The discovery of the ACE2 gene.

Abstract

The discovery of the ACE2 gene broadened the scope of the regulatory mechanisms that govern the biological effects of the renin–angiotensin system in the cardiovascular system and beyond The late Daniel E. Koshland Jr. (1920–2007), a former editor of Science (1985–1995), characterized scientific discoveries into 3 categories of Charge, Challenge, and Chance, which he dubbed as The Cha-Cha-Cha Theory of Scientific Discoveries.1 Citing Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Dr Koshland described the first Cha, as to see what everyone else has seen and think what no one else has thought before. Charge solves the obvious problems, such as the laws of heredity, which were delineated by Gregory Mendel and the theory of gravity, which was developed by Sir Isaac Newton. The second Cha refers to discovery of a new concept that pulls together the accumulated facts that had remained unexplained, such as the description of base pairing in double helix by Watson and Crick.2 The third Cha is for the serendipitous discoveries, which per Louis Pasteur favor the prepared mind.1 Sir Alexander Fleming observed clear spots on petri dish and went on to discover penicillin from the mold Penicillin notatum . Scientific discoveries are typically incremental. The magnitude of increments follows a gradient from small to large. Major discoveries are not made in a scientific vacuum or through the Eureka moments but rather are based on a series of small discoveries that pave the path for the major breakthroughs. Thus, contributions of all steps in the ladder of scientific discoveries, whether small or large, are important. Nevertheless, certain steps epitomize the breakthroughs and apt to Dr Koshland’s Cha-Cha-Cha Theory of Scientific Discoveries. The progress in cardiovascular science is no exception. Hence, the Editors of Circulation Research have invited the audience to identify and highlight seminal discoveries that have …