Is scientific progress being stifled by a lack of support for researchers who aim to change research directions? This is the question asked in Nature Cell Biology‘s May Editorial (10, 499; 2008).

At a time when cell biologists are exposed more than ever to diverse fields of research, it is notable that we are not seeing a parallel increase in researchers moving into new areas. There are certainly compelling examples of cell biologists who have successfully maintained more than one research focus or shifted the direction of their laboratory entirely — but not as many as one might expect. Perhaps people really do have a healthy obsession with their particular research focus, but is there also a fear of failure that is being compounded by the current funding and publishing process?

The Editorial goes on to identify some initiatives designed to encourage this type of innovation, for example schemes such as the Pioneer Award, requiring that "the proposed research must reflect ideas substantially different from those already being pursued in the investigator’s laboratory or elsewhere".

Some fields, particularly smaller ones, can be harder to break into than others, partly because of a sense of “ownership” by those working in the discipline. According to the Editorial, “No doubt some of the best research is done by those who appreciate a particular system in all its depth and complexity; however, a fresh view can provide clarity. Exploring new areas may be risky for the individual but there is no question that it drives overall research progress.”