Longing for "UNEXPECTEDLY”
Yeast Consortium Fellow, Ohsumi Frontier Science Foundation
Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Associate Professor Yukio Kimata
This happened more than ten years ago. I was working on the pathways through which abnormal
conditions in the cell are sensed, and the signals necessary for the cell to trigger a defense response
are transmitted. However, a series of theories that might directly lead to the answers to the issues
I was trying to elucidate appeared then, and it forced me into a situation where I might have togive up my research. However, based on such published theories, no matter how many mutants I
made which are supposed to keep the signal transduction pathway always ON, the signaltransduction pathway was never turned on. It means that the academic theories published at thattime were not correct. This was the first time I experienced "unexpectedly" in my research, and it
gave me great hope to continue my research. Eventually, I could publish the correct theory a few
years later.
From my own experience, one of the unique characteristics of basic science compared to appliedresearch, at least in the bioscience field where I am working, is that the adverb "unexpectedly" hashigh value. It would be nice and a researcher's delight to begin the sentence of conclusion in apublication with the word "unexpectedly" when interesting findings emerge through one's
research, isn’t it? Of course, the adverb "unexpectedly" is used in publications outside of basic
science. However, the sentences that follow "unexpectedly" are often negative.

And we see

higher value in things going “expectedly” than "unexpectedly" in applied research.

In basicscience, on the other hand, the higher the degree of "unexpectedly" and the more fundamental the"unexpectedly" discovery is in terms of intellectual curiosity, we recognize the high value. And
as the goal we are aiming for is something "UNEXPECTEDLY" in nature, I feel it is difficult toexplain the value of our research upfront. When writing an application for competitive researchfunds, I often have difficulty describing my research goal's mid―to long-term perspective.

Inaddition, if we capture our field from a larger view and recognize that basic science develops
through the accumulation of "UNEXPECTED" discoveries, I believe it is impossible to foresee thefuture of this field.
Therefore, I feel it makes little sense to discuss specific examples of how current basic sciencecan benefit humanity or society. This may be similar to the fact that humankind in the past would
not have been able to foresee the present world. For example, the current society, which is mainly
free from the fear of infectious diseases such as the plague, and where infant mortality rates have
dropped significantly, at least in developed countries, would not have been possible without theCopyright © Ohsumi Frontier Science Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

discovery and subsequent study of microorganisms. And it would have been impossible for pasthumans who did not know of microorganisms to have foreseen this present world. On the otherhand, it is also true that such significant advances cannot be made overnight. There have been
many important discoveries and inventions from the dawn of microbiology to the conquest of
infectious diseases. And our predecessors have provided enormous efforts to support these
discoveries and inventions.
A paradigm shift that changes human perception and even the nature of society would not be
possible without basic science, and it is unforeseeable in the long term and results from theaccumulation of many studies.

I would like to keep doing my daily research, aiming to discoversomething “unexpectedly,” even if it is tiny, while hoping that the research will lead to a newparadigm shift someday.

Copyright © Ohsumi Frontier Science Foundation. All Rights Reserved.