The secret microbes of Lascaux |
 Scolecobasidium terreum |
| A
rumour had been hanging around that the final reports of two
microbiological studies concerning Lascaux had recently been submitted
to to the authorities in charge of Lascaux as well as to the members of
the International Scientific Council, and were accessible on the web
site of the Ministry of Culture. One was the final report on the "Microbiology-Microclimate" program conducted by the LRMH (Historical Monuments Research Laboratory). The second was the final report on the "Microbial Ecology" program written by Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez. It was said to describe the results obtained during several years of collaboration between the teams of C. Saiz-Jimenez (IRNAS-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain) and C. Alabouvette (INRA, Dijon). These reports were said to provide the latest update on the microbial populations present in the cave and their evolution during the last years. After unsuccessfull attempts to find the reports on the web, we contacted Mr Noel COYE (General Direction of the Heritage - section of Archeology - Ministry of Culture and Communication) asking him to send us the link (URL) to access the reports. We got the answer that these reports "are not disclosed and are accessible only for restricted consultation for the needs of the Scientific Council". It is noteworthy that this confirmed the existence of the reports. No answer whatsoever was provided to the LIST's appeal, made to M. Coye and to Prof. Yves Coppens, Chairman of the Lascaux International Scientific Council, asking that the reports should be made public and that the transparency promised by the two last Ministers of Culture, Mrs Christine Albanel and Mr Frédéric Mitterand, should at last become effective. How can one interpret this "confidentiality" of research programs, initally meant to help preserving a public heritage ? Is the situation in the cavity worse than what is said to the public ? Is the quality of the research so bad that one hesitates to disclose it ? Does one want to keep secret, with the aim of valorizing their authors through a publication in a scientific journal, studies financed by the ministry with the unique purpose of saving the Lascaux paintings ? Does one try to prevent the scientific community from thinking about the microbiology of the cavity thus contributing to solve an extremely complex problem ? Following the example of the physicists perplexed by their recent paradoxical observation of neutrinos travelling faster than light, would it not be wiser to make public the crude experimental results obtained at Lascaux and ask for the help and criticisms of the international scientific community to solve such a difficult problem ? |
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