Just like any other business, the way science gets done has undergone a rapid transformation in the past 30 years, especially in the context of the Internet revolution.

Federal funding for research is neither a gift nor a handout to scientists. Instead, it is an investment that pays dividends many times over to the American taxpayer. Will our elected leaders cut the very programs that provide greatest benefit both now and into the future?

Scientists and engineers representing a wide variety of cross-disciplines can debate research findings in online forums, and society will ultimately benefit from the resulting scientific discourse that will open up limitless new avenues for search and discovery.

Increased and predictable funding and incentives for research and development are essential, as is a workforce skilled at filling the resulting jobs. But it's also important that America's approach to research shift from safe and incremental research to the "high-risk, high-reward" research.

Did you ever consider why the thing scientists do is called "research"? Where did the "re" come from? If it derives from "repeat," as some might suggest, then it is no surprise that the answer to that question really defines why science is what it is.

Distortions and sensationalism really only explain how deterministic stories persist -- not why. There must be something satisfying and lucrative about "gene-for" stories. What is so sexy about a gene for IQ?

Research Corporation for Science Advancement pledges to work aggressively to rally our academic colleagues, sister foundations, and other like-minded organizations for a frontal assault on the current stumbling blocks impeding the production of more top-quality science and scientists.

Life as a researcher is no walk in the park, but a passion for science (along with ample amounts of perseverance) can go a long way. We might look like geeks, but it's good to know that the producers of The Big Bang Theory have got our backs!

We call for nothing short of a major reformation of the scientific enterprise.

So what is the way in? How do we get to appreciate and understand and participate in science without having to collect a few PhDs? Though it may seem a curious perspective, I suggest ignorance.

We seem to be in a transition period from a marvelously rich era of discovery in the last thirty years to an era in which new concepts and methods will be required to gain access to another range of powerful discoveries.