Biomedical research is focused on advancing health. In their weekly column, David Niesel and Norbert Herzog look at surveys which indicate that most Americans are strongly supportive of investments in biomedical and medical research. The researchers note that life expectancy in the U.S. has risen by more than eight years and deaths from leading causes are down as evidence biomedical research is an investment that has paid off. This column also appears in The Galveston County Daily News.