RESEARCH
SOMETIMES, SCIENCE IS VERY, VERY SERIOUS—IT MAKES FORTUNES, ASKS the big questions and saves lives. But science isn’t done by robots, and there usually isn’t a straight line between question and answer. And the quirks of scientists and the rabbit holes they investigate can have important implications for science. (Remember, the world’s first antibiotic, penicillin, was originally “mold juice” that got out of control over a vacation.)