Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
Arthur KornbergRead
No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in medicine.
Interpretation
Basic research is essential for making significant medical advancements.
Arthur Kornberg emphasizes the importance of fundamental research in medicine, asserting that practical breakthroughs and improvements in medical practices often stem from basic scientific inquiries. This highlights the necessity of investing in foundational studies, as they provide the groundwork for innovative solutions and medical advancements.
In practice
A scientist could use this quote in a presentation to advocate for funding basic research.
Half of what we know is wrong, the purpose of science is to determine which half.
As in biomedical science, pioneering industrial inventions have not been mothered by necessity. Rather, inventions for which there was no commercial use only later became the commercial airplanes, xerography and lasers on which modern society depends.
I cannot stress often enough that what science is all about is not proving things to be true but proving them to be false.
Even Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, and Albert Einstein made serious mistakes. But the scientific enterprise arranges things so that teamwork prevails: What one of us, even the most brilliant among us, misses, another of us, even someone much less celebrated and capable, may detect and rectify.
I was born on January 8, 1942, exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo. I estimate, however, that about two hundred thousand other babies were also born that day. I don't know whether any of them was later interested in astronomy.
A single neuron in the brain is an incredibly complex machine that even today we don't understand. A single 'neuron' in a neural network is an incredibly simple mathematical function that captures a minuscule fraction of the complexity of a biological neuron.
The scientific community should work as hard as possible to address major issues that affect our everyday lives such as climate change, infectious diseases and counterterrorism; in particular, 'clean energy' research deserves far higher priority. And science and technology are the prime routes to tackling these issues.
The pure culture is the foundation for all research on infectious disease.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.