, and coins. He became an eager astronomer, too, sometimes stargazing all night.

• Former- having previously been a particular thing.
• Scout- a member of the Scout Association or a similar organization
• Proceedings- a published report of a set of meetings or a conference.
• Journal- a newspaper or magazine that deals with a particular subject or professional activity.
• making the big leagues- in a field of tough competition and high rewards, the largest or foremost of its kind. For example- winning an Oscar put the actress in the big league.
• Fossils- the remains or impression of a prehistoric plant or animal embedded in rocks. Astronomer- an expert in or student of astronomy.

Richard H. Ebright and his roommate astounded the world at the age of 22 when they explained how cells work in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. For the first time, this valuable magazine published the work of college students. It was one of many accomplishments that Richard Ebright had later in his life. He claims that it all started with butterflies. Ebright was the only child of his parents and grew up in Pennsylvania. He couldn't have done much there because there were so few people. He claims that because he had no friends to play football or baseball with, he could only do one thing alone: collect things. He had started collecting butterflies, rocks, fossils, and coins when he was in kindergarten. He also used to spend the entire night staring at the stars because he was interested in astronomy.

From the first he had a driving curiosity along with a bright mind. He also had a mother who encouraged his interest in learning. She took him on trips, bought him telescopes, microscopes, cameras, mounting materials, and other equipment and helped him in many other ways. “I was his only companion until he started school,” his mother said. “After that I would bring home friends for him. But at night we just did things together. Richie was my whole life after his father died when Richie was in third grade.” She and her son spent almost every evening at the dining room table. “If he didn’t have things to do, I found work for him — not physical work, but learning things,” his mother said. “He liked it. He wanted to learn.” And learn he did. He earned top grades in school. “On everyday things he was just like every other kid,” his mother said. By the time he was in the second grade, Ebright had collected all twenty five species of butterflies found around his hometown. “That probably would have been the end of my butterfly collecting,” he said. “But then my mother got me a children’s book called The Travels of Monarch X.” That book, which told how monarch butterflies migrate to Central America, opened the world of science to the eager young collector.

• Curiosity- a strong desire to know or learn something.
• Encouraged- give support, confidence, or hope to (someone).
• Equipment- the necessary items for a particular purpose.
• Species- a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
• Monarch butterflies- a large migratory orange and black coloured butterfly that occurs mainly in North America.
• Collector- a person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby.

Ebright had a sharp mind and was always eager to learn new things. His mother always encouraged him to study. She used to take him on learning trips and buy him telescopes and other tools to help him learn new things. Until he started school, his mother was his only friend. His mother would bring his friends home after he started school. He and his mother used to spend the night together and do and learn things together. After his father died when he was in third grade, Ebright, nicknamed Richie by his mother, became her entire life and support system. They used to spend a lot of time together in the evenings. If he didn't have anything to do, his mother would assign him a learning task. He used to enjoy the learning assignments that his mother assigned to him because that was exactly what he wanted to do: learn about new things. He was a good student because he did well in class and completed his daily tasks on time. He had collected all 25 species of butterflies found in his neighbourhood by the time he was in second grade. He thought his butterfly collection would have ended if his mother hadn't given him a children's book titled "The Travels of Monarch X." The book described how monarch butterflies migrated to Central America, which was a watershed moment for Ebright because it piqued his interest in science.

At the end of the book, readers were invited to help study butterfly migrations. They were asked to tag butterflies for research by Dr Frederick A. Urquhart of the University of Toronto, Canada. Ebright’s mother wrote to Dr Urquhart, and soon Ebright was attaching light adhesive tags to the wings of monarchs. Anyone who found a tagged butterfly was asked to send the tag to Dr Urquhart. The butterfly collecting season around Reading lasts six weeks in late summer. If you’re going to chase them one by one, you won’t catch very many. So the next step for Ebright was to raise a flock of butterflies. He would catch a female monarch, take her eggs, and raise them in his basement through their life cycle, from egg to caterpillar to pupa to adult butterfly. Then he would tag the butterflies’ wings and let them go. For several years his basement was home to thousands of monarchs in different stages of development. “Eventually I began to lose interest in tagging butterflies. It’s tedious and there’s not much feedback,” Ebright said. “In all the time I did it,” he laughed, “only two butterflies I had tagged were recaptured — and they were not more than seventy-five miles from where I lived.”

• Migrations-  seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.
• Adhesive- able to stick fast to a surface or object; sticky.
• Flock- a number of birds of one kind feeding, resting, or travelling together.
• Life cycle- the series of changes in the life of an organism including reproduction.
• Tedious- too long, slow, or dull; tiresome or monotonous.

The readers of the children's book that his mother had given him were invited to contribute to the study of butterfly migrations at the end of the book. Dr. Frederick A. Urquhart of the University of Toronto in Canada asked them to tag butterflies. Richie's mother wrote to the doctor, and he was soon affixing adhesive tags to the butterflies' wings. Dr. Urquhart asked anyone who found a butterfly with a tag to send the tag to him. The butterfly-collecting season lasted approximately 6 weeks. Then Ebright realised that if he kept collecting butterflies one by one, he would never be able to collect a large number of them. So he decided to raise a flock of butterflies in his basement as his next step. He used to catch a female butterfly, collect her eggs, and raise them through their life cycles in his basement. Then he would tag the butterflies' wings and release them. For many years, thousands of monarchs had been growing in his basement at various stages of development. He soon lost interest in tagging butterflies because it was a time-consuming and exhausting process. It also elicited little response from him. He claimed that only two of the many butterflies he tagged could be recaptured by humans, and those were only 75 miles away from where he lived.

Then in the seventh grade he got a hint of what real science is when he entered a county science fair — and lost. “It was really a sad feeling to sit there and not get anything while everybody else had won something,” Ebright said. His entry was slides of frog tissues, which he showed under a microscope. He realised the winners had tried to do real experiments, not simply make a neat display. Already the competitive spirit that drives Richard Ebright was appearing. “I knew that for the next year’s fair I would have to do a real experiment,” he said. “The subject I knew most about was the insect work I’d been doing in the past several years.” So he wrote to Dr Urquhart for ideas, and back came a stack of suggestions for experiments. Those kept Ebright busy all through high school and led to prize projects in county and international science fairs. For his eighth grade project, Ebright tried to find the cause of a viral disease that kills nearly all monarch caterpillars every few years. Ebright thought the disease might be carried by a beetle. He tried raising caterpillars in the presence of beetles. “I didn’t get any real results,” he said. “But I went ahead and showed that I had tried the experiment. This time I won.” The next year’s science fair project was testing the theory that viceroy butterflies copy monarchs. The theory was that viceroys look like monarchs because monarchs don’t taste good to birds. Viceroys, on the other hand, do taste good to birds. So the more they look like monarchs, the less likely they are to become a bird’s dinner. Ebright’s project was to see whether, in fact, birds would eat monarchs. He found that a starling would not eat ordinary bird food. It would eat all the monarchs it could get. (Ebright said later research by other people showed that viceroys probably do copy the monarch.) This project was placed first in the zoology division and third overall in the county science fair.

• County- region
• Subject- a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with.
• Stack- a pile of objects, typically one that is neatly arranged.
• Viral- of the nature of, caused by, or relating to a virus or viruses.
• Starling- a gregarious Old World songbird with a straight bill, typically with dark lustrous or iridescent plumage but sometimes brightly coloured.
• Zoology- the scientific study of the behaviour, structure, physiology, classification, and distribution of animals.

He discovered what real science was when he lost at a County science fair when he was in seventh grade. It was a very sad feeling for him to see everyone else win something while he did not. He examined frog tissue slides under a microscope and realised that all of the winners had attempted to conduct an experiment rather than simply making a nice display out of their projects. He had already begun to cultivate a competitive spirit within himself. He'd decided to create a real project for the following year's fair. He realised he knew everything there was to know about insects because he had been studying them for quite some time. He wrote to Dr. Urquhart for ideas, and he responded with a slew of suggestions for his next year's project. He was preoccupied with those ideas throughout high school, and he won numerous awards. In eighth grade, he attempted to discover the cause of a viral disease that wiped out nearly all monarch caterpillars every few years. Ebright suspected that the disease was spread by beetles, so he began rearing caterpillars in the presence of beetles.

It was useless, but when he demonstrated that he had attempted such an experiment, he received funding for his project. He experimented with the theory that viceroy butterflies imitate monarchs for a year. He proposed the theory that viceroy butterflies resemble monarchs because monarchs do not taste good to birds, and birds enjoy eating viceroys. As a result, the more the viceroy resembled the monarch, the less likely it was that the viceroy would be eaten by a bird. He wanted to demonstrate in his project whether or not a bird would eat monarch butterflies. He discovered that the sterling bird would prefer to eat a monarch. Later research revealed that the viceroys modelled themselves after the monarchs. This project earned him first place in the Zoology department and third place overall in the county science fair.

In his second year in high school, Richard Ebright began the research that led to his discovery of an unknown insect hormone. Indirectly, it also led to his new theory on the life of cells. The question he tried to answer was simple: What is the purpose of the twelve tiny gold spots on a monarch pupa? “Everyone assumed the spots were just ornamental,” Ebright said. “But Dr Urquhart didn’t believe it.” To find the answer, Ebright and another excellent science student first had to build a device that showed that the spots were producing a hormone necessary for the butterfly’s full development. This project won Ebright first place in the county fair and entry into the International Science and Engineering Fair. There he won third place for zoology. He also got a chance to work during the summer at the entomology laboratory of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. As a high school junior, Richard Ebright continued his advanced experiments on the monarch pupa. That year his project won first place at the International Science Fair and gave him another chance to work in the army laboratory during the summer. In his senior year, he went a step further. He grew cells from a monarch’s wing in a culture and showed that the cells would divide and develop into normal butterfly wing scales only if they were fed the hormone from the gold spots. That project won first place for zoology at the International Fair. He spent the summer after graduation doing further work at the army laboratory and at the laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The following summer, after his freshman year at Harvard University, Ebright went back to the laboratory of the Department of Agriculture and did more work on the hormone from the gold spots. Using the laboratory’s sophisticated instruments, he was able to identify the hormone’s chemical structure.

A year-and-a-half later, during his junior year, Ebright got the idea for his new theory about cell life. It came while he was looking at X-ray photos of the chemical structure of a hormone. When he saw those photos, Ebright didn’t shout, ‘Eureka!’ or even, ‘I’ve got it!’ But he believed that, along with his findings about insect hormones, the photos gave him the answer to one of biology’s puzzles: how the cell can ‘read’ the blueprint of its DNA. DNA is the substance in the nucleus of a cell that controls heredity. It determines the form and function of the cell. Thus DNA is the blueprint for life.

• Research- the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.
• Hormone- a regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids such as blood or sap to stimulate specific cells or tissues into action.
• Assumed- suppose to be the case, without proof.
• Ornamental- serving or intended as an ornament; decorative.
• Sophisticated- advanced
• Blueprint-  a design plan or technical drawing.
• Nucleus- the central and most important part of an object, movement, or group, forming the basis for its activity and growth.
• Heredity- the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.

During his sophomore year of high school, Richard began a research project that led to the discovery of an unknown insect hormone, which later aided him in developing his new theory about the life of cells. The research began with a simple question: what was the purpose of the 12 tiny gold spots on a monarch pupa? The majority of people claimed that the spots were added to make it look more decorative, but Dr. Urquhart did not believe what others claimed. Ebright and another outstanding science student collaborated to create a device that demonstrated that these spots produced a hormone required for the full development of a butterfly from a pupa. Ebright won first place in the County Science Fair and an entry into the International Science and Engineering Fair as a result of this. His project was awarded third place in the category of zoology. He also had the opportunity to work at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research's entomology laboratory. As a high school junior, he continued his work with the monarch pupa, which earned him first place at the International Science Fair. After winning this prize, he was also given the opportunity to work at the army laboratory during the summers.

During his senior year, he tried another experiment in which he grew cells from a monarch's wing in a culture and demonstrated that cells would divide and develop into normal butterfly wing scales if they were treated with the gold spots' hormone. His research won first place at the international fair, and he spent his summer after graduation doing additional research on the subject at the army laboratory and the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory.

The following summers, he worked on the hormone released by the gold spots at the agriculture department's laboratory. Using the lab's specialised equipment, he determined the chemical structure of the hormone. After one and a half years, Ebright had an idea for his new theory about cell life. He had the idea while looking at X-ray photos of the hormone's chemical structure. He wasn't ecstatic about his discovery right away, but he realised that his years of research on insect hormones had solved one of biology's mysteries. It had solved the mystery of how cells read their DNA blueprints. He discovered that because DNA is found in the nucleus of a cell and controls heredity, it determines the form and function of the cell. As a result, DNA is the blueprint for life.

Ebright and his college room-mate, James R. Wong, worked all that night drawing pictures and constructing plastic models of molecules to show how it could happen. Together they later wrote the paper that explained the theory. Surprising no one who knew him, Richard Ebright graduated from Harvard with highest honours, second in his class of 1,510. Ebright went on to become a graduate student researcher at Harvard Medical School. There he began doing experiments to test his theory. If the theory proves correct, it will be a big step towards understanding the processes of life. It might also lead to new ideas for preventing some types of cancer and other diseases. All of this is possible because of Ebright’s scientific curiosity. His high school research into the purpose of the spots on a monarch pupa eventually led him to his theory about cell life. Richard Ebright has been interested in science since he first began collecting butterflies — but not so deeply that he hasn’t time for other interests. Ebright also became a champion debater and public speaker and a good canoeist and all-around outdoors-person. He is also an expert photographer, particularly of nature and scientific exhibits. In high school Richard Ebright was a straight-A student. Because learning was easy, he turned a lot of his energy towards the Debating and Model United Nations clubs. He also found someone to admire — Richard A. Weiherer, his social studies teacher and adviser to both clubs. “Mr Weiherer was the perfect person for me then. He opened my mind to new ideas,” Ebright said. “Richard would always give that extra effort,” Mr Weiherer said. “What pleased me was, here was this person who put in three or four hours at night doing debate research besides doing all his research with butterflies and his other interests. “Richard was competitive,” Mr Weiherer continued, “but not in a bad sense.” He explained, “Richard wasn’t interested in winning for winning’s sake or winning to get a prize. Rather, he was winning because he wanted to do the best job he could. For the right reasons, he wants to be the best.” And that is one of the ingredients in the making of a scientist. Start with a first-rate mind, add curiosity, and mix in the will to win for the right reasons. Ebright has these qualities. From the time the book, The Travels of Monarch X, opened the world of science to him, Richard Ebright has never lost his scientific curiosity.

• Room mate- a person occupying the same room as another.
• Researcher- a person who carries out academic or scientific research.
• Debater- a person who argues about a subject, especially in a formal manner.
• Canoeist- A canoeist is someone who is skilled at racing and performing tests of skill in a canoe.
• Exhibits- manifest clearly (a quality or a type of behaviour).
• Admire- regard with respect or warm approval.
• Competitive- relating to or characterized by competition.
• Ingredients- a component part or element of something.

Then Ebright and his roommate created drawings and plastic models to demonstrate how it was possible, and later wrote a paper that explained the process. It came as no surprise to those who knew him that he graduated from Harvard with honours and finished second in his class of 1510 students. He then went on to become a graduate student researcher at Harvard University, where he began conducting practical experiments to test his theory. If the theory proved to be correct, it would be a significant step toward understanding the complex system of life, as well as lead to new ideas for preventing certain types of cancer and other diseases. As a result, this demonstrated how his research on the monarch pupa led to a theory about cell life. He had been interested in science since he began collecting butterflies, but this did not deter him from his other interests in life. He was a champion debater, an excellent public speaker, and a capable boat racer (canoeist). He was also an all-around outdoor sportsman as well as a skilled photographer. He excelled at photographing natural and scientific subjects. He spent his extra energy on debating and Model United Nations Clubs because he was a great student and always got good grades. Mr. Richard A. Welherer, his social studies teacher and advisor to both clubs, was another person he admired. Ebright believed his teacher was the right man for the job because he was the one who used to open his mind to new ideas.

His teacher was impressed by the fact that Ebright would put in an extra 3-4 hours of effort at night for the debate research on top of his butterfly research and other interests. He went on to say that he was competitive, but not in a bad way, because he didn't win for the sake of winning, but because he wanted to be the best at whatever he did. This is what distinguishes a good scientist. He requires a first-rate mind, as well as curiosity and a strong desire to win for the right reasons. Richard's interest in science has only grown since his mother gave him the book about monarch migration.

About the Author

Robert W. Peterson (February 11, 1925 – February 11, 2006) was an American newspaper writer who later became a freelance author of magazine articles and books, focusing on sports and scouting. 'Only the Ball Was White,' his 1970 chronicle of Negro league baseball, was hailed by The New York Times as having "recaptured a lost era in baseball history and a rich facet of black life in America." Bowie Kuhn, the baseball commissioner at the time, later credited Peterson's book with "focusing greater attention on the accomplishments of Negro League players," which led to their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.