You know how on sitcoms you sometimes see a storyline where one of the main characters, who's really broke, comes across an ad in the paper that markets some sort of scientific or medical experiment needing volunteers to test out a new drug? Eventually that character decides that being a test subject is far easier than doing something else like teaching at the local community center and signs up for the experiment. By the end of the episode they go through the ringer for jokes and come away feeling some weird side effects that the audience will laugh at. It's a pretty standard sitcom storyline and one you've probably seen played out for laughs plenty of times while watching television.

The thing is though that it does happen in real life. Sure, it might not be something zany like take a pill that will make you think that everything you eat tastes like strawberries. That would be silly. No, the medical trials that happen every day across the world are done for a noble cause. Whether it's medical trials or research that's being done, they're done by professionals who are looking for ways to improve care, find new treatments for illnesses or diseases or come up with a new cure. It's not easy being a doctor or family dentist.

You can't just go out and prescribe a certain medication or tell someone to go on a special natural foods diet if you don't know if the results will be worth it. In order to know that a certain type of cancer treatment is better than a different form of cancer treatment you have to test it out or do research on it. That's where medical trials come in to play. Medical trials are being performed by and watched over by medical professionals who know when something is wrong and can end the trial or put an end to their research.

Unlike a trial in your home performed to see if popping Mentos into a Coca Cola two-liter bottle really does make the Mentos shoot out like a rocket, medical trials can have grave consequences.

A medical trial in the field of biological medicine that isn't properly monitored could lead to a trial being performed that might make someone ill or injure them. That's not the intent of medical trials. Medical trials are meant to help cure diseases or help manage certain illnesses like Alzheimer's disease, MS, or Parkinson's disease.

Doctors, scientists and dentists will agree that medical trials and medical research are vital to the survival of certain patients and can help fight certain diseases and illnesses.

Learn what it takes to get into the research field.