The interests of pharmaceutical companies and public health are not the same. Industry dollars can distort research agendas, while framing health challenges and solutions in ways that benefit corporations.
On average, important new lab techniques like CRISPR take 23 years to develop – but there is a public expectation that scientific breakthroughs occur quickly and efficiently.
A 90-minute presentation in 1968 showed off the earliest desktop computer system. In the process it introduced the idea that technology could make individuals better – if government funded research.
The scientific community always wants more cash to fund research. A new study examines whether more concrete knowledge of science or more general interest in it is likelier to loosen the pursestrings.
A new report found that every one dollar of public funding spent on Go8 university research generated A$9.76 across the Australian economy, a roughly 10 fold return on the government’s investment.
Basic research can be easy to mock as pointless and wasteful of resources. But it’s very often the foundation for future innovation – even in ways the original scientists couldn’t have imagined.
China’s government is prioritizing world-class science and tech. An expert describes the Chinese research landscape – and questions its sustainability.
Money always seems tight for university scientists. A sociologist conducted hundreds of interviews to see how they think about funding sources and profit motives for basic and applied research.
In the hierarchy of diseases, those suffering from ‘high prestige’ diseases benefit from strong community and clinical support, while others are left in the dark.
Despite the Federal Government’s teacher education reforms and the push for evidence-based teaching, less than 2% of ARC research funding is directed to educational research.
Given the challenges Australian cities face, the need for urban planning based on solid research is greater than ever. Sadly, when it comes to research funding, planning is at the back of the queue.
Research is the foundation for evidence-based policies. But because of funding prohibitions, there’s little US research to inform the contentious debate around gun violence and gun control.
Research institutes and “centres of excellence” exist around the world to draw talent and to share resources - all with the aim of solving important problems.
Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute & Professor of Medical Biology, and an honorary principal fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Previous Vice President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and DSI-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics, Professor in Genetics, University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria