ABSTRACT
We should distinguish between basic and applied research even though the distinction is not always clear. Although there is a range of cases for which it might be difficult to decide whether the research is primarily applied or basic, there are clear cases of basic research and there are clear cases of applied research. Until now we have focused our attention on clear instances of the latter - where the findings in laboratory animals are thought to be directly relevant to human biomedical phenomena. Now we will discuss basic animal research - where the findings in laboratory animals do not even pretend to be directly applicable to humans, but where those findings are thought to expand our knowledge of biological organisms in ways that may be indirectly applicable to humans, usually in unexpected ways.
