New ideas and methods developed in condensed matter physics have prompted advances in the optics of disordered media, which involve the search for the localisation of light and the restoration of images using statistical methods. By applying these methods it's possible to see through such strongly scattering media as 'milky glass' or human tissue. Here we have an example of the relationship between fundamental and applied science. Abstract knowledge dealing with self-averaging leads to knowledge pertaining to mesoscopic fluctuations in condensed matter and analogous insights in optics of disordered media. It turns out that these insights could prove useful in screening cancerous tumours in humans, which would make applied science a by-product of fundamental science.
Researchers never know.
Let them follow their instincts. That's the best way to achieve breakthroughs that may ultimately improve our lives. Here's another example of a story with the same conclusion. In mesoscopic physics, the dephasing of the electron wave function limits the phase coherence length and thus sets the upper boundary for sizes of mesoscopic systems. The existence of mesoscopics is based on the fact that dephasing is effectively switched off at very low temperatures.