Not Quite Serendipity

Here's a simple question for those of you still concerned the war in Iraq was unjustified because no WMD's have been found yet.

If a hypothetical researcher had been given a research grant to find a treatment for SARS, and in the course of the research instead found the cure for all kinds of cancer...would you be upset that all that money had been wasted on SARS research?

Just hypothetically speaking, of course.

And to forestall The Inevitable Question:

• What if they lied to us about using the money for SARS research in the first place? Which has the greater benefit to mankind in the long run, finding a cure for SARS which has killed less than 1000 people, or curing cancer which has killed millions? In addition, these medical advances will likely benefit medical research in the future that will help to treat or cure SARS, too. Understandably, the ends don't justify the means, but when the ends are so beneficial, be thankful.