This paper aims to examine the rise and the fall of biomedicine in the public
legitimization of the development of nuclear energy. Until the late 1950s, biological and
medical applications of radioisotopes were presented as the most important successes of the
peaceful uses of atomic energy. I will argue that despite the major financial investment, the
development of the uses of radioisotopes and their important impact on biology and clinical
practices, the assessment of medical uses remained relatively limited. As consequence, the
place of biomedicine in the public legitimization of financial investment and civilian uses of
nuclear energy began to decline from the late 1950s