<p>re post # 37 questioning the value of research outside of medical research type. </p>
<p>Physician here. Today not only are medical journals filled with genetics but genetics has actual benefits to many patients. Back in the early 1970’s I was a Chemistry major taking a Physical Chemistry Lab for Honors and therefore spent some time in a PChem grad lab. My assignment was with a research group centrifuging DNA! Those were the days when the characteristics of DNA needed elucidating, long before the genetic code could be unraveled. Without basic physical chemistry, ie basic science research, we never could reach the point where medical research on so many compounds could be done. </p>
<p>There can be many dead end projects until the clear path is found. Consider how many filaments Edison tried before his success (saw a TCM movie about him recently). My undergrad Honors thesis work in a Pharmacology lab was on “putative” neurotransmitters"- how far the Neurosciences have come since then! The research techniques we used were the result of many more basic science results.</p>
<p>We need research universities as well as teaching only colleges. I personally benefited from being at a school where research permeated the undergraduate courses.</p>