Biological sciencesHow can research in the biological sciences help to solve global problems?

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How can biological science research help to solve the world’s most pressing problems?

Biological research aims to understand the mechanisms that govern life, from how cells function and how organisms develop and adapt, to how populations of organisms interact. The field encompasses a wide array of subfields and involves using a variety of techniques and tools, including microscopes, genomics, and mathematical modelling, to study living systems at all levels of organisation, from individual molecules to ecosystems.

The research of biologists is vital for many endeavours to improve the lives of human and non-human animals. Research in the biological sciences has already helped improve the world through the development of lifesaving discoveries such as vaccines, antibiotics and diagnostic tools. Plant biologists have also improved human health by making crops more resistant to pests, more nutritious and better able to tolerate environmental stresses.

It’s not difficult to find unsolved research questions within biology which could contribute to improving a huge number of lives. However, you could aim to do more good with your research career by searching specifically for a research area that seems comparatively neglected – in other words, one that seems under-explored by other researchers given its potential to improve lives.

Working on a neglected research area could involve working to reduce the burden of chronic and severe pain caused by medical conditions; preventing or preparing humanity for the next pandemic; developing cultivated proteins as an alternative to animal products or resilient foods to make humanity less likely to face starvation in a global catastrophe; working to understand and improve the lives of wild animals (a category of beings whose wellbeing has until recently been almost entirely overlooked); or treating ageing as a way of tackling the underlying cause of most human disease and frailty. Choosing what to work on carefully is also important because there are ways research within biology can have a negative impact; for example, some gain of function research poses serious risks because it involves increasing the transmissibility of viruses or the range of hosts they can infect.

The profiles at the end of this introduction are deeper dives into some research directions that could be particularly valuable to explore.

Resources

Research agendas and potential sources for research questions

Here are sources from the Effective Altruism community and related organisations that feature questions you could take inspiration from:

• Preventing Catastrophic Pandemics: 80,000 Hours
• Biology and Genetics Research ideas: 80,000 Hours
• The appendix of the Precipice, which lists policy and research ideas for reducing existential risks, including from Global Catastrophic Biological Risks.
• Happier Lives Institute: Research Agenda 
• Wild Animal Initiative: Research Agenda
• Advancing Solutions for Alternative Proteins: The Good Food Institute

Additional resources

• Chapters 3 and 5 of Toby Ord’s book The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity, which discuss the threat of engineered pandemics and other biological threats.
• Reducing Global Catastrophic Biological Risks: 80,000 Hours
• Promoting Welfare Biology as the Study of Wild Animal Suffering (conference talk)
• Marc Lipsitch on choosing a graduate programme or postdoctoral fellowship
• Open Philanthropy’s cause prioritisation related to scientific research

Contributors

This profile was last updated 13/06/2023. Thanks to Hana McMahon Cole for creating this introduction and Sophie Bergmann for feedback. All errors remain our own. Learn more about how we create our profiles.

Explore our recommended research directions relating to biological sciences

AI sentience, moral status and rights

How should the possibility of AI sentience guide the development of AI and related institutions and norms?

Alternative proteins research and development

The consumption of animal products causes suffering to billions of animals each year. Alternatives could shift consumer demand away from animal products.

Anti-ageing research

Aging is a major risk factor for many diseases that medical interventions try to prevent. Can we target aging as an underlying cause of disease?

Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance already kills tens of thousands each year, and could kill millions without innovation. What are the best strategies to prevent it?

Applied mental health research

It’s estimated that around 10% of the population suffers from diagnosable mental health conditions, with most of them not receiving treatment. 

Black soldier fly sentience and welfare

Black soldier fly may be farmed on a huge scale in the coming decades. To decrease their potential suffering, we need to understand more about their welfare and capacity for sentience.

Cause specific mortality in wild animals

Understanding the causes of wild animal mortality can help us build a picture of the current state of welfare in nature and how we can improve it.

Detection and identification of dangerous pathogens

Using metagenomic surveillance and broad-spectrum diagnostics to detect dangerous pathogens.

Farmed animal welfare

Animal agriculture causes suffering to billions of animals each year. How can we improve welfare standards as much as possible?

Improving aquatic animal welfare

How can we help the hundreds of billions of aquatic animals that are raised and killed for human consumption every year?

Improving the measurement of animal welfare

Wild animals make up the vast majority of sentient beings, but their welfare is highly neglected. One promising approach to understanding their quality of life is comparing rate of biological aging in different populations.

Medical interventions against dangerous pathogens

To address future pandemics, we need medical interventions against pathogens to be faster to produce, effective against a broad range of threats, and cheaper and easier to produce at scale.

Moral weight research

Foundational research exploring animals’ experiences and moral standing could help prioritize animal welfare interventions

Preventing the release of dangerous pathogens

How can we reduce the likelihood of intentional or accidental release of dangerous pathogens?

Reducing physical pain

Hundreds of millions of people live with chronic pain and other intensely painful conditions. What are the most urgent conditions where progress could be made?

Reducing risks from malevolent actors

How can individuals with particularly dangerous personality traits be prevented from gaining power?

Resilient foods research

How would we feed everyone in the event of a global catastrophe, such as the sun being blocked during a nuclear winter or significant disruption to electricity or industry?

Wildlife fertility control research

Many wild animals suffer due to resource competition. Population management of some species via contraception could increase welfare and survival.

Where next?

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Our recommended research directions

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