Jason L Kindall wrote: > Viewed alone, it might be pretty hard to justify > research on fruit flies to the average Joe (plumber > or six-pack). Connect it with autism or human health > and then it becomes more palatable to the public.
Perhaps Sarah Palin and the average Joe's are refering to the big research grants that are awarded for seemingly frivolous projects like the one below dealing with the health of an economically unimportant, but charasmatic insect: http://tinyurl.com/2d6r9f $679,492 Grant to assist professor's study of butterflies Altizer received the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Development Career award to study migration and infectious disease patterns in Monarch butterflies. Altizer hopes her research will help with conservation. She wants to know how migration keeps Monarchs healthy. "People tend to love Monarchs to death," Altizer said. Keeping humans from disrupting the butterflies' migration will help keep them healthy. Paul Cherubini El Dorado, Calif.
