Moviegoers' expectations are rising in anticipation of the mid-November release of the latest James Bond epic, Casino Royale, and life scientists can only hope that maybe this time, the producers will finally get things right. Unfortunately, history doesn't bode well: in all of the previous 20 Bond adventures, the laws of biology and chemistry were routinely ignored. The flawed science in the Bond films is responsible for some pervasive myths in modern society. Take Goldfinger, for example, perhaps the most popular Bond film ever made and one of the most influential movies of its time. In one of the film's most memorable scenes, our hero wakes up to find his companion, the beautiful Jill Masterson, dead, her barely clothed body completely covered with gold paint. She died, we are informed by Bond, because the paint clogged her pores and her skin couldn't breathe. The story soon spread from...
John JaenikeMoonrakerricinDie Another DayDie Another DayThunderballDiamonds Are Foreverexperimental treatment for cancercosmetic applicationsThe Science of James Bond: From Bullets to Bowler Hats to Boat Jumps, the Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Filmsmail@the-scientist.comCasino Royalehttp://www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/site/http://www.rochester.edu/College/BIO/faculty/Jaenike.htmlhttp://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/ricin/facts.asphttp://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/genePNAShttp://www.pnas.org/The Science of James Bond: From Bullets to Bowler Hats to Boat Jumps, the Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Filmshttp://www.amazon.com/
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