In deed, The Forgotten Genius is a very insightful film. It gives an account of how discrimination can thwart an individual’s dreams. Although he managed to excel in life, Percy Julian faced a lot of challenges in his life as an African-American. The most encouraging episode in this film is his education. I was greatly inspired by the way Julian managed to pursue his education right from elementary school to the university. However turbulent it was, he managed to go through the universities of Howard, Harvard and Vienna before becoming a distinguished chemist. However, I was not delighted by the way he and other African Americans were subjected to racism. I was particularly discouraged by his childhood experiences which he later regarded as the greatest nightmare in his life. My group members have a positive attitude towards Chemistry. As scientists, we strongly believe that the study of science can be a milestone in providing ultimate remedial measures to the various problems affecting the society. Our interest was particularly boosted by this film. It exclusively demonstrates the important role of research in the chemical industry. It is quite inspiring.
The kind of initiatives taken by Julian made him to emerge as an excellent scientist. His determinations enabled him to conduct a lot of research. As a result, he managed to discover Compound S which became so instrumental in the manufacture of Cortisone. As an important hormone, Cortisone plays a very important role in aiding hormonal body functions of human beings. Since he was aiming at producing a cheap drug in the aid of millions of people, I would like to point out that he was to concentrate on HIV/AIDS and cancer. These are deadly diseases which cause a lot of problems to very many people. Besides, they need an extensive scientific research to resolve.
On the other hand, steroids are organic compounds which belong to polycyclic hydrocarbon family. They have a total of 20 carbon atoms bonded together in 4 cycloalkaline rings. They were discovered in plants, animals and fungi by scientists such as Adolf Butenandt and Leopold Ruzicka. As a result of their crucial role in supplementing sex hormones, steroids are now man made. They are synthesized from a combination of chemical substances like boldenone undecylenate, nandrolone decanoate and methandrostenolone (Hanukoglu, I., 2002). This makes them be available for use.
Works Cited
Hanukoglu, I. (2002). "Steroidogenic enzymes: structure, function, and role in regulation of
steroid hormone biosynthesis.". J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 43 (8): 779–804.
