Genomics took a long time to fulfil its promise

THE ATOMIC bomb convinced politicians that physics, though not readily comprehensible, was important, and that physicists should be given free rein. In the post-war years, particle accelerators grew from the size of squash courts to the size of cities, particle detectors from the scale of the table top to that of the family home. Many scientists in other disciplines looked askance at the money devoted to this “big science” and the vast, impersonal collaborations that it brought into being. Some looked on in envy. Some made plans.