What Happens When Scientists Give Their Discoveries Away?

The work that scientists do is real work. It takes time, careful effort, training, and applied knowledge. Sometimes there are hours of tiring or boring work. There can even be heavy lifting or danger! And always, the work of a scientist must be recorded accurately and shared among other scholars. 

So, what is the work of a scientist worth? There are lots of ways to answer that question, from the wages of a researcher working for a corporation or the complex roles of tenured professors and their colleagues at universities. What about their discoveries  -- what are those worth?

There's one example well worth remembering. A hundred years ago, when Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and James Collip discovered how to make insulin, a treatment for diabetes, they patented their discovery, and then sold the rights to the University of Toronto for a dollar each. Banting felt it was unethical for a doctor to profit personally from a lifesaving discovery. Best and Collip wanted to be sure that those who needed insulin would be able to afford it.

Here's another example from an article published this autumn, by Luke D. Lavis. He and his research team developed a new fluorescent dye. It's particularly useful for biologists studying cells. As Lavis wrote in his article, his team agreed to give samples of the dye to any researcher who asked. Over the next four years, they gave thousands of sample of over 50 kinds of dyes. The result has been great for researchers using the dyes, who have done complicated work with living cells stained to show tiny details. The result has also been great for the institute where Lavis and the team work. Read all about it at this link.