This article argues that scientific research, personified by figures such as Adolfo Lutz, Oswaldo Cruz, Vital Brasil, Carlos Chagas and Rocha Lima one hundred years ago, continues to be the single most important factor in resolving Brazil's public health problems. By seeking shortcuts, Brazil will not only condemn itself to a future of underdevelopment, but will also reinforce a perverse paradox: though we are capable of isolating the genome of a pathogenic bacteria, we continue to import products and technologies while we practice unrestrained enthusiasm in the exportation of our most precious material and scientific resources.
history of science; research; science policy