Curiosity
Creates
Cures

The Value and Impact
of Basic Research

nderstanding how life works
U may not have an immediate
impact on our health. But over
time, this sort of study—called basic
research—paves the way for a wealth
of medical advances. By uncovering
the cellular or molecular changes
involved in diseases, basic research
points to approaches for prevention
or treatment. Basic and other types of
research also provide jobs, stimulate
the launch of new companies and
help the U.S. maintain its global

competitiveness.

Much of the nation's basic biomedical
and behavioral research is made
possible by funding from the National
Institute of General Medical Sciences
(NIGMS), a part of the National

Institutes of Health.

How do cells talk to each other?

Why should we care?

BASIC RESEARCH PAYS OFF

The goal of basic research is broad
— to learn the biological rules of life.
The applications of basic research
are similarly wide-ranging, including:

= New and improved medicines,
= Diagnostic tests,

= Body-imaging technology, and
= Better organ donor matching.

Sometimes, basic research has
unexpected applications. For
example, studies on how viruses
infect bacteria led to the discovery

of restriction enzymes, a corner-
stone of the biotechnology industry.
Research on how electric fields affect
bacteria led to an important cancer
medicine, Cisplatin. Another cancer
drug, Velcade®, grew out of studies
ona cellular garbage disposal system.

Some basic research spinoffs are
nonmedical, such as:

= Freeze-drying, which was created
to concentrate and preserve
laboratory samples;

mu Laundry stain removers, meat
tenderizers and other products that
came from studies of digestive
enzymes; and

How do proteins shape themselves so they can work properly?

That last question is one of the most important of all.

“The pursuit of curiosity
about the basic facts of
nature has proven... to
be the route by which
the successful drugs
and devices of modern
medicine were [most often]

discovered.”

—NOBEL LAUREATE ARTHUR KORNBERG

= Improved paternity testing and
criminal forensics using a technique
developed to mass-produce specific
pieces of DNA for study.

Basic research provides an impressive
return on investment. Regardless of what
measure is used—reduced health care
costs or increased productivity from
longer, healthier lives—every dollar spent
on basic research yields returns ranging
from $10 to more than $80.


WHAT MAKES GOOD
RESEARCH?

Start with creative investigators. Give
them laboratory equipment and other
resources, plus time and the freedom
to pursue their curiosity. Await the
advance of knowledge — usually as
insights that add pieces to solving

a scientific puzzle, occasionally as
breakthrough discoveries.

These days, biomedical research

is often a team activity. Groups of
investigators, including scientists

in training, work together to answer
important scientific questions.
Researchers with different skills and
expertise may collaborate to tackle
especially complex challenges.

Simple organisms also play key roles
in research. At the molecular level,
organisms like bacteria, fruit flies
and mice are very similar to people.
The cells of all living creatures make
fuel, build proteins, transport materials
and dispose of wastes. And we all
use similar genetic and biochemical
strategies to accomplish these tasks.
Understanding these similarities
allows researchers to learn about
human biology by studying the life
processes of well-characterized
“model organisms.”

GREAT BENEFITS TO
HUMANKIND

A strong testament to the far-reaching
impact of basic research comes from
the Nobel Prizes. These prestigious
honors recognize people working in
specific fields who, as specified in
Alfred Nobel's will, “have conferred the
greatest benefit on mankind.”

NIGMS has a long history of supporting
Nobelists. In almost every year since
the Institute was created, at least one of
the laureates in physiology or medicine
or in chemistry received research
funding from NIGMS. A list of NIGMS-
supported Nobelists is at http://www.
nigms.nih.gov/GMNobelists.htm.

SPOTLIGHTS ON BASIC
RESEARCH

Among the advances that scientists
have made with NIGMS support are:

= Discovering a gene-silencing process
called RNA interference, or RNAi, that
is both a powerful research tool and a
promising new approach for treating
diseases.

= Revealing how a protein's shape
affects its function, which plays a key
role in health and disease and also
informs the design of new drugs.

= Explaining how genes affect the way
a person responds to drugs, including
those to treat cancer and prevent
blood clots.

= Shedding light on the critical functions
of carbohydrates, sugar molecules
found on all living cells that are
vital to fertilization, blood clotting,
inflammation and viral infection.

= Developing new methods to look
inside cells and other living systems,
advancing what we know about basic
life processes in a range of organisms.

LOOKING AHEAD

Some promising avenues of basic
research include:

a Learning how cells move might
reveal ways to stop the spread
of cancer.

= Studying the way cells die could
open new approaches to treating
diseases linked to excess cell death,
like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

= Understanding the molecular
differences between bacterial and
human cells could point to new
targets for antibiotic drugs.

= Devising easy ways to synthesize
natural products in the laboratory
could yield better and less
expensive medicines.

= Exploring how the body responds
to traumatic injuries could advance
patient care in the emergency
department.

LEARN MORE
ABOUT BASIC RESEARCH

http:/Avww.nigms.nih.gov
www.nigms.nih.gov/biobeat
www.facebook.com/nigms.nih.gov

http://twitter.com/nigms

eOoBe®

www,youtube.com/nigms

May 2012