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No Chemistry, No Physics
M
AYBE IT'S TIME WE THREW IN THE
towel, because it sure seems like we're losing the battle. What battle is that? The one where we convince the general public of the significant contributions chemistry is making to the well-being of humanity ^Vbu think I'm being too pessimistic?The cover story of the Aug. 20 issue of Time magazine is titled "America's Best Science & Medicine." In it, Time's editors "focused on the most exciting fields of research and then looked for the men and women who are doing the most cuttingedge research within those fields." The magazine honors 18 individuals in the following fields: cellular biology, human origins, child psychology, pediatrics, genomics, cardiology, oncology, climatology, ecology, AIDS research, astrophysics, paleontology, biomedical engineering, neurobiology, cell death, spinal-cord repair, molecular mechanics, and lifetime achievement. What's missing? Well, I always thought two of the branches of science, maybe the two main branches, were chemistry and physics. Neither makes Time's list. I know, I know Time honors an astrophysicist, but is astrophysics now the central concern of physics? And MIT chemical engineer Robert Langer is honored for his revolutionary work on drug delivery We have tremendous admiration for Bob Langer, and we're delighted that he is so recognized. Time's essay, however, strongly suggests that chemical engineers go to work for oil companies and that Langer's success occurred because he turned away from chemical engineering. In fact, his success is dependent on his brilliance as a chemical engineer and a chemist. There is a chemist on the list: University of California, Berkeley, chemistry professor Carlos Bustamante is cited in the molecular mechanics category for his use of lasers and an atomic force microscope to physically manipulate DNA and proteins. What's remarkable is how hard Time works to avoid using the words "chemist"
and "chemistry" Bustamante is identified as "a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator" at Berkeley HHMI is a wonderful organization, but note how this identification transforms the lone chemist in Time's pantheon into a "medical" researcher. For Time and most of its readers, I'm afraid, today science is medicine. Of the 18 categories identified by the magazine as the most excitingfieldsof research, at least six are specifically medical. Eight more are biological—with the primary emphasis on advancing the frontiers of medicine—and the "lifetime achievement award" went to arguably the most influential biologist of the 20th century, Harvard's Edward O. Wilson. Only three categories—climatology astrophysics, and molecular mechanics—are outside the biology/biomedical research arena. The 18 scientists cited by Time are certainly worthy of recognition. My point is not to detract from any first-rate scientific effort. But Time, in this issue, has posited two destructive equations: SCIENCE = BIOLOGY CUTTING EDGE = MEDICAL PROGRESS
No scientist, including those recognized by Time, accepts either of these equations as true. But in positing them, Time has done science a disservice. This influential publication has further eroded the public's understanding of the interconnectedness and mutual dependence of the basic sciences —especially the dependence of biology on advances in chemistry and physics. I'm at a loss as to what is to be done. Maybe someone should write a letter to the editor—of Time. We here at C&EN, of course, are not throwing in the towel. Wé will continue to report each week on the best chemistry that is being done here in the U.S. and around the world. And continue to hope that, eventually, the message takes hold that a lot of today's cutting-edge science is being done by chemists.
Managing Editor
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS C&EN / SEPTEMBER
3, 2001
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