[blacksmith_tb]

Obviously lots of science doesn't have practical applications (astrophysics anyone?) but I am skeptical "does X benefit society?" applies any better to much (maybe most) of what people actually do. I might turn it around and say that (nearly) all of what humans do doesn't benefit our societies, so much as it doesn't destroy them.

[algaeontoast]

I agree, however, with so many pressing issues today I'd be a bit uneasy if tax payer dollars were being used for this kind of research. Private funding, do what you like, however federal grants should be used for research that benefits taxpayers in some way, even if it's indirect or decades away.

[angry_cactus]

Seemingly random studies in biology can have unexpected benefits. Studying gecko toes led to the invention of a super-adhesive. https://geckskin.umass.edu/