How do you feel about the article, “Left-field projects get backing from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation”?
Once only an eccentric but respected professor could command funding for “out-there” projects as novel as chewing gum that can detect malaria or an electronic nose to smell tuberculosis. But a growing number of young scientists, armed with ideas to fight infectious disease at the far edge of innovation, are now being rewarded in the search for a world-changing discovery. More than 70 grants awarded yesterday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed a shift away from traditional hierarchies of science research, with graduates and post-doctoral researchers most likely to win support. Among the successful applications are projects to develop chocolate that boosts a vaccine’s efficacy, a paper cup that turns TB-positive saliva bright orange and use of mobile phones to record cough and sleep sounds and diagnose cases of pneumonia. Related Links Each will receive initial grants of $100,000 (£65,000) from the Gates Foundation as part of its Grand Challenges Explorations programme, with
From Times Online October 21, 2009 Left-field projects get backing from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Once only an eccentric but respected professor could command funding for “out-there” projects as novel as chewing gum that can detect malaria or an electronic nose to smell tuberculosis. But a growing number of young scientists, armed with ideas to fight infectious disease at the far edge of innovation, are now being rewarded in the search for a world-changing discovery. More than 70 grants awarded yesterday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed a shift away from traditional hierarchies of science research, with graduates and post-doctoral researchers most likely to win support. Among the successful applications are projects to develop chocolate that boosts a vaccine’s efficacy, a paper cup that turns TB-positive saliva bright orange and use of mobile phones to record cough and sleep sounds and diagnose cases of pneumonia. Each will receive initial grants of $100,000 (£65
More than 70 grants awarded yesterday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed a shift away from traditional hierarchies of science research, with graduates and post-doctoral researchers most likely to win support. Among the successful applications are projects to develop chocolate that boosts a vaccine’s efficacy, a paper cup that turns TB-positive saliva bright orange and use of mobile phones to record cough and sleep sounds and diagnose cases of pneumonia. Each will receive initial grants of $100,000 (£65,000) from the Gates Foundation as part of its Grand Challenges Explorations programme, with the chance of follow-on grants of $1 million if their projects show success. In a radical departure from conventional funding systems the foundation asked only for a two-page application and no preliminary data for the first stage award. It is hoped that this approach will encourage and accelerate bold and largely unproven research.
