Talk:Selman Waksman

Untitled
I have corrected the false and scandalous claim that Waksman was responsible for the isolation of streptomycin. He merely got the credit for another scientist's work. Shorne 17:36, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

The claim was indeed scandalous but not wholely false. To instead say that Schatz was wholely responsible and the Waksman did nothing is also innaccurate. I have replaced the so called correction with a more accurate statement. The issue is more like that between Watson & Crick and Rosalind Franklin than one of theft by Waksman. Gwax 19:36, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Yes, Gwax, nobody is wholely responsible for anything. Actually, it would be equally scandalous to say that Waksman was wholely responsible for his achievements. What he would have done without Rutgers help, money and equipment? Coul we say so that Henry Rutgers "led to the discovery of Streptomycin, and several other antibiotics.? Please, lets be serious!--83.38.147.168 (talk) 17:39, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Without question, the controversy over who did and did not receive credit for streptomycin deserves comment. There is a controversy and there are facts about the controversy but that does not justify discussing the controversy with loaded language at every possible opportunity in the article about Selman Waksman, the man. --gwax (say hi) 00:32, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

There is recently uncovered evidence mentioned here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/science/notebooks-shed-light-on-an-antibiotic-discovery-and-a-mentors-betrayal.html?ref=science Looks like the controversy got settled, to Waksman's detriment. 68.126.187.2 (talk) 22:39, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

Antibiotic term
It is stated that he coined the term antibiotic, yet it was François Henri Hallopeau who did it earlier. Should the sentence be restated as in "made the word largely known"? Elikarag (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 19:05, 25 March 2009 (UTC).

Antibiotique, coined by Hallopeau, is not quite the same word as antibiotic, coined by Waksman. Antibiotique can be used to refer to any life inhibiting substance, whereas antibiotic refers only to those substances derived from other living organisms. --gwax (say hi) 00:40, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Discovery Process
It would be helpful if someone described here the discovery process that Waksman organized and directed, which would be intrinsically interesting and would illuminate what credit he deserves for streptomycin specifically. I believe the underlying concept was that fierce competition between microorganisms in New Jersey bogs was thought likely to involve chemical warfare, in which case samples from those blogs would be a good place to search for substances that inhibit growth of bacteria and fungi. Does anyone here have access to materials supporting all this?Myron (talk) 03:18, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

Antinomycin
There is no mention of antinomicyn, which- as I read in a French article- was discovered by Waksman ???Is it because this was not a successful therapeutical achievment ? Other reasons ?Trente7cinq (talk) 11:11, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Mentioning Waksman's claiming of sole credit in the lede
Note that NY Times, a credible secondary source, clearly states Waksman fraudulently took sole credit for the discovery of streptomycin. The article doesn't consider that an open controversy any more. We, who report what credible secondary sources report, have to summarize that info in the lead; there is nothing "neutral" about refusing to include it. If the NY Times says somebody has committed fraud, we are required to include that; excluding the unpleasant truth is not what neutrality is about. Ajoykt (talk) 21:59, 13 July 2012 (UTC)


 * The NY times wrote sensationally about fraud. But in the end, if you follow the full story, and read the claims of the sides in the trial, it is clear that the claim about the bacteria was Schatz's but not substantiated by the lab, that many different strains were tried, and discarded due to toxicity, that an external lab supplied the final strain during the time Schatz was in the army, that the Nobel prize was NOT for Streptomycin but for Waksman's lifetime achievements of research (among which the lab produced Streptomycin) and many other fallacies including the fact that although receiving in the end a large sum of money, (with the lab's lawyers realizing they were fighting a publicity stunt, as clearly stated in the agreement Schatz signed) at the end of his life in a speech he again brought up his false accusations.


 * Since Schatz spent the rest of his life fighting against adding Fluor to drinking water, and since some anarchists and alternative medicine advocates find the anti-Fluor battle as an important cause in their assortment of anti-establishment battles, the painting of Wacksman as a fraud, and of Schatz as a "Nobel prize winner" is continuously being advanced as fringe science. This is not "truth" but rather a patently false narrative proven to be wrong.פשוט pashute ♫ (talk) 22:06, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

Updated External Link
I have updated the external link to the ACS National Historic Chemical Landmarks program. I am the program coordinator of the ACS-NHCL program.KLindblom (talk) 21:17, 21 February 2014 (UTC)

Quote mining
The Wikiquote entry on Waksman is a passage in which he appears to be stating that natural selection does not happen. I find this somewhat less than plausible, and feel that some individual may have unintentionally misrepresented what Dr Waksman said, perhaps by omitting necessary contextual information.

Could someone more familiar with Dr Waksman's work have a look? Thanks. DS (talk) 18:43, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

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External links modified (January 2018)
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