Cases Where Nobel Prize Discoveries Were Ultimately Wrong
The Ig Nobel Prize is given to science feats that "first make people laugh, and then make them think". On the other side of the question, were there any actual Nobel Prize discoveries that led everyone down the wrong road? At least in science, where old paradigms for explaining natural phenomena are constantly superseded by newer ones, there should be a few. The two best candidates are perhaps the belief that lactic acid caused muscle fatigue and initial enthusiasm for DDT.
Frogs, Muscle Fatigue, and Lactic Acid
Otto Meyerhof was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1922 for his work on muscle metabolism. He stimulated a dead frog's legs with electricity until they stopped twitching. Upon discovering that the muscles were saturated with lactic acid, he concluded that it must be the cause of muscle fatigue.Modern Research Disputes Meyerhof
It is now known that carbohydrates like glycogen and glucose are converted into lactic acid, which is subsequently burned as fuel. Suspicion began in the 1970s when Dr. George Brooks injected exercising mice with radioactive lactic acid to find that it was burned up as fast as possible.DDT: Rachel Carson’s Great Enemy
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT for short, is now often emblematic of industrial chemicals gone awry. This generation usually associates DDT with little else than pollution of the Great Lakes and the previous decline of bald eagles in America. This is mostly because Rachel Carson, founder of the modern green movement, vehemently attacked the compound in her seminal work Silent Spring (1962).The Other Face of DDT
However, there was a time in the distant past where DDT was seen in a completely different light. As absurd as it may sound, the synthesis of DDT and its discovery as a highly efficient "contact poison against several arthropods" won Paul Müller a Nobel Prize back in 1948.It was known at the time that chlorinated benzene rings were comparatively potent insecticides so Müller experimented with several hundred compounds before discovering that DDT was the best. DDT kills insects by opening sodium channels in nerves to cause fatal spasms. It was effective in large scale eradication of typhus amongst Allied troops in WWII (Müller was awarded a few years after his work). The World Health Organization also launched a massive DDT-based anti-malaria campaign in 1955.
Nothing is set in Stone
Both instances show that even discoveries worthy of Nobel recognition can sometimes lead everyone down the wrong road. The belief that lactic acid caused muscle soreness misled generations of coaches, sports nutritionists, and athletes. DDT ultimately became one of the most paradoxical chemicals in human history. It’s ironic that it went from being the bane of infectious diseases to the bane of modern environmentalists. The adage “the further you climb, the harder you fall” certainly applies here. All in all, the world of science is one that continually evolves and where nothing is set in stone.Citations
Carson, Rachel, Lois Darling, and Louis Darling. Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. Print."Nobelprize.org". Nobelprize.org. 26 Dec 2010 nobelprize.org
Onion, Amanda. "Lactic Acid Helps, Not Hurts, Tired Muscles." ABC News. Web. 25 Dec. 2010. abcnews.go.com
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