Well -- "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." ; more colloquially "Science progresses one funeral at a time."

I've heard this proposition before, but I find it extremely dubious. Looking at my own professors, for instance, considering the length of time they'd been teaching, some of them would have to have seriously altered their course content over time to reflect advancements in scientific knowledge.

Veteran scientists may not adopt new findings as easily as they should, but in general the notion that old scientists must die off for new information to become widely adopted seems to be false.