Getting to the cure can seem slow. |
It's easy to say "Let's find a cure!" The scientific research is much harder. Let's look at the top reasons why, and how they all add up to time.
We'll also find out what JDRF and diabetes researchers are doing to speed up progress toward a cure.
Obstacle #1: The Scientific Method
This might not seem like a hurdle at all—for the scientific method is the very process that scientists use to conduct research. But to those of us who are not scientific researchers, the pace of research can seem awfully slow and tedious.
Obstacle #2: Money
Scientists' salaries, equipment, laboratories, supplies, electricity, technology ... the list of expenses in research is practically endless, especially to cure a complicated disease like diabetes.
Obstacle #3: Safety
Obviously, science depends on experimentation. When researchers pose their questions and hypotheses, the next important step is to conduct experiments, or "tests," to find out if they are correct. Researchers must, however, make absolutely sure that a test tried on a human would not harm that person in any way.
Obstacle #4: Technology
New machines, computers, chemicals, and procedures can allow researchers today to conduct tests that wouldn't have been possible two, three, or five years ago. Technology allows great new discoveries, but when the technology has not yet been invented, it can frustrate researchers.
Obstacle #5: Complexity
Diabetes researchers have a favorite saying: "Diabetes is a very complicated disease." They are referring to the fact that for many years, researchers have posed seemingly simple questions about diabetes, only to be astounded by the complex biological mechanisms inside your body!
Obstacle #6: The Big Questions
As science gets more sophisticated, researchers must ask, "Are we doing the right thing?" Aiming to cure diabetes, yes. But some of the techniques to do so invite even more questions.
