I've mentioned before the misconception that scientists deal with facts. There's an interesting debate — rather a scandal — going on over the synthesis of a chemical originally isolated from a Siberian fungus.
What is interesting to me, from a science communication perspective, is that in, oh, ten years' time maybe, the synthesis might be a fairly minor section in an organic chemistry text, with a footnote remarking on the controversy that surrounded it back in the dark ages of the mid-twenty hundreds.
But Here, and Now, passions are running high:
By the standards of organic chemistry, that's a gloved slap in the face in the public square. Someone at Angewandte Chemie should probably be feeling the sting, too.
The Onion ran a nice little piece on this, too.
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Posted by: uyxejmwawl | August 23, 2007 08:17 AM