The numbers in the Chief Scientist’s report are one thing, but the social implications of what medical research has already delivered make them pale into insignificance: We can swiftly avert the crises posed by life-threatening infectious diseases like Ebola. Our kids can receive vaccines, most notably the one recently developed by Australian researcher Ian Frazer to stop cervical cancer in women. Thanks to Perth researcher and Nobel Prize winner Barry Marshall, we can use a treatment for stomach ulcers, which were previously thought to be due to stress. Australian researchers over the past 30 years have revolutionised treatment for hearing disorders and burns. All of these things we take for granted.

Underpinning every one of these amazing discoveries is blood, sweat and tears from some of the brightest and most passionate basic researchers in this country who care about our health.

Unless Australia invests heavily in biological research we run the risk of not only missing the financial benefits, but every Australian runs the risk of missing the benefits of a new discovery that could save their life and provide healthier years on this planet.

As well as adding $46 billion to the Australian economy each year, the biological sciences are vital in our effort to overcome some humanity’s greatest challenges. Here are some:

In health:

• Emerging infectious diseases
• Antibiotic resistance
• Cancer
• The pandemic of obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases

Food and agriculture:

• Food security, food safety and food sustainability

Environment:

• Conservation and habitat management, both on land and in the oceans
• Climate change and its impacts

All of these rely fundamentally on biological research, from basic discovery and theory to practical implementation.

More than that, solving these major problems requires biologists working with other disciplines – the physical, medical and social sciences, engineering and IT, and the humanities.

That is where real innovation and translational impact lies.