The U.S.A. benefits enormously from government-funded research
This web site aims to be a crowd-sourced site listing examples of tangible benefits for America that have come from government-funded research.
- Air Purifiers
To help astronauts survive long-term missions, NASA started thinking about ways to grow food in space. This required reducing the amount of ethylene in the air. Ethylene is a gas released by plants, and its build-up in a closed environment (like the space station) leads to wilting and accelerated plant decay. NASA funded research at the University of Wisconsin Madison to work on this problem. It turns out that the system the researchers developed to remove ethylene from the air can also be used to remove other organic particles, making it the basis for an air purifier. The technology was licensed by a private company, and is now used to build home and commercial air purifiers.
[link]
- Gila monster venom as medicine for type 2 diabetes
If you heard that the National Institutes of Health was funding research on lizards, you might at first think that the N.I.H. was wasting taxpayer money. But in fact, a researcher at the Veteran’s Affair’s Medical Center in the Bronx discovered that the venom of Gila monsters (lizards from the Southwest of the U.S.A.) is an excellent promoter of insulin, the hormone that our bodies use to regulate sugar levels. Further work from a researcher at the National Institute on Aging helped take that discovery to the clinic and to production of a drug now widely used to combat type 2 diabetes. Thanks to government-funded scientists and their research, Gila monsters are saving lives.
- Treatment for Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 1 in 8 women and is a primary cause of maternal mortality following childbirth. Until recently there was no treatment specifically for PPD, with standard antidepressants proving ineffective and too slow. NIH-funded basic research into a hormone called allopregnanolone, revealed its role in regulating specific types of neurons in the brain associated with PPD. This research eventually led to the first ever FDA-approved drug for treating PPD, brexanolone. This drug is not only highly effective in comparison to standard antidepressants, but importantly takes effect within hours instead of the multiple weeks associated with standard treatments. Thanks to the basic research identified and supported by the NIH, we now have an effective treatment for PPD.
(CA, IL, WA) [NIH grant R01MH049486, R01MH056890, K07MH001370, 5M01RR000036, P01GM047969, R01MH076994 | link1 | link2 | link3 | link4]
- Immunotherapy to fight melanoma skin cancer
Cancer is a devastating disease. Each year, approximately two million people are diagnosed with cancer, with half a million people dying from cancer-related causes. Of these, late stage melanoma is one of the deadliest. However, funded by the National Institutes of Health, basic research into immunology in the 1990s by James Allison, who was then at UC Berkeley, and is now at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX) led to the development of the drug Ipilimumab. Our immune system normally protects us from invaders (like bacteria and viruses) by attacking the invaders. Cancer is also an invader, but many cancers manage to block the immune system attack. Allison discovered how to prevent that blockage, thus unleashing the immune system on cancerous tumor cells. Ipilimumab has substantially improved life expectancy and lowered death rates for individuals with a poor prognosis in melanoma. Astonishingly, a subset of individuals even achieved complete elimination of their cancer, something previously thought impossible in late stage melanoma. For his impact on immunology and the treatment of melanoma, James Allison (a “blues-loving scientist from the small town of Alice, Texas“) was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. With this research, the N.I.H. helped launch a new era of cancer immunotherapy and ongoing development of many new drugs that seek to harness our immune systems to attack malignant tumors.
(CA, TX) [NIH grants R01CA057986, R01AI026942, R37CA040041, R01CA040041 | link1 | link2 | link3 | link4 | link5 | link6 ]
- Touchscreen
Before touchscreens became the standard form of interaction with our phones, devices, and electronics, they were the Ph.D. thesis project of a graduate student at the University of Delaware, who was funded by a scholarship from the National Science Foundation. Wayne Westerman’s dissertation developed the multi-touch capability that was necessary for touchscreens to take off as a commercial product. The company that he and his Ph.D. adviser started was purchased by Apple, incorporated into the iPhone, and the rest is history.
- Internet
The Internet is fundamental to many aspects of our lives (communications; commerce; entertainment; etc.) It began as the ARPANET, a project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense, and as NSFNET, funded by the National Science Foundation. This government-funded work, built initially to connect researchers to each other, now connects the entire world and powers our economy.
(VI, CA, MA, TX, UT, IL, NJ, PA, and others) [link | link | link | link]
- GPS
Today, GPS is engrained in our lives, from figuring out the best route home after a road closure to making sure a loved one reached their destination safely. The modern system, which now consists of 31 satellites orbiting the earth, five ground control stations located around the globe, and many receivers which are found in our phones, cars, etc., began as a project under the Department of Defense in 1973. The work was carried out across several federally funded institutions: the US Naval Research Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and The Aerospace Corporation. Fully operational in 1993, the full capabilities of the system became freely accessible across the globe for peaceful purposes in 2000.
(VA, MD, DC) [link][link][link][link][link] - Fluoridated Water
Tooth decay and cavities are among the most common afflictions in the world, however they used to be far more common. In the mid-20th century, an 15-year experiment was performed directly by the National Institute of Dental Research in Grand Rapids, Michigan to test whether adding fluoride its drinking water would reduce the rate of cavities. Amazingly, children born after fluoride was introduced had a 60% lower rate of cavities. The USA quickly became the first nation to incorporate fluoride into water sources, but even more importantly this study demonstrated to the world fluoride’s effectiveness at treating tooth decay. Fluoridated water is estimated to prevent 27% of cavities.
- CDs
For years, information like music, software, or movies were primarily stored on CDs. If you grew up listening to music in the 80s or 90s, or watching movies stored on DVDs, then you have benefitted from technology originally invented at the federally funded Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. There, James T. Russell first developed the idea of storing information by using a laser to mark tiny, tiny dots onto a light-sensitive material. This concept would be refined during the 70s and eventually used to create CDs and DVDs, enabling convenient access to cultural works.
National Security
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Today, GPS is engrained in our lives, from figuring out the best route home after a road closure to making sure a loved one reached their destination safely. The modern system, which now consists of 31 satellites orbiting the earth, five ground control stations located around the globe, and many receivers which are found in our phones, cars, etc., began as a project under the Department of Defense in 1973. The work was carried out across several federally funded institutions: the US Naval Research Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and The Aerospace Corporation. Fully operational in 1993, the full capabilities of the system became freely accessible across the globe for peaceful purposes in 2000.
(VA, MD, DC) [link][link][link][link][link]
Prosperity
The Internet
The Internet is fundamental to many aspects of our lives (communications; commerce; entertainment; etc.) It began as the ARPANET, a project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense, and as NSFNET, funded by the National Science Foundation. This government-funded work, built initially to connect researchers to each other, now connects the entire world and powers our economy.
(VI, CA, MA, TX, UT, IL, NJ, PA, and others) [link | link | link | link]
Touchscreens
Before touchscreens became the standard form of interaction with our phones, devices, and electronics, they were the Ph.D. thesis project of a graduate student at the University of Delaware, who was funded by a scholarship from the National Science Foundation. Wayne Westerman’s dissertation developed the multi-touch capability that was necessary for touchscreens to take off as a commercial product. The company that he and his Ph.D. adviser started was purchased by Apple, incorporated into the iPhone, and the rest is history.
(DE) [NSF, link1, link2, link3]
Health and well-being
Immunotherapy to fight melanoma skin cancer
Cancer is a devastating disease. Each year, approximately two million people are diagnosed with cancer, with half a million people dying from cancer-related causes. Of these, late stage melanoma is one of the deadliest. However, funded by the National Institutes of Health, basic research into immunology in the 1990s by James Allison, who was then at UC Berkeley, and is now at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX) led to the development of the drug Ipilimumab. Our immune system normally protects us from invaders (like bacteria and viruses) by attacking the invaders. Cancer is also an invader, but many cancers manage to block the immune system attack. Allison discovered how to prevent that blockage, thus unleashing the immune system on cancerous tumor cells. Ipilimumab has substantially improved life expectancy and lowered death rates for individuals with a poor prognosis in melanoma. Astonishingly, a subset of individuals even achieved complete elimination of their cancer, something previously thought impossible in late stage melanoma. For his impact on immunology and the treatment of melanoma, James Allison (a “blues-loving scientist from the small town of Alice, Texas“) was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. With this research, the N.I.H. helped launch a new era of cancer immunotherapy and ongoing development of many new drugs that seek to harness our immune systems to attack malignant tumors.
(CA, TX) [NIH grants R01CA057986, R01AI026942, R37CA040041, R01CA040041 | link1 | link2 | link3 | link4 | link5 | link6 ]
Treatment for Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 1 in 8 women and is a primary cause of maternal mortality following childbirth. Until recently there was no treatment specifically for PPD, with standard antidepressants proving ineffective and too slow. NIH-funded basic research into a hormone called allopregnanolone, revealed its role in regulating specific types of neurons in the brain associated with PPD. This research eventually led to the first ever FDA-approved drug for treating PPD, brexanolone. This drug is not only highly effective in comparison to standard antidepressants, but importantly takes effect within hours instead of the multiple weeks associated with standard treatments. Thanks to the basic research identified and supported by the NIH, we now have an effective treatment for PPD.
(CA, IL, WA) [NIH grant R01MH049486, R01MH056890, K07MH001370, 5M01RR000036, P01GM047969, R01MH076994 | link1 | link2 | link3 | link4]
Gila monster venom as medicine for type 2 diabetes
If you heard that the National Institutes of Health was funding research on lizards, you might at first think that the N.I.H. was wasting taxpayer money. But in fact, a researcher at the Veteran’s Affair’s Medical Center in the Bronx discovered that the venom of Gila monsters (lizards from the Southwest of the U.S.A.) is an excellent promoter of insulin, the hormone that our bodies use to regulate sugar levels. Further work from a researcher at the National Institute on Aging helped take that discovery to the clinic and to production of a drug now widely used to combat type 2 diabetes. Thanks to government-funded scientists and their research, Gila monsters are saving lives.
[Yes, Ozempic and weight-loss drugs needs to be added to this]
(MD, NY) [N.I.H. Grant 1Z01AG000907 | link 1 | link 2]
NASA research leads to home air purifiers
To help astronauts survive long-term missions, NASA started thinking about ways to grow food in space. This required reducing the amount of ethylene in the air. Ethylene is a gas released by plants, and its build-up in a closed environment (like the space station) leads to wilting and accelerated plant decay. NASA funded research at the University of Wisconsin Madison to work on this problem. It turns out that the system the researchers developed to remove ethylene from the air can also be used to remove other organic particles, making it the basis for an air purifier. The technology was licensed by a private company, and is now used to build home and commercial air purifiers.
(WI) [link]