Human's long history of invention and discovery depicts our passion to nurture human needs. Modern science and academia continues this pursuit, the focus one hundred years ago weapons, fifty years later the environment, today biology and technology.

While the goals of human discovery soar, justifications for reasons plummet. What are the economic, moral, and ethical questions researchers ask themselves today? Is scientific study simply human curiosity or reaching academic degrees? Does it generate human prosperity or that of industry? Is it to save the world or save world economies? Do we need to know more? What are the questions driving current human exploration?

Scientific literature is a maelstrom, filled with the words may, could, or perhaps, concluding with "...we need more research to fully understand...", a statement to the basic premise of all science. And when it comes to synthetic biology, zenobiology, or crypto genetics, ground breaking adorns control, exploit, manipulate, and harness. Research continues as the picking and choosing of ideas creates controversy, and the question what? treats the symptom and why? neglects the cause:

• Drinking water supplies are fluoridated touting better dental health in children, while sugar laden breakfast cereals, candies, and beverages are advertised to children and available in schools.

• Vaccinations for viruses are distributed with grocery discounts, discounts that apply to purchasing from a litany of foodstuffs detrimental to the human immune system.

• Research for an effective and safe cancer treatment is ongoing, as is polluting the air, water, food supply, and commerce with cancer causing agents.

• Electric vehicles and alternative energy are promoted to reduce CO2 emissions and resource usage, while new technology becomes obsolete and AI accelerates, increasing the use of resources and energy consumption, thus CO2 emissions and waste.  

As the outcomes of human adventure display the need save humans and the world with more knowledge, these oxymorons will proliferate until we apply what we already know or take better considerations to what we do not. The fallacy in scientific pursuit has been to disregard what we have already learned, then not knowing when to leave well enough alone. Similar to the endeavors of modern scientific medicine: left to a few minds distributing to the rest of us our plights and encouraging absolute resolutions with technological certainty, neglecting to apply even basic theories of thermodynamics. This model of discovery lacks justifiable tenets and creates further problems to repeat the process.

The actual motives driving scientific research now, and for more than a century, are to inflate a few commercial interests catering to societal fears: war, pandemics, disease, dying, famine, poverty, declining resources, climate change...fear disseminated to fund research - pay once - and expand remedial commerce - pay twice.

Is there a return on this grand investment of folly? The plain and simple answer is no. As long as the lion's share of grants and subsequent patents awarded for research are focused on cure instead of prevention, medical instead of health, climate change instead of human change, technology instead of ecology, nonparticipant contributions will continue to bankroll the current and limited ideas of our new democracy: economic growth for share holders.

Humans do need research. But if you want to save coral reefs - first, stop over harvesting, polluting, and decimating aquatic ecosystems and curtail emissions. If you want a pathogen free environment - first, retire CRISPR, animal feedlots, and reduce the use of chemicals. And, if you want to be healthy - you must consume the ingredients to satisfy the chemistry of the human organism.

Humanity has learned to solve their problems by eradicating or manipulating for illusionary control, refusing to ask the questions we already have answers, dumbing us down. Modern humans are an injustice to their dynamic brain function when the focus of education supports commercial motives, benefiting a handful of careers and interests. We know humans are, and live, in a delicate and tenuous system, yet our achievements continue to foster the decline of Earth and its inhabitants.

Human imperfection and fallibility is enough to validate substantial risk in every choice or action humans make in haste, curiosity can kill the cat, as empirical knowledge most often results from hindsight. 

For ideas to reduce, check out the simplistic, easy to understand treatise - The Human Nature of Need and Feed.