Technically, yes. But one seldom hears about a scientist being "discovered". More typically, a scientist's work, for one reason or another, becomes widely known. Perhaps the person has slaved away quietly and unknown on a project for years and years. He finally gets around to publishing his discoveries. His work is recognized by other scientists and the popular press publishes word of the scientist's discoveries to the general populous.
The discovery of a cure for a disease would be a "hard" news story. But you wouldn't talk about the medical researcher being "discovered" even if no one in the general public had previously been aware of his work.
A "soft" news story would be something like the account of a rock star's lifestyle. The word that such-and-such a star likes to fill his spa with Jello would only be "soft" news, even if few people previously knew this.
