Medical History· 2026Q1
‘Building the atomic clinic’: nuclear research in medicine after the Second World War – an introduction
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Nuclear medicine's development post-WWII was shaped by science diplomacy and geopolitical agendas, not just technical advances, involving international cooperation and negotiation of public expectations.
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Key points
- Nuclear medicine's emergence is reframed beyond technical innovation to include science diplomacy and geopolitical agendas.
- The field's development involved international cooperation and the negotiation of public expectations.
- Knowledge, radioisotopes, and infrastructure circulated globally, influencing diverse regional contexts.
- Nuclear medicine is presented as a product of intersecting scientific, political, and societal forces during the Cold War.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This introduction to the special issue re-examines the emergence of nuclear medicine within a global and transdisciplinary framework. Moving beyond canonical narratives centred on technical breakthroughs and early U.S. developments, it highlights the field's development through three analytical lenses: science diplomacy, transdisciplinarity, and socio-political impact. We argue that nuclear medicine took shape not only through innovations in physics and clinical practice, but also through international cooperation, geopolitical agendas, and the negotiation of public expectations. By tracing the circulation of knowledge, radioisotopes, and infrastructure across diverse regional contexts - from Sweden and Taiwan to India and Belgium - it sets the stage for a rethinking of nuclear medicine as a product of intersecting scientific, political, and societal forces during the Cold War and beyond.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Medical History, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: History and Philosophy of Science
History and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities