Science in the Movies

Some time ago, I wrote a feature for the now-defunct HMS Beagle on on the subject of science in the movies. I interviewed various scientists and people in the movie industry about the role of experts in advising on plot lines and details. It was quite a departure from the usual research reporting and was part of my once-monthly Adapt or Die column for the webzine. Sadly missed, for a short time by many life scientists.

One thing that strikes me repeatedly is the lack of chemistry in the movies, other than the chemistry of weapons of mass destruction, of course. Carl Djerassi attempted to bring chemistry to the fore in his Nobel play, Oxygen, but that was a one-off and was in a sense a test-bed for his ethical and moral debates which he embeds in many of his science in fiction scripts. Andrew Sun discusses the issues surrounding science fiction in his all-new Nature Networks Blog.