Research funding has unexpected benefits. A lizard study led to Ozempic.

Hundreds of NIH grants termination were determined to be “void and illegal” by a U.S. district court judge this week. The ruling came as a relief to the broader scientific community, which has been deeply impacted by billions of dollars of government funding that was cut by the new administration in recent months. The relief may only be temporary, however, as the ruling could be appealed. Proponents of these funding cuts often cite what they consider trivial research as a waste of taxpayer money. In this week’s installment of a new video series from STAT, senior multimedia producer Alex Hogan takes a look at Monday’s ruling and the stakes of ongoing court battles over government grant funding. We also hear from Reed Jobs, who recently spoke at a STAT event about how these “trivial” studies can lead to blockbuster discoveries. Link here for more info on STAT's flagship summit this year, Oct 15-16 in Boston. https://www.statnews.com/stat-summit-boston/ 0:00 Intro 0:18 Court ruling on NIH grant funding 1:21 How lizard research led to Ozempic 2:11 Reed Jobs onstage explaining Gila monster research 3:07 Outro More from STAT: Become a subscriber: https://www.statnews.com/stat-plus/ Watch Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@Statnews Newsletters: https://www.statnews.com/signup/ STAT events: https://www.statnews.com/stat-events/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/statnews Twitter: https://twitter.com/statnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statnews/ Flipboard: rb.gy/3xnsxr STAT Reports: https://rb.gy/rexfwj STAT eBooks: https://rb.gy/eme3h5 ABOUT STAT: Founded in 2015, STAT is a global digital media brand that focuses on delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about the life sciences industries to over six million monthly site visitors and an additional 20 million readers on the Apple News app. STAT takes you inside academic labs, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms, casting a critical eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizing corporate strategies, and chronicling the roiling battles for talent, money, and market share. With an award-winning newsroom, STAT provides indispensable insights and exclusive stories on the technologies, personalities, power brokers, and political forces driving massive changes in the life sciences industry — and a revolution in human health.