Interesting read. But it feels like those scientist only know about Ethereum and are blind sighted by this. They might have been the first with a DAPP platform and smart contracts but they are certainly not alone anymore.
I've actually written a few posts about this. This may interest you: https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@valderrama/will-stratis-overtake-ethereum
And to follow up I wrote a more 'provocative' post: https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@valderrama/stratis-will-beat-ethereum-in-2018