Biomedical research should uncover disease mechanisms and deliver new therapies — yet most of it never reaches patients. Instead, basic science has become a self-reinforcing system built around publications, prestige, and grants. Clinicians rarely produce meaningful innovations, and pivotal clinical trials are largely industry-run. Worse, over half of all biomedical studies are not reproducible due to weak methods, poor statistics, tiny sample sizes, and missing blinding.
Journals reward controversy over quality: non-reproducible papers are cited 13 times more than solid ones. Retractions are rising exponentially. Add predatory journals that publish anything for a fee — Pokémon figures included — and the extent of dysfunction becomes clear. Up to 85% of biomedical research is estimated to be waste: irrelevant, irreproducible, or simply career-driven.
The COVID-19 crisis exposed these flaws under a magnifying glass. This episode shows why research, as currently organized, fails patients — and sets the stage for the most fundamental problem in modern medicine.
More information at https://haraldschmidt.online
Contact: harald.schmidt@mac.com
