Like humans, viruses have genomes: biological instructions that mold their structure, function, and reproduction. The ability to sequence a genome—to “read” the hereditary code inscribed in cells or viral particles—is…

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology—a way to copy fragments of DNA until they’re numerous enough to identify—is considered the gold standard of COVID-19 testing. In the latest installment of the…

A first-of-its-kind study shows that cuts in federal funding for science might hinder the economy by halting innovation. The study, recently published in Science, examines how patented inventions rely on federally-funded…

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ writes about the importance of basic research. She writes:In contrast to applied research, fundamental research is driven by our natural curiosity about the universe and…

Nobel laureate Donna Strickland pens an opinion piece about the importance of discovery science.Since the announcement that I won the Nobel Prize in physics for chirped pulse amplification, or CPA, there…

Fundamental discoveries don’t always have practical uses, but they have soul-saving applications. Read this opinion piece by Bret Stephens.

John Pavlus' 2015 essay on why the reasons for doing basic research go well beyond the creation of new applications and technologies is still very relevant today."...work that seems idle…

The Dallas Morning News interviewed Jim Allison, who was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, to discuss "how discovery science — and the federal and state funding behind…

The benefits of basic research experiments aren’t always obvious, but that shouldn’t diminish their importance. Read this essay by Don Lyman.

A newly-released Department of Energy report highlights outstanding examples of major scientific accomplishments emerging from the past 40 years of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) research, including how discovery science discoveries…