The Big Question
Pramod Butte, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, is no stranger to discoveries with great impact. He has worked with a team of Cedars-Sinai researchers to develop imaging technology that not only makes removing brain tumors safer and more effective, but could also improve early detection. (See A Different Approach: The Light Brigade, Summer 2012.)
Discoveries asked Dr. Butte what, in his opinion, was the most influential scientific discovery ever made. Here’s his answer to our Big Question:
“The understanding of how electricity is carried by ions is, in my opinion, one of the pivotal discoveries in the field of science. During his work on ‘medical electricity,’ Luigi Aloisio Galvani—an anatomist and honorary lecturer of surgery—discovered the relationship between electricity and muscle movement. But I think this discovery had a far broader impact, mainly on our way of thinking of the human body as a machine. We can say this discovery galvanized the field of biomedical engineering.”
What do YOU think is the most significant scientific discovery ever made? Leave your response in the comments section below.