'Trendy' molecules drain resources

Now, here's an angle to the "downsides of molecular science" story I hadn't thought of -- one that seems a bit more pressing than the far-reaching consequences that has everybody in a huff. In Britain, they're worried that as more money is being spent on "trendy" research, clinical science is being neglected.

John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and a member of the working group, said investigations into the molecular and genetic basis of disease had shifted research “away from the bedside and into the laboratory.”

The solution being discussed is to allocate funding through research networks that focus on individual diseases and make sure that lab and hospital each get a fair share.

Discuss