Why do research? It may be a strange question to ask in a magazine devoted to research and it has an obvious answer (a cure!) but it is important to understand the nature of research.
Research is like an unpredictable, slowly erupting
volcano; within the volcano everything is fluid and constantly shifting.
Sometimes a trickle of larva emerges which gradually builds and solidifies into
knowledge. New treatment is built upon this solidified rock.
The analogy highlights the fact that research is slow
and uncertain and deals with uncovering unknowns. When larva does emerge and
adds to the scientific landscape it changes the context of previous knowledge,
leading to new questions.
Science never stops. Research is hard, shifting,
precarious work and can fail to find anything. Nonetheless, the accumulation of
successful research has huge practical potential, modern life is built upon it,
and needs to be supported.
As a sufferer I want treatments and solid answers now
but as a scientist I know today's research will take time to solidify into
practical knowledge that leads to new treatment.
Research is important to me. When I was diagnosed with
Parkinson's it felt like I was given a blank page; I didn't know how to fill
that page and understand what was happening to me. Thankfully researchers had
begun to unravel the causes of Parkinson's and the more I read, the more space
I could fill on my blank page. I find understanding a great comfort.
Not only does research give hope for future
treatments, it also provides the means to understand the strange Parkinson's
landscape sufferers and their families are taken to when diagnosis comes.
That's why magazines like "Progress" and public lectures are so
important.
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