It means: "I have to stretch the possible immediate practical applications of my research in order to better secure interest/funding/publicity, it's just part

It means: "I have to stretch the possible immediate practical applications of my research in order to better secure interest/funding/publicity, it's just part of the job" Pretty much every every article like this has a couple sentences on practical applications that sound revolutionary. It's just part of how things are done and most of them will never come to fruition. Don't take it too seriously unless they have a proof of concept.