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The article discusses the the history of atomic research in the fields of biology and medicine during the 1950s. The author focuses on how the U.S. and European governments publicly justified their nuclear programs by attempting to legitimize nuclear energy research by promoting the social benefits derived by biomedical applications of radioisotopes. A historiography of radioisotope science is presented. Other subjects include the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, France's Commissariat à l'énergie atomique (CEA), and radio therapy and cancer treatments.