Cynthia: Corporations amply fund research that generates marketable new technologies  But the fundamental goal of science is to achieve a comprehensive knowledge of the workings of the universe  The government should help fund those basic scientific research projects that seek to further our theoretical knowledge of nature  Luis: The basic goal of government support of scientific research is to generate technological advances that will benefit society as a whole
So only research that is expected to yield practical applications in fields such as agriculture and medicine ought to be funded
Knowledge gained through basic scientific research need not be expected to lead to new and useful technologies in order for the research to merit government funding.