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In contrast to applied science which, in the field of neuroscience and medicine, concentrates more on therapies and technologies used to treat particular conditions, basic research into cell biology of neurodegeneration is the discipline that fuels understanding of why and how the basic living units of the brain and nervous system function, or don't. Studying a model organism such as a fruit fly or a worm may not have the more visible impact on neurodegenerative disease that human clinical trials have, Kosik said, but it could provide a strong foundation for treatments that go beyond single diseases, and that may generate tools for early detection and prevention. Without building a foundation of basic science, he argues, scientists can find themselves down the path of pursuing "trendy" and sometimes fruitless research, or grasping at straws for safe, but relatively ineffective therapies.

"All funders -- and scientists too -- feel the pressure of trying to do something for people that have very serious diseases. The clock is ticking for them, we feel compassion for these people and we really want to help," said Kosik, whose own efforts investigating the basis of Alzheimer's disease have led him to decades of clinical work with an extended family of Colombians living with a very early-onset form of the disease with genetic origins.

It's understandable, Kosik said, for scientists in the clinical setting, and even for philanthropists and federal decisionmakers, to want to push resources into rapid pathways to cures and treatments with less consideration for basic science. That trend became apparent at the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where, from 1997 to 2012, basic research funding by the agency fell from 87 to 71 percent. Elsewhere, at the National Institutes of Health, Kosik says in the article, "a discouraging funding environment drives students and young scientists away," instead of attracting the next generation of scientists with the opportunity for groundbreaking discoveries in the field.

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