Introduction: Research Production in Life Sciences

I would like to open this fourth volume in the Advances in Research Ethics and Integrity Series with some personal impressions about life sciences research based on my experience working in this field. Life science research teams in many ways resemble small factories. In factories, each part of the production chain is dedicated to another and each part of the production chain is strongly dependent on the efficiency of a preceding one. Just as with industrial factories, life sciences research teams are pressed with upcoming deadlines, productivity output (measured in terms of both patents and publications), and a constant struggle to finance their activities. Life science research is costly and often strongly dependent on very expensive chemicals and high-tech equipment. In such a competitive and challenging environment, only the most efficient research teams can survive.