Mes expériences personnelles en France (entre autres : INSERM, CNRS, MHN, Pasteur, ENS), et ce que je vois ici aux USA, et notamment à Boston (Harvard, mais pas seulement) contredisent totalement cette approche/affirmation/vision des choses.
Mais cette impression a toutes les chances d'être subjective, voire biaisée.
Pour entrer sur un terrain plus académique, j'ai fait une recherche rapide qui a donné des résultats assez amusants.
Ci-dessous quelques exemples d'abstracts dans des domaines de compétences totalement différents où Isaac Asimov est mis en avant. Alors que citer des auteurs non-"scientifiques" dans ces spécialités, ben c'est du plus que rarissime...
Curr Top Dev Biol. 2005;65:1-45.
Tales of cannibalism, suicide, and murder: Programmed cell death in C. elegans.
Kinchen JM, Hengartner MO.
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11743, USA.
"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome," said Isaac Asimov. Indeed, much scientific work over the last hundred years centered around attempts either to stave off or to induce the onset of death, at both the organismal and the cellular levels. In this quest, the nematode C. elegans has proven an invaluable tool, first, in the articulation of the genetic pathway by which programmed cell death proceeds, and also as a continuing source of inspiration. It is our purpose in this Chapter to familiarize the reader with the topic of programmed cell death in C. elegans and its relevance to current research in the fields of apoptosis and cell corpse clearance.
Clin Dermatol. 2004 Sep-Oct;22(5):387-93.
Acne and diet.
Wolf R, Matz H, Orion E.
Dermatology Unit, Kaplan Medical Center, 76100 Rechovot, Israel. wolf_r@netvision.net.il
Forbidden foods? "The first law of dietetics seems to be: If it tastes good, it's bad for you" (Isaac Asimov, Russian-born biochemist and science fiction writer). This was essentially the Magna Carta for dermatologists of the 1950s: anything coveted by the teenage palate was suspect for morning after acne. Today, half a century later, although the slant has shifted away for this line of thinking in our dermatologic textbooks, several articles on the beliefs and perceptions of acne patients showed that nothing much has changed and that they expect us to give them detailed instructions of what "acne-related" foods they should avoid. In one such study(1), diet was the third most frequently implicated factor (after hormones and genetics) as the cause of the disease, with 32% of the respondents selecting diet as the main cause, and 44% thinking that foods aggravate acne. In another study that analyzed knowledge about causes of acne among English teenagers, 11% of the responders blamed greasy food as the main cause of the disease(2), whereas in another study found that 41% of final-year medical students of the University of Melbourne chose diet as an important factor of acne exacerbation on a final examination.(3)
Et pour finir par un dernier exemple assez superbe :
Cell. 1996 Nov 29;87(5):791-4.
Pathogenicity islands: bacterial evolution in quantum leaps.
Groisman EA, Ochman H.
Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
“I am the beneficiary of a lucky break in the genetic sweepstakes”
Isaac Asimov
For most bacterial pathogens virulence is a multifactorial process requiring two general classes of determinants. The first encompasses genes that participate in physiological processes necessary for survival in host and non-host environments, and these genes are generally found in both pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms. In Salmonella, this set includes regulatory genes, such as phoP/phoQ, that control expression of more than 20 loci in response to low magnesium environments; biosynthetic genes, such as aroA, that encodes the ability to synthesize aromatic amino acids not found in host tissues; and several additional genes required for cell maintenance and DNA repair (...)
J Endourol. 2008 Aug;22(8.):1557-60.
Three laws of robotics and surgery.
Moran M.
Renaissance Urology, Stuart, Florida 34994, USA. memoran2@juno.com
INTRODUCTION: In 1939, Isaac Asimov solidified the modern science fiction genre of robotics in his short story "Strange Playfellow" but altered our thinking about robots in Runaround in 1942 by formulating the Three Laws. He took an engineer's perspective on advanced robotic technologies. Surgical robots by definition violate the first law, yet his discussions are poignant for our understanding of future potential of robotic urologic surgery. METHODS: We sought to better understand Asimov's visions by reading his fiction and autobiography. We then sought to place his perceptions of science fact next to the Three Laws (he later added a fourth law, the zeroth). RESULTS: Asimov's Three Laws are often quoted in medical journals during discussions about robotic surgery. His First Law states: "A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. " This philosophy would directly conflict with the application in surgery. In fact, most of his robotic stories deal with robots that come into conflicts with the laws. Robots in his cleverly orchestrated works evolve unique solutions to complex hierarchical conflicts with these laws. Asimov anticipated the coming maelstrom of intelligent robotic technologies with prescient unease. Despite his scholarly intuitions, he was able to fathom medical/surgical applications in many of his works. These fictional robotic physicians were able to overcome the first law and aid in the care and management of the sick/injured. CONCLUSIONS: Isaac Asimov published over 500 books on topics ranging from Shakespeare to science. Despite his widespread influence, he refused to visit the MIT robotics laboratory to see current, state-of-the-art systems. He managed to lay the foundation of modern robotic control systems with a human-oriented safety mechanism in his laws. "If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them " (I Asimov).
