Time for a grant category for curiosity-based research

To the Editor: We strongly support the proposal1 that it is time to create a special grant category for curiosity-based research proposals. Having been in biomedical research for over 50 years, we have experienced a period when most research was curiosity based. We can thus compare with the present situation — research aiming for a rapid, practical and commercial outcome has become almost a necessity for survival because of the increasingly severe reduction in government funding for universities and research institutes. We would like to illustrate the value of curiosity-based research with a few Australian examples from our own fields.