Why Does Basic Science Research Matter?
Every April, National DNA Day celebrates one of science‘s most iconic discoveries: the double-helical structure of DNA. Franklin, Watson and Crick's 1953 findings were not driven by immediate applications, but by the desire to understand how life stores and transmits information. At the time, no one could predict that this fundamental insight would enable modern molecular biology, gene editing and microbiome research.
Decades later, researchers were studying how viruses attack bacteria—and noticed that the bacteria were fighting back. The research led to the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, a bacterial immune system with no obvious translational purpose. Today, CRISPR underlies revolutionary gene-editing technologies.
These examples illustrate the power of basic, mechanism-driven research. Fundamental discoveries often open doors we cannot predict and lay the groundwork for applications that reshape science and society.
How do microbial CRISPR systems power gene editing to advance human and planetary health? At ASM Microbe 2026, Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., developer of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureate, will discuss scientific and societal advances that will help expand both the applications and impact of genome editing across the globe.
What Is Basic Science Research?
"My work, which I've done for a long time, was not pursued in order to gain the praise I now enjoy, but chiefly from a craving after knowledge, which I notice resides in me more than most other men." – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, letter on June 12, 1716.
Basic science research—also known as mechanism discovery or fundamental science research—is defined by the orientation of inquiry. It aims to uncover the “how” and “why” of observed natural phenomena. In the context of the microbial sciences, basic science reveals molecular mechanisms, cellular processes and evolutionary strategies that govern microbial interactions and life, from single cells to ecosystems. There is no predefined practical endpoint or goal to this line of scientific inquiry. Rather, success is measured by depth of understanding.
The rapidly advancing microbiome field offers an example. Some studies on the microbiome are descriptive—they map the presence of different species or explore their association with disease. Mechanism discovery science dives below the surface to uncover the molecular basis of microbial behavior in the community (e.g., the metabolites the microbes make and consume or how they communicate with friends and foes), as well as how the organisms respond to and affect different environments and hosts.
The knowledge generated by such studies is inherently valuable—it satisfies humanity's natural desire to learn about the world. Following curiosity has repeatedly yielded insights and paradigm shifts no one could have planned. Sometimes these insights lead to translational applications that may have implications far beyond the original research, enabling the development of new technologies to solve real-world problems. Over the course of this process, new fundamental questions may arise and the cycle between fundamental and applied research continues.
The ASM Award for Basic Research recognizes an outstanding scientist whose discoveries have been fundamental to advancing our understanding of the microbial world. Know a researcher who fits the bill?
Mechanism Discovery as the Foundation of Applied Science
Basic science research expands the body of scientific knowledge. In doing so, it provides a foundation on which solutions with tangible impacts on the health of people and the planet are built. It is often unclear which discoveries will spur transformative innovations down the line. Many historical discoveries described as "basic" later became deeply practical, although that was not their original aim.
Some examples include:
- Revealing how restriction enzymes work.
- Decoding the genetic code and the mechanisms for DNA replication, transcription and translation.
- Discovering the functions and interactions of phages.
- Unraveling the mechanisms of introns and inteins (i.e., non-coding regions of DNA involved in gene regulation).
These advancements did not begin as answers, but as questions that expanded what was scientifically imaginable. After fundamental research provided the conceptual infrastructure, tools followed that could be repurposed in biotechnology, medicine, pharmaceuticals and other industries. For example, phage therapy has emerged as a viable strategy to combat antibiotic resistant infections. Years of insights into the mechanisms of phage-bacterial interactions have given scientists the library of knowledge needed to design and optimize phage therapeutics to be the most effective. Another example is DNA sequencing that moved from lab scale to mapping entire genomes at high speed and low cost. Sequencing is now used in personalized medicine, cancer research and metagenomics.
Nevertheless, contemporary, goal-oriented societies are increasingly structured around measurable outcomes, short-term returns, efficiency and deliverables. Funding for today’s scope of projects is provided by private or public institutions and organizations. Funded research is often shaped by economic interests, many times with the prerequisite to deliver solutions to practical problems or develop new technologies or products. This means basic science is often judged only by a later payoff, or is perceived as a luxury or a project milestone in applied research, not as a distinct and crucial inquiry practice in and of itself. Yet mechanism discovery science provides conceptual frameworks, shared languages, standards and explanatory models that make applied work possible.
Basic science research is facing deep funding cuts in FY2027. Support for the study of microbial interactions and relationships, fundamental processes and the mechanisms of microbial evolution is essential to further scientific understanding and address pressing health and science challenges. Tell Congress to support funding for basic research in FY2027.
As the world confronts increasingly complex challenges—from climate change to the resurgence of old diseases and the emergence of new ones—mechanism discovery research delivers new threads of understanding we can pull on in search of effective solutions. The unpredictability of which threads will lead to practical outcomes highlights the necessity of maintaining a robust basic science enterprise.
Discovery Research Thrives at Disciplinary Boundaries
Many important microbial mechanisms are uncovered at disciplinary interfaces. Discovery science is non-linear. It follows an exploratory path that is fueled by curiosity, tolerates detours and crosses boundaries. In the microbial sciences, where diversity and adaptability are enormous, this openness is essential.
The history of HIV capsid research illustrates the power of such interdisciplinary investigation. For decades, scientists studied how the conical HIV capsid forms, stabilizes and interacts with host cells. These mechanistic insights eventually revealed vulnerabilities in the viral life cycle, enabling the development of long-acting antivirals that target capsid function. What began as basic structural research ultimately opened new avenues for HIV prevention. This path from basic research to novel prophylactics required knowledge and tools from several fields, including structural biology, virology, cell biology, drug development and computational modeling.
This raises a key point: the interdisciplinary nature of mechanism discovery research is not just desirable, but critical. Over decades, microbial science has broadened to include techniques and technologies that stem from other fields; in many ways, present-day microbiological investigations would be impossible without them. For example, modern microbiome research would be unthinkable without bioinformatics, biophysics, big data management or mathematical models that analyze and integrate knowledge gained on the network architecture and interactions of microorganisms.
To that end, advances in computational biology and artificial intelligence (AI) continue to accelerate exploration across scales and disciplines and transform how microbiologists explore fundamental questions. These tools can reveal patterns and connections that span traditional boundaries, and even directly support human interaction by facilitating a common language between researchers from different areas of expertise.
For instance, AI helps standardize microbiome data processing, visualizes complex data sets and ensures consistent input regardless of a scientist's area of expertise. The selection of appropriate AI strategies to translate complex microbiome data into meaningful insights requires a collaboration between microbiologists, data scientists, clinicians and ethicists.
AI and scientists are also increasingly co-creating through collaborative systems that generate hypotheses, propose experiments and validate ideas together. The fact that an AI model independently converged on the same hypothesis for a novel bacterial gene transfer mechanism as experimental researchers—without being shown their results—highlights the potential of such co‑ideation. Nevertheless, AI can only suggest answers or hypotheses. It remains the job of scientists to explain how and why microbial systems function as they do.
Fundamentals That Drive the Future
Scientific breakthroughs are unpredictable. Given that microbes are the most numerous organisms on Earth, understanding them is key to understanding life itself. Basic science is the gateway to unlocking the mysteries of our world. It also creates the conceptual, methodological and human capacities that enable a society to address complex, evolving challenges, adapt to uncertainty and avoid unsustainable short-term solutions. These skills are crucial in a rapidly changing world, where rigorous reasoning and the capacity to think flexibly ensure that current progress does not compromise the future of the next generations. To shape the future of the microbial sciences, we must continue to invest in its foundations. After all, the most powerful advances still begin with the simplest questions: "why?" and "how?"
Glen McGugan, Ph.D., Director of ASM's Mechanism Discovery Unit, discusses how curiosity-driven research drives tomorrow's breakthroughs.
In This Issue
- Why Does Basic Science Research Matter?
- The Value of Curiosity-Driven Research: Mechanism Discovery With Glen McGugan
- Stuck on You: How Bacteria Migrate and Adhere to Their Hosts
- Cable Bacteria: Electric Marvels of the Microbial World
- Can't Sleep? Your Microbiome May Play a Role
- How Spatial Structure Shapes Microbial Communities
- Plasmids and the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes
- From Mpox to Measles: Why Viruses Cause Lesions and Rashes
- Bringing Microbial Dark Matter Into the Light