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Pierre Curie died 1906, Marie lived till 1934: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie "Although her many decades of exposure to radiation caused chronic illnesses (including near blindness due to cataracts) and ultimately her death, she never really acknowledged the health risks of radiation exposure."

All that doesn't diminish the significance of her work.

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Pierre didn't die of cancer - he slipped off the sidewalk was run over by a carriage. Amazingly, he missed the horses, and the front wheels, but his head was smashed by one of the rear wheels; part of his skull wound up on Marie's dress, and the supposed story is that Marie never washed her dress - kept wearing it until her daughter Irene finally convinced her to burn it in a pyre.

I agree, her thoughts absolutely don't diminish the significance.

The kind of science that isn't on the frontpage today [0] is driven by facts, empirical analysis, and of course theoretical postulation. I, for one, am glad that we can recognize scientists for their contributions to humanity, not taking away from their work by citing curious personal beliefs (as we see here).

So, bravo acqq, just wanted to elaborate my thoughts on your comment :)

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6623830

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