谈生命科学等领域原创性基础研究成果的获得与评价

On the originality of scientific findings in life sciences: Acquisition and evaluation

通过生命科学领域的多个案例,阐述了基础研究是以认识自然本质并获得全新知识为宗旨、由人类好奇心而非社会需求所驱动;获得和评价原创性科学成果一直以来是科学家个体和科学共同体所关注的重要内容;但是,鉴于科学探究过程的混乱性和非线性本质,使获得与评价原创性研究成果皆非易事。特别强调了科学家的跨学科视野和高深理论修养对获得原创成果、辨别可能被忽略的意外发现的重要性;同时,也强调了原创成果需在或短或长的时间内被检验和确认。历史一再证明,任何一项科学发现都不能仅根据其发表的刊物水平而不经批判性评估就简单被定论。伟大的科学发现是具备新颖性且经得起同行评审,被不断批判和反复推敲而最终获得认可。这也是其常产生自处于良好学术氛围中的学者的原因。

Basic research is conducted for the purposes of learning about the nature of Nature and acquiring new knowledge;It is driven by human curiosity,rather than social needs.How to acquire and evaluate scientific discoveries of high originality is an issue greatly concerned by the scientific community.However,due to the nonlinear and messy nature of the process of scientific exploration,it has never been a simple and easy thing to acquire and evaluate scientific discoveries as shown by the multiple examples mainly happened in the field of life sciences.For acquiring novel scientific discoveries,this author emphasizes the importance of recognizing serendipitous scientific findings,which might be ignored by many people,and thinking in an interdisciplinary theoretical angle during the research processes.Any discoveries,especially ones of high originality,have to be ascertained by other colleagues in a shorter or longer period of time.History has repeatedly proven that great scientific discoveries are often made by people living in a community of proper academic atmosphere,emphasizing the aspects of novelty,critical thinking,peer review,historical perspectives,among others for the discoveries.Any piece of reported scientific finding should not be simply judged by where it is published but by critical evaluations of the reported discoveries.