Breaking through for breakthroughs: the problem of normal science in rare disease research

Abstract

Scientific breakthroughs themselves often do not carry the force needed for acceptance or adoption. By their very nature, scientific breakthroughs challenge the status quo or Normal Science. Therefore, those who forge scientific breakthroughs will have to break through Normal Science if their discoveries are to be adopted. Needing to break through Normal Science may not come as a surprise to people educated and training in the biosciences, but it will to many people who come to rare diseases from outside the biosciences and through necessity. In this commentary, I describe the basis and components of Normal Science, and how it can impede the progress of scientific breakthroughs. I refer to Thomas Kuhn’s concept of the ‘structure of scientific revolutions’ as an explanatory model, and I use three case studies to illustrate it. I also provide ideas on measures that can be taken to help people in rare disease research recognize and prepare for the resistance Normal Science may pose for their breakthroughs.