Sunday, April 14, 2013

THE COST OF LACK OF FUNDING FOR  BASIC RESEARCH!
A CHICKEN AND EGG SITUATION , WHICH COMES FIRST!

Our life is governed by well intended politicians who sometimes, and I don't know why, comes to the wrong conclusions now and then! This nation is what it is through its innovations.  And innovation comes from basic research.  So to cut funds for basic research is to severely compromise the future that these funding cuts is suppose to protect.  It is through fundamental research that comes wealth.  Ask Bill Gate where is money comes from and he will give you the answer!   Cutting research funds not only close the doors to potential wealth but alter significantly the life of our children.  We live the kind of life we have today because people before us invested in the kind of research that put us here.

Politicians are claiming that to borrow more today will shift the burden of reimbursement to our children.  That is only true if we give to our children the same world we have today.  If we give them more technology, these costs will have been an investment that would yield benefits 100 times over!

To take an example let's come back to Alzheimer dementia which affects individual at various age leading to years of quality of life deterioration and loss of years of production, the current state of affair and treatment of this disease is nothing to what it should be now, and clearly this is not what we need to give our children.  Current treatment have not started to address the pathogenesis of the disease.   Today's treatments try to increase acetyl choline the chemical stimulating the post-synaptic receptor of the nerve, other  treatment offer stimulate the nerve in these location non specifically to maintain it (yes chronic glutamate stimulation gives impetus to life of neuron) but the hold on the cell by the Neurofibrillary tangles continue to remain non addressed!  Plaques are still forming, and phosphorylation of tau proteins is unchallenged and victims are still dying.  This is not the state of affairs we want to leave the children.  We need to live them a world were the inhibitors of MTOR (activity through PTEN/MMAC1 &  +/- GAC1)  role in Alzheimer prevention is understood clearly, where TENC1 gene with its liberation of phosphatase role in Alzheimer has been visited, how we can act on AXL gene to improve this disease, and fully define the role of inhibiting Calpain, what about Auxilin. We even have not clarified the potential supportive role of ACE inhibitors and interferon. All this work need funding.  And one break through will give us more money and more clear minds around the world!  That is what is at stake!  

Investment in research now, and big reward to come!  What world do you want to leave behind for the sake of savings and sounding good?  (join our discussion)

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