Basic research in the biomedical field generates both knowledge that has a value per se regardless of its possible practical outcome and knowledge that has the potential to produce more practical benefits. Policies can increase the benefit potential to society of basic biomedical research by offering various kinds of incentives to basic researchers. In this paper we argue that soft incentives o...

Basic scientific research generates knowledge that has intrinsic value which is independent of future applications. Basic research may also lead to practical benefits, such as a new drug or diagnostic method. Building on our previous study of basic biomedical and biological researchers at Harvard, we present findings from a new survey of similar scientists from three countries. The goal of this...

BACKGROUND Most educational institutions lack a structured system that provides undergraduate students with research exposure in the medical field. The objective of this paper is to describe the structure of the Medical Research Volunteer Program (MRVP) which was established at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, as well as to assess the success of the program. METHODS The MRVP is a p...

The explosion in biomedical research and the use of computers to access and disseminate ideas has increased our knowledge but has also strikingly shortened the time for new concepts to move from initial basic science discovery to clinical application. In fact, there are more new discoveries than anyone can reasonably stay abreast of. Critical Care has therefore launched a series of articles, us...

Reinforcement contingencies and social reinforcement are ubiquitous phenomena in applied behavior analysis. This discussion paper is divided into two sections. In the first section, reinforcement contingencies are discussed in terms of the necessary and sufficient conditions for reinforcement effects. Response-stimulus dependencies, conditional probabilities, and contiguity are discussed as pos...

Optogenetic tools enable light-mediated control of cellular excitability and signaling in vivo. By manipulating biological processes, scientists can determine the roles played by these processes in intact biological systems, such as the brain. Such cellular-level control has greatly affected basic science. Here, we discuss how optogenetic tools might be translated into clinical impact through i...

The term “basic research” is ubiquitous in present debates on policy in science and higher education. It is a term with positive connotations, important for example in legitimising traditional universities. The popular term “research” generally corresponds to “research and development” (R&D) in official statistics. This includes “applied research” and “technological development” as well as “bas...

The small town of Parghelia on the Tyrrhenian coast (Calabria, Italy) recently provided an attractive setting for a two-year-awaited international meeting on “NEW TRENDS IN PAIN RESEARCH: From Basic Research to Clinical Translation” (13-15 September, 2012). The event, attended by around sixty participants, brought together young researchers, PhD students, international scientists and academics ...