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World has changed since Cubs won

Posted July 09, 2007 11:00 pm

Colleen Ford

As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, I am well aware that the Cubs have not won a World Series in almost 100 years.

As a person who also has an interest in science, I got to thinking: What major scientific milestones have been reached since the last big win in 1908?

To begin with, there have been significant discoveries related to the atom.

In 1909, Robert Millikin performed the experiment that proved the existence of the electron. Two years later, Ernest Rutherford determined the shape of the atom.

Perhaps the most famous work in relation to the atom since the Cubs won the World Series occurred in 1934, when Enrico Fermi split the atom. The particle accelerator in Northern Illinois is named for this scientist.

Another major area of discovery occurred with DNA and genetics. In 1928, Fredrick Griffith performed an experiment on pneumococcus bacteria in mice that led to the discovery of the transforming principle, also referred to as transformation, which occurs when DNA of one cell is taken up by another, resulting in the receiving cell having the same characteristics as the original cell. It was later discovered that this process occurs in what we call DNA.

Barbara McClintock did work on corn genetics in 1944. By breeding corn for colors, she discovered jumping genes. Other DNA discoveries include the discovery of DNA as hereditary material in 1952 and Watson and Crick's description of the DNA's double helix structure in 1953.

Other scientific milestones include the propagation of the first cancer cell line, a draft of the first human genome, the discovery on the third and fourth laws of thermodynamics, fabrication of a working transistor and the teaching of American Sign Language to a chimpanzee.

It is difficult to imagine a world without knowing DNA and its interworkings or that electrons exist as a part of an atom. It is also unfathomable to think that the Cubs could go another 100 years without winning the World Series. I can only hope this is not the case!

For all you baseball fans out there, Discovery Center Museum invites you to attend our Play Ball event, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday. Meet the Rockford RiverHawks, practice some baseball skills and cheer on your favorite team. All activities are included with museum admission: $5 for adults, $4 for children, free for younger than 2 and members.

Colleen Ford is an education specialist at Discovery Center Museum and has two dogs named after ballparks, Wrigley and Miller.

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