This report from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) provides a glimpse into the world of biomedical research. The new genetic information that is changing our world results directly from our society's patient investment in basic science. Researchers have devoted lifetimes to studying the genes of yeast and flies. Their work may have seemed pointless or obscure to nonscientists, but now everyone can see the payoff. The genetic knowledge that scientists developed so painstakingly about small organisms turns out to be directly applicable to humans.
