Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle
In the last years there has been a great improvement in the development of computational methods for combinatorial chemistry applied to drug discovery. This approach to drug discovery is sometimes called a “rational way” to manage a well known phenomenon in chemistry: serendipity discoveries. Tr...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | publishedVersion |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11086/1695 |
| _version_ | 1801213031474003968 |
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| author | Garcia, Pío |
| author_facet | Garcia, Pío |
| author_sort | Garcia, Pío |
| collection | Repositorio Digital Universitario |
| description | In the last years there has been a great improvement in the
development of computational methods for combinatorial chemistry applied to
drug discovery. This approach to drug discovery is sometimes called a “rational
way” to manage a well known phenomenon in chemistry: serendipity
discoveries. Traditionally, serendipity discoveries are understood as accidental
findings made when the discoverer is in quest for something else. This
‘traditional’ pattern of serendipity appears to be a good characterization of
discoveries where “luck” plays a key role. In this sense, some initial failures in
combinatorial chemistry are frequently attributed to a naïf appropriation of a
“serendipity model” for discovery (a “serendipity mistake”). In this paper we
try to evaluate this statement by criticizing its foundations. It will be suggested
that the notion of serendipity has different aspects and that the criticism to the
first attempts could be understood as a “serendipity mistake”. We will suggest
that “serendipity” strategies, a kind of blind search, can be seen sometimes as a
“genuine part” of scientific practice. A discussion will ensue about how this
characterization can give us a better understanding of some aspects of
serendipity discoveries. |
| format | publishedVersion |
| id | rdu-unc.1695 |
| institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | rdu-unc.16952020-06-02T03:47:09Z Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle Garcia, Pío publishedVersion In the last years there has been a great improvement in the development of computational methods for combinatorial chemistry applied to drug discovery. This approach to drug discovery is sometimes called a “rational way” to manage a well known phenomenon in chemistry: serendipity discoveries. Traditionally, serendipity discoveries are understood as accidental findings made when the discoverer is in quest for something else. This ‘traditional’ pattern of serendipity appears to be a good characterization of discoveries where “luck” plays a key role. In this sense, some initial failures in combinatorial chemistry are frequently attributed to a naïf appropriation of a “serendipity model” for discovery (a “serendipity mistake”). In this paper we try to evaluate this statement by criticizing its foundations. It will be suggested that the notion of serendipity has different aspects and that the criticism to the first attempts could be understood as a “serendipity mistake”. We will suggest that “serendipity” strategies, a kind of blind search, can be seen sometimes as a “genuine part” of scientific practice. A discussion will ensue about how this characterization can give us a better understanding of some aspects of serendipity discoveries. publishedVersion 2015-02-09T19:44:43Z 2015-02-09T19:44:43Z 2015-02-09 article http://hdl.handle.net/11086/1695 spa Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 2.5 Argentina http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/ |
| spellingShingle | Garcia, Pío Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle |
| title | Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle |
| title_full | Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle |
| title_fullStr | Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle |
| title_short | Discovery by Serendipity: a new context for an old riddle |
| title_sort | discovery by serendipity a new context for an old riddle |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11086/1695 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT garciapio discoverybyserendipityanewcontextforanoldriddle |