One of the times, I experienced an epiphany this semester occurred while writing the weekly reflection regarding Deadly Feasts. The book really was interesting in the story format it utilized in presenting the information. Seeing the scientific method progress in that format produced several realizations about real science.

This was the first time I had ever been able to follow a trail of research through completely. Richard Preston had used a similar format in presenting information in The Hot Zone, however the work done regarding filoviruses was inherently more fragmented then that done in TSE research. It was enlightening watching as different scientists from around the world made discoveries that then came together to form one large body of research regarding one problem.

Equally enlightening was watching as scientists lie to each other, cheat one another and withhold information. I had always seen science as something altruistic with scientists doing the sort of proactive research as that done regarding TSE being humanists. Some came close to this ideal of mine, while others proved to be the complete opposite.

I had never really considered some scientists as being selfish. I knew that some were ill tempered or lacked respect for colleagues, but Dr. Stanley Prusiner was just selfish. Carleton Gajdusek, however, fit my typical mental image of what a scientist was. He did fieldwork, was extremely dedicated and had a good rapport with most of his colleagues. Prusiner seemed to care for nothing else but the fame he could reap from his research. In addition, he made sure it was only his research, sharing nothing with others. Even going so far as to say that Dr. Patricia Merz's discovery of an identical protein responsible for kuru years before his own was not the same as his, despite the evidence.

This was the first time I realized how long science took. TSE research spanned decades. After all those decades, they still did not find the answer as to its origins. The body of research produced only posed more possibilities and raised more questions. Nobel prizes were even awarded to Gajdusek and Prusiner, even though they did not figure out what TSE was exactly. I had always thought that Nobel Prizes were given out to people who discover answers, solutions, origins. Those two won without finding any of those. Gajdusek won years after the research he won for was done. They do not give Oscars to movies years after their release, after only now realizing that they were good.