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Quotes of the Day for 12 October 2004 - Research

Christopher Reeve died at Mount Kisco, New York on Sunday, 10 October 2004, from complications of spending most of the last nine years in a wheelchair. He was 52. He was Superman to millions based on starring in four films based on the comic-book super hero. He provided a sense that there really was someone out there that was willing to help, first in his films and later in his advocacy for those with paralysis similar to his own, the result of a 1995 equestrian accident. I try not to be too political in this space, but I think it's appropriate today. We don't know if stem cell research can lead to therapies for paralysis like Reeve suffered, we cannot know until the research is done. But for those of you in the US, when you hear that the question is under discussion at Washington City, let your senators and congressman know that you will not support anyone who hinders this research in any way.

Research is to see what everybody has seen and to think what nobody else has thought.
     - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1893 - 1986

The acquisition of knowledge is the mission of research, the transmission of knowledge is the mission of teaching and the application of knowledge is the mission of public service.
     - James A. Perkins, 1911 - 1998

It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast.
     - Konrad Lorenz, 1903 - 1989

Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.
     - Marston Bates, 1906 - 1974

It is not the fruits of scientific research that elevate man and enrich his nature, but the urge to understand, the intellectual work, creative or receptive.
     - Albert Einstein, 1879 - 1955

I believe I speak on behalf of patients who are willing to accept failure as a necessary aspect of moving science forward. We want researchers to think less like academics and more like EMTs whose primary function is to save lives.
     - Christopher Reeve, 1952 - 2004

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