Footprints Without Feet Supplementary Reader Chapter 6 The Making Of A Scientist

At the age of twenty two, Richard H. Ebright surprised the scientific world with the publication of his theory on how cells work. It was the first time a scientific journal published the works of a young scientist. He had begun his work on butterflies.

His mother encouraged his interest in learning. She was his only childhood friend and companion. She took him on trips, bought him scientific equipments and helped him in many other ways. She also supported his collecting butterflies. She opened the world of science to him by introducing him to Dr Frederick A. Urquhart of the University of Toronto, Canada.

Richard had an interest in collecting butterflies since childhood. To support it, his mother gifted him Dr Urquhart’s book, ‘The Travels of Monarch X’. The book told how monarch butterflies migrate to Central America and asked the students to help study butterfly migrations by tagging the butterflies for research by Dr Urquhart. His mother contacted the doctor and thus Ebright started tagging butterflies for Dr Urquhart. Later, he sought suggestions and guidance in his projects from Dr Urquhart. Thus the book opened the world of science to the eager young collector. 

Ebright's mother was a source of great encouragement since he was a kid. She took him on trips, bought him telescopes, microscopes, cameras, mounting materials, and other equipments that helped him in many ways.

His interest in collecting butterflies urged his mother to gift him the book. The book narrates how monarch butterflies migrate to Central America. It developed his interest in the world of science.

He wanted to tag the monarch butterflies to study their migration. Since butterfly season lasted only six weeks he wouldn’t be able catch many and tag them. Hence, he decided to raise them in his basement. His basement was home to thousands of butterflies for many years.

When Richard was in seventh grade, he entered a county science exhibition. He had prepared slides on frog tissues which he displayed under a microscope. He lost it on account of not presenting real experiment.  He realized that the students who tried to do real experiments had won. 

Losing in the county science exhibition in his first participation, Richard realized that he would have to do a real experiment to win it in the coming year. On Dr Urquhart's suggestions, he tried to find the cause of a viral disease that kills nearly all monarch caterpillars every few years. He thought that the disease may be carried by a beetle. So, he tried raising caterpillars in the presence of beetles. But he could not prove it. This time in the county science exhibition  he showed how he had attempted the experiment. He won the exhibition.

Ebright wanted to test the theory that viceroy butterflies copy monarch.  The viceroy butterflies copy monarchs because monarchs don’t taste good to birds. On the other hand, viceroy butterflies taste good to birds. To save themselves from falling a prey to birds, the viceroys show a tendency of copying monarchs.

In his senior year in high school, Ebright took a step ahead in his advanced experiments on the monarch pupa. He cultured cells from a monarch butterfly's wing 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. His project won first place for zoology at the International Fair.

When Richard was in his second year in high school, he did a research that led to his discovery of an unknown insect hormone.  He researched on the purpose of the twelve tiny gold spots on a monarch pupa. He was able to prove that the spots were producing a hormone necessary for the butterfly’s full development while the whole world thought it was ornamental. His project also led to his new theory on the life of cells.

Ebright was curious and an eager learner. He had a bright mind, patience and the capacity to work hard. He was dedicated towards his researches. He was also assisted by his mother in his learning processes. All this led to his development as a scientist.

Richard Ebright had been experimenting on monarch pupa persistyently since he was a student of junior highschool. He had already proved that the twelve gold spots on monarch pupa serve the purpose of secreting a hormone that is necessary for butterfly's full development. As a student of Harvard University, he worked more on that hormone and using the laboratory’s sophisticated instruments, he was able to identify the hormone’s chemical structure. A year later when he succeeded in getting X-ray photos of the chemical structure of the hormone, it eventually led to discovery of the new theory of the cells.

DNA is a substance in the nucleus of a cell that controls heredity. It determines the form and function of the cell. Thus it is the blueprint of life.

The X-ray photos that showed the hormones chemical structure answered one of the great puzzles in biology. His new theory of cells attempts to answer how cells can ‘read’ the blueprint of its DNA which is the substance in the nucleus of a cell and controls heredity. It determines the form and function of the cell.  Ebright's new theory explains how cells get their shape and function. It is yet to be verified.

Ebright’s theory would be a big step because it could help in comprehending the processes of life. It might also contribute in prevention of some types of cancer and other diseases.

Ebright initiated his research on the monarch pupa by studying the purpose of the twelve gold spots on its body. He discovered that these spots produced a hormone which helped in butterfly's full development. Later, he proved that the absence of that hormone would make monarch a normal butterfly. He cultured the hormones and identified its chemical structure. It led to his theory of cell life.

James R. Wong was Ebright’s college room-mate. Being a companion to him, he helped him in drawing pictures, making models, constructing plastic models of molecules and devices. He worked day and night and has been very helpful to Ebright throughout his research career.

According to the author, the ingredients in the making of a scientist are — a sharp mind, curiosity to learn things and determination to work hard along with a competitive spirit. On the top of that, a scientist must never lose his scientific curiosity.

Ebright is not just a scientist. He is a champion debater and public speaker and a good canoeist and an all-around outdoors person. He is also an expert photographer, particularly of nature and scientific exhibits.

His social studies teacher, Mr. Weiherer always opened Richard's mind to new ideas. He was impressed by Richard's committment towards his work. He mentioned that Richard used to put in three or four hours at night doing debate research besides doing all his research on butterflies and his other interests was remarkable. He added that Richard was competitive. He explained that Richard was interested in winning because he wanted to do the best job he could. He wants to be the best for the right reasons. He wanted to make a real contribution to science through his researches.

No, Richard was never interested just 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 reason, he wanted to be the best. His scientific curiosity and the various purposes of his research makes it clearly evident that he always intended to make a real contribution to science.

How Parents Influence the Life of Children

Parents play a pivotal role in determining not just our present but also our future. They guide us all the way to make the right choice. For most of us, parents are our role models. Their behavioural patterns, to a large extent influence us and our thought processes. Through their years of experience and the wisdom that they possess, they ensure that we get quality education in schools. They are also instrumental in helping us sharpen our latent talents and support us in all our endeavours. They support and guide us without any hidden agenda and work purely towards our welfare. Thus, it is rightly said that parents influence the life of children.

When Ebright was in seventh grade, he got a hint of what the real science is after he lost in country science fair. Dr. Urquhart guided his research by suggesting him a number of topics for his experiments. For his eigth grade project, he tried to find the cause of a viral disease that kills nearly all monarch caterpillars every few years. Though he couldnot reach any conclusion, yet he showed the experiment and won. The next year he tested the theory that viceroy butterflies copy monarchs.

• Determine a person's parents or siblings
• Solve crimes (forensic science). Blood, semen, skin, or other tissue left at the scene of a crime are examined. 
• Identify a body.