American scientist Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) questioned why a corn has several colors of kernels and they changed their positions in different corns. In her research, she discovered Jumping Genes, which move from one chromosomal location to another. As it was a theory against the notions of scientists of the time that the genome location was stationary, her study was depreciated in those days. Much later, however, her research was acknowledged and eventually she received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983.
McClintock lived single all her life, burying herself in her studies on corn. She didn’t approach corn in a rational and objective way, regarding it as an object of her research, but tried to be emotionally close through rapport. She planted the seeds and observed the process of sprouting and growing, and even named them.
“We have to look more into it. You must be patient to understand what the organism is saying to you. Open yourself so that it can come to you on its own.”
This is what McClintock said about how she could reveal the secrets of the genes. Even plants seem to open their minds if you approach them with love.