Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 7/29/2008

Question
hi,
Science is my favorite subject in school especially biology and chemistry. I  was wondering if you know any scientific bio experiments that have gone wrong that scientist have been trying to re-do, in the past few years or even now. For i would love to get my hands on an experiment for the cure of many diseases like cancer or others to be discovered. Do you know a place were i can go and find this out?

Answer
Dear David,

Wherever there is scientific research in any area, you are likely to find experiments that didn't work.  These usually don't get published, unless they are spectacularly bad, such as the recent effort by two scientists to claim that they had managed to get cold fusion to work in a coffee cup.

The best way to start scientific research is to choose an area that is fascinating to you, and start reading about it.  You don't say what your school level is, but a *great* way to start getting the background you need to be able to design and execute valid experiments is to read everything you can about basic biology and the scientific method.  For this, I'd recommend the excellent textbook Biology by Campbell and Reece.  Start there, and work your way up.

If you're interested in cancer, then you'll need a very strong background in genetics and understanding that cancer is essentially a disease of the cell when its genes "go bad."

There is no single place to find a listing of failed experiments.  You'll meet those along the way in your scientific education.  So I'd recommend reading everything you can get your hands on (starting with Campbell), and then majoring in biology or chemistry (I'd vote for biology, personally, but I'm biased) in college. Once you're there, you can get involved in undergraduate research in faculty laboratories, and be on your way to a rewarding career as a scientist.

I hope this helps.

Dana