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European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

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01-09-2009 | Editorial

Darwinian molecular imaging

Authors: Bertrand Tavitian, Uwe Haberkorn

Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging | Issue 9/2009

Excerpt

On 12 February 2009, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday. His theory of evolution through natural selection [1] is a most famous biological concept, with a notoriety as wide as Albert Einstein’s concept of relativity in physics. If, as Dobzhansky provocatively stated, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” [2], then it is worthwhile that we, as molecular imaging practitioners and scientists, should ask ourselves how much Darwinian is molecular imaging today. What use of Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection is made in the fields of molecular imaging and nuclear medicine? Is the evolution theory conceptually useful or a mere theoretical notion occasionally discussed by basic researchers in molecular imaging? Could the introduction of Darwinian concepts be operant to evolve more efficient and better molecular imaging? Now 200 years after his birth and 150 years after the first edition of his famous book, one of the greatest successes in scientific publishing ever (the first edition sold out in just 1 day), it appears timely for molecular imaging to take stock of Darwin’s heritage. …

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Title: Darwinian molecular imaging
Authors: Bertrand Tavitian
Uwe Haberkorn
Publication date: 01-09-2009
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging / Issue 9/2009
Print ISSN: 1619-7070
Electronic ISSN: 1619-7089
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-009-1192-z

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