News from Lascaux: is the scientific council translucid or transparent ? |  |
| In a previous note dated October 17, 2011 (see The secret microbes of Lascaux
) we announced the publication - on a website accessible only to
members of the Lascaux Scientific Council - of the final reports on two
studies dealing one with the relations between the microclimate and the
microbiology, the other with the microbial ecology, of the Lascaux
cave. We also indicated that we informed the Ministry (namely M. Noël
Coye) and the Chairman of the Scientific Council of our regret not to
be able to access these reports, of which we thought they should be
made public in view of their importance for a scientific approach to
the microbiology of Lascaux. At the date when this note was published
on the web, no answer was brought to our request Since then, the situation has very slightly changed. La&st November 4, the LIST spokesman, Michel Goldberg, received from Yves Coppens, Chairman of the Scientific Council, an invitation to attend the session of the Scientific Council during which the "reports of the Scientific Council Study Groups" would be presented. M. Goldberg, with the agreement of the LIST members, accepted this invitation with the condition that he would be authorized to disclose the scientific contents of these reports and of the discussions that would follow. Prof. Coppens accepted this condition and M. Goldberg thus attended the session of the Scientific Council that was held on December 14, 2011 between 10.30 AM and 1 PM. M. Goldberg first noticed the absence of several members of the Scientific Council, more particularly of most foreign members (presumably due to the reduction in the refund of their living expenses in Paris as indicated in a previous note). Yves Coppens asked René Bally, one of the microbiologists of the Scientific Council, to report on the conclusions of the studies conducted within the framework of the "Microclimate-Microbiology" and "Microbial Ecology" programs. The content of R. Bailly's report will be presented and discussed in a separate note (Any news about the microbes ?). Here, we shall mention only that all R. Bailly's presentation on the two final reports lasted less than five minutes. Neither the faintest piece of experimental data, nor any of the experimental methods used in these studies were shown or discussed. During the presentation, it appeared that the final reports on these studies had been exposed and discussed, presumably in a more detailed manner, during the session preceding M. Goldberg's arrival. R. Bailly's presentation thus appeared to be only a brief, superficial summary, without any scientific content, prepared specialy for M. Goldberg. The secret that surrounds the microbiological studies performed on behalf of the Scientific Council thus remains essentially intact, even if M. Goldberg could hear, without being able to evaluate their validity, a few general conclusions that emerged from these studies (see Any news about the microbes ?). Thus, in spite of the clearly expressed will of the Scientific Council Chairman to disclose informations more widely and to collaborate with the LIST, forces within the Administration, the Council or the microbiologists who carried out the studies refuse this opening and go on blocking the information. After R. Bailly's presentation and the brief discussion that followed, M. Goldberg could listen at a much more open, detailed and in depth report on the conclusions of the "Subterranean microclimate - Modeling" Study Group of the Scientific Council, which will be discussed in a separate note entitled Should the "Lascaux Simulator" be improved?. The content of the report made by Mrs Valérie Plagne and the discussions it triggered enables M. Goldberg to get a rather precise idea of the evolution of the state of minds and of the progress achieved in the way of thinking about how to investigate and master the cave's climate. This transparency contrasts with the opacity that surrounds the microbiological studies. It thus appears that the refusal to disclose the biology studies originate from microbiologists, and not from a decision of the administration or the entire Scientific Council. To conclude, even if the LIST gladly aknowledges the efforts of Yves Coppens towards an opening in the relations between the LIST and the Scientific Council, it much regrets that data as important as the results of the microbiological studies conducted during the last years, as well as the climatic parameters of the cave recorded during the crisis years 2000-2007, are kept secret and that neither the LIST, nor the international scientific communitiy can have access to them. In spite of the pledges made three years ago by the former Minister of Culture and Communication Mrs Albanel, by her successor Mr Mitterand as soon as he took office, and by the Chairman of the Scientific Council on several occasions, the work of the Scientific Council as well as the managment of the cave, far from becoming "transparent" have only succeeded in becoming "translucid". Let us hope that caring for the preservation of the Lascaux treasures will prevail over the private interests of some persons and will ultimately lead to an open and efficient collaboration between all parties interested in the safeguard of the cave. |
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