Internationally, New Zealand seems to be a desired destination. We have a thriving tourist industry, tempting tourists with a multitude of ways to place their lives in danger. Unfortunately, there is not the same attraction for career scientists, partly because of funding and partly because of remoteness from the centres of international research excellence. The adventurous spirit seems to be implanted in our genes. As a Boy Scout, I had frequent expeditions into the wilderness, usually in a small team of others near my age. I learned the value of working in a team to achieve a goal. Like in Boy Scouts, the most cost-effective way to advance in research is to form teams.

See how John Aitken’s exceptional team has been able to accomplish critical Crohn’s disease research despite encountering many obstacles.

Experiments have two primary outcomes, either confirmation or rejection. There is, however, a third outcome – The Unexpected. Luck never actually appears in publications as a contributing factor. The lucky observation is the catalyst. Some of the most significant discoveries made in microbiology were flukes of luck. Sometimes, trial and error leads to a point where the experiments narrow down. This can happen when you get lucky. I think it happened to me.

Read on to find out how John Aitken first became interested in Crohn’s research and see how a little bit of luck has led to some of the most important scientific discoveries.

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Parents of children sometimes get strange requests for birthday or festive presents. My obsession at the age of ten was to have a microscope. (I wanted to look at a fly’s eye!) Even today, one of my questions to prospective job candidates is: “Did your parents ever give you a microscope as a present when you were a kid?” By following rational and scientific methodology in 1882, Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to the world.

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A zoonosis is defined as an infectious disease transferred between humans and animals. Salmonella and campylobacter spring to mind. They are the tip of the iceberg. Influenza, the 20th century serial killer, and HIV are more compelling examples of zoonoses. HIV and influenza crossed over the border with catastrophic consequences for humanity.

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