Beyond Discovery™: The Path from Research to Human Benefit is a series of case studies produced by the National Academy of Sciences from 1996 to 2003 that identify and trace origins of important technological and medical advances. Each case study reveals the crucial role played by basic science, the applications of which could not have been anticipated at the time the original research was conducted. The articles were developed through a close collaboration between professional science writers and prominent scientists who were directly involved with the discoveries being described.
The articles from this series are available below as PDFs. The articles have not been updated or revised to reflect subsequent advances in science and technology that have been made after the articles were originally published.
- The Ozone Depletion Phenomenon, April 1996
- Human Gene Testing, December 1996
- Modern Communication: The Laser and Fiber-Optic Revolution, December 1996
- The Global Positioning System: The Role of Atomic Clocks, April 1997
- Curing Childhood Leukemia, October 1997
- Sound from Silence: The Development of Cochlear Implants, August 1998
- Preserving the Miracle of Sight: Lasers and Eye Surgery, August 1998
- Designer Seeds, October 1998
- Sounding out the Ocean’s Secrets, March 1999
- When the Earth Moves: Seafloor Spreading and Plate Tectonics, October 1999
- Polymers and People, November 1999
- Disarming a Deadly Virus: Proteases and their Inhibitors, February 2000
- The Hepatitis B Story, February 2000
- From Explosives to the Gas That Heals: Nitric Oxide in Biology and Medicine, May 2000
- Unraveling the Enigma of Vitamin D, October 2000
- Wavelets: Seeing the Forest – and the Trees, December 2001
- Insect Pheromones: Mastering Communication to Control Pests, January 2003
- The Code War, February 2003
- The Bidding Game, March 2003