Way to Increase 'Disenchantment'

Big science is expensive and tends to promise a lot. But failure to deliver on those outsized promises — of new treatments, economic growth, and more — has led to a feeling of "disenchantment," writes Timothy Caulfield from the University of Alberta in The Globe and Mail. This, he adds, is one reason why funding agencies' focus on translational research "is so disappointing and frustrating." As a focus on translating research becomes tied to commercialization, hype will increase while public trust will diminish. "The best science is dispassionate, independent and objective. The promised pursuit of profits is one of the surest ways to erode these qualities," Caulfield says.