Kaja Finkler
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167962
- eISBN:
- 9780199850150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167962.003.0030
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
At one time it was believed that traditional healing would disappear in light of the great success of biomedicine, especially since religion and religious healing are usually juxtaposed as mutually ...
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At one time it was believed that traditional healing would disappear in light of the great success of biomedicine, especially since religion and religious healing are usually juxtaposed as mutually antagonistic to science and biomedicine. However, recent evidence refutes this assumption. In fact, more than thirty medical schools have introduced courses on the relationship between spirituality and medicine. This chapter examines the religious underpinnings of what is ostensibly a purely scientific enterprise, the Human Genome Project (HGP) and the new genetics that form part of contemporary biomedicine. It argues that ideologies of the HGP, which utilizes the most advanced technology of the times, are sustained by religious ideas based on Judaism and Christianity. Although it may appear that contemporary scientific ideas are far removed from religious beliefs, closer scrutiny reveals that Western religious notions undergird the HGP. The chapter begins with a brief overview of modern society's shift to the secularization of medicine and then turn to the new genetics, which became an integral part of biomedicine.Less
At one time it was believed that traditional healing would disappear in light of the great success of biomedicine, especially since religion and religious healing are usually juxtaposed as mutually antagonistic to science and biomedicine. However, recent evidence refutes this assumption. In fact, more than thirty medical schools have introduced courses on the relationship between spirituality and medicine. This chapter examines the religious underpinnings of what is ostensibly a purely scientific enterprise, the Human Genome Project (HGP) and the new genetics that form part of contemporary biomedicine. It argues that ideologies of the HGP, which utilizes the most advanced technology of the times, are sustained by religious ideas based on Judaism and Christianity. Although it may appear that contemporary scientific ideas are far removed from religious beliefs, closer scrutiny reveals that Western religious notions undergird the HGP. The chapter begins with a brief overview of modern society's shift to the secularization of medicine and then turn to the new genetics, which became an integral part of biomedicine.
Mark Henaghan
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199545520
- eISBN:
- 9780191721113
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199545520.003.0013
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
A gap exists between stating ethical principles and choosing which one to apply in a particular situation. Even when the choice of ethical principle is made, there is a gap between the expression of ...
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A gap exists between stating ethical principles and choosing which one to apply in a particular situation. Even when the choice of ethical principle is made, there is a gap between the expression of the principle and its interpretation when it is applied. At the point of application there is also a gap between the interpretation of the facts and the application of the principle. This chapter focuses on these gaps in the context of making law for new developments that are now available because of advances in genetic science.Less
A gap exists between stating ethical principles and choosing which one to apply in a particular situation. Even when the choice of ethical principle is made, there is a gap between the expression of the principle and its interpretation when it is applied. At the point of application there is also a gap between the interpretation of the facts and the application of the principle. This chapter focuses on these gaps in the context of making law for new developments that are now available because of advances in genetic science.
Jenny Reardon
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015950
- eISBN:
- 9780262298667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015950.003.0114
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This chapter introduces the theme of bottom-up agency with an account of struggles for authority between socially and scientifically constituted groups of genetic research subjects. It addresses how ...
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This chapter introduces the theme of bottom-up agency with an account of struggles for authority between socially and scientifically constituted groups of genetic research subjects. It addresses how subsequent human genome variation research projects continue to bypass responsibility for their roles in co-constituting natural and moral orderings of human difference. It considers the assumptions about the constitution and proper ordering of human differences and demonstrates how they hindered consideration of the role that both population genetics and liberal systems of rights play in producing human differences. This chapter shows that the Human Genome Diversity Project and Haplotype Map Project (HapMap) cases suggest that genome scientists and their administrators seek “precise” methods for ordering human differences and defining groups that they believe protect against bias, namely racism.Less
This chapter introduces the theme of bottom-up agency with an account of struggles for authority between socially and scientifically constituted groups of genetic research subjects. It addresses how subsequent human genome variation research projects continue to bypass responsibility for their roles in co-constituting natural and moral orderings of human difference. It considers the assumptions about the constitution and proper ordering of human differences and demonstrates how they hindered consideration of the role that both population genetics and liberal systems of rights play in producing human differences. This chapter shows that the Human Genome Diversity Project and Haplotype Map Project (HapMap) cases suggest that genome scientists and their administrators seek “precise” methods for ordering human differences and defining groups that they believe protect against bias, namely racism.
Michael Yudell and J. Craig Venter
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231168748
- eISBN:
- 9780231537995
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231168748.003.0012
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter analyzes the relationship between molecular and evolutionary biology. By the mid-1960s, a new generation of evolutionary biologists—including Richard Lewontin and Jack Hubby—attempted to ...
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This chapter analyzes the relationship between molecular and evolutionary biology. By the mid-1960s, a new generation of evolutionary biologists—including Richard Lewontin and Jack Hubby—attempted to promote significant collaborations between the fields, albeit with little success as the two subjects remained distinct. The emergence of the 1989 Human Genome Project generated fear in the academic community, as many scientists worried that it may reignite a form of biological determinism, along with racial science in the genomic age. Within the context of the race concept's history, it is interesting to note how the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), HapMap Project, and pharmacogenomics demonstrate the fact that scientists readily claim the race concept as a reasonable proxy for genetic diversity despite its limited utility as a classificatory tool.Less
This chapter analyzes the relationship between molecular and evolutionary biology. By the mid-1960s, a new generation of evolutionary biologists—including Richard Lewontin and Jack Hubby—attempted to promote significant collaborations between the fields, albeit with little success as the two subjects remained distinct. The emergence of the 1989 Human Genome Project generated fear in the academic community, as many scientists worried that it may reignite a form of biological determinism, along with racial science in the genomic age. Within the context of the race concept's history, it is interesting to note how the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), HapMap Project, and pharmacogenomics demonstrate the fact that scientists readily claim the race concept as a reasonable proxy for genetic diversity despite its limited utility as a classificatory tool.
Marianne Sommer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226347325
- eISBN:
- 9780226349879
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226349879.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
The Human Genome Diversity Project was closely related to Cavalli-Sforza’d earlier research, especially as it was presented in History and Geography of Human Genes (1994). Not only the interest in ...
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The Human Genome Diversity Project was closely related to Cavalli-Sforza’d earlier research, especially as it was presented in History and Geography of Human Genes (1994). Not only the interest in reconstructing the modern human history, but also the blood collecting effort date further back. The HGDP was to expand that effort into a concerted global endeavour. In the project, the gene pools of indigenous peoples – the people who were to be sampled – were conceptualized as a panhuman heritage along the lines of notions of cultural heritage. Like his science before, the HGDP met with criticism from other disciplines and now also from indigenous groups. The chapter shows how the legacy of the HGDP is clearly visible in what is seen as its successor: The Genographic Project, with which Cavalli-Sforza, too, was associated. It in particular profited from the coming of age of the Y-chromosome as a population genetic system. It is shown that the Genographic Project was driven by a similar rhetoric of human advancement as Cavalli-Sforza used.Less
The Human Genome Diversity Project was closely related to Cavalli-Sforza’d earlier research, especially as it was presented in History and Geography of Human Genes (1994). Not only the interest in reconstructing the modern human history, but also the blood collecting effort date further back. The HGDP was to expand that effort into a concerted global endeavour. In the project, the gene pools of indigenous peoples – the people who were to be sampled – were conceptualized as a panhuman heritage along the lines of notions of cultural heritage. Like his science before, the HGDP met with criticism from other disciplines and now also from indigenous groups. The chapter shows how the legacy of the HGDP is clearly visible in what is seen as its successor: The Genographic Project, with which Cavalli-Sforza, too, was associated. It in particular profited from the coming of age of the Y-chromosome as a population genetic system. It is shown that the Genographic Project was driven by a similar rhetoric of human advancement as Cavalli-Sforza used.
Rebecca Sanchez
- Published in print:
- 1979
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479828869
- eISBN:
- 9781479810628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479828869.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter analyses the implications of the continuing fascination with embodied language through readings of the Human Genome Project and genetic poetry.
This chapter analyses the implications of the continuing fascination with embodied language through readings of the Human Genome Project and genetic poetry.
Robert I. Field
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199746750
- eISBN:
- 9780199354528
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199746750.003.0003
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
The pharmaceutical industry, perennially one of the most profitable,requires a steady flow of biomedical research to develop new products. However, investment in basic scienceis difficult for private ...
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The pharmaceutical industry, perennially one of the most profitable,requires a steady flow of biomedical research to develop new products. However, investment in basic scienceis difficult for private firms because discoveries are public goods available to everyone. The government has stepped in to fill this gap through the National Institutes of Health, which funds almost $30 billion of biomedical research each year. Often, it does so throughexplicit partnerships with private companies. Recent proactive initiatives, such as the Human Genome Project,areleading the industry to new scientific frontiers in genomic and personalized medicine. The government lends the industry further support by overseeing safety through the Food and Drug Administration, funding drug purchases through Medicare and Medicaid, and granting patents to new products. Without the government’s help, the industry would still exist, but it would be smaller, sell fewer products, and generate far less in profits.Less
The pharmaceutical industry, perennially one of the most profitable,requires a steady flow of biomedical research to develop new products. However, investment in basic scienceis difficult for private firms because discoveries are public goods available to everyone. The government has stepped in to fill this gap through the National Institutes of Health, which funds almost $30 billion of biomedical research each year. Often, it does so throughexplicit partnerships with private companies. Recent proactive initiatives, such as the Human Genome Project,areleading the industry to new scientific frontiers in genomic and personalized medicine. The government lends the industry further support by overseeing safety through the Food and Drug Administration, funding drug purchases through Medicare and Medicaid, and granting patents to new products. Without the government’s help, the industry would still exist, but it would be smaller, sell fewer products, and generate far less in profits.
Mike Carson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198520979
- eISBN:
- 9780191706295
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198520979.003.0013
- Subject:
- Biology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
The Human Genome Project went three-dimensional in late 2000. ‘Structural genomics’ efforts will determine the structures of thousands of new proteins over the few years. These initiatives seek to ...
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The Human Genome Project went three-dimensional in late 2000. ‘Structural genomics’ efforts will determine the structures of thousands of new proteins over the few years. These initiatives seek to streamline and automate every experimental and computational aspect of the structural determination pipeline, with most of the steps involved covered in previous chapters of this volume. At the end of the pipeline, an atomic model is built and iteratively refined to best fit the observed data. The final atomic model, after careful analysis, is deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). About 25,000 unique protein sequences are currently in the PDB. High-throughput and conventional methods will dramatically increase this number and it is crucial that these new structures be of the highest quality. This chapter addresses software systems to interactively fit molecular models to electron density maps and to analyse the resulting models. It is heavily biased toward proteins, but the programs can also build nucleic acid models. The chapter begins with a brief review of molecular modelling and graphics. It then discusses the best current and freely available programs with respect to their performance on common tasks. Finally, some views on the future of such software are given.Less
The Human Genome Project went three-dimensional in late 2000. ‘Structural genomics’ efforts will determine the structures of thousands of new proteins over the few years. These initiatives seek to streamline and automate every experimental and computational aspect of the structural determination pipeline, with most of the steps involved covered in previous chapters of this volume. At the end of the pipeline, an atomic model is built and iteratively refined to best fit the observed data. The final atomic model, after careful analysis, is deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). About 25,000 unique protein sequences are currently in the PDB. High-throughput and conventional methods will dramatically increase this number and it is crucial that these new structures be of the highest quality. This chapter addresses software systems to interactively fit molecular models to electron density maps and to analyse the resulting models. It is heavily biased toward proteins, but the programs can also build nucleic acid models. The chapter begins with a brief review of molecular modelling and graphics. It then discusses the best current and freely available programs with respect to their performance on common tasks. Finally, some views on the future of such software are given.
Michael Windle (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034685
- eISBN:
- 9780262335522
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034685.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biomathematics / Statistics and Data Analysis / Complexity Studies
Findings from the Human Genome Project and from Genome-Wide Association (GWA) studies indicate that many diseases and traits manifest a more complex genomic pattern than previously assumed. These ...
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Findings from the Human Genome Project and from Genome-Wide Association (GWA) studies indicate that many diseases and traits manifest a more complex genomic pattern than previously assumed. These findings, and advances in high-throughput sequencing, suggest that there are many sources of influence—genetic, epigenetic, and environmental. This volume investigates the role of the interactions of genes and environment (G × E) in diseases and traits (referred to by the contributors as complex phenotypes) including depression, diabetes, obesity, and substance use. The contributors first present different statistical approaches or strategies to address G × E and G × G interactions with high-throughput sequenced data, including two-stage procedures to identify G × E and G × G interactions, marker-set approaches to assessing interactions at the gene level, and the use of a partial-least square (PLS) approach. The contributors then turn to specific complex phenotypes, research designs, or combined methods that may advance the study of G × E interactions, considering such topics as randomized clinical trials in obesity research, longitudinal research designs and statistical models, and the development of polygenic scores to investigate G × E interactions. Contributors Fatima Umber Ahmed, Yin-Hsiu Chen, James Y. Dai, Caroline Y. Doyle, Zihuai He, Li Hsu, Shuo Jiao, Erin Loraine Kinnally, Yi-An Ko, Charles Kooperberg, Seunggeun Lee, Arnab Maity, Jeanne M. McCaffery, Bhramar Mukherjee, Sung Kyun Park, Duncan C. Thomas, Alexandre Todorov, Jung-Ying Tzeng, Tao Wang, Michael Windle, Min ZhangLess
Findings from the Human Genome Project and from Genome-Wide Association (GWA) studies indicate that many diseases and traits manifest a more complex genomic pattern than previously assumed. These findings, and advances in high-throughput sequencing, suggest that there are many sources of influence—genetic, epigenetic, and environmental. This volume investigates the role of the interactions of genes and environment (G × E) in diseases and traits (referred to by the contributors as complex phenotypes) including depression, diabetes, obesity, and substance use. The contributors first present different statistical approaches or strategies to address G × E and G × G interactions with high-throughput sequenced data, including two-stage procedures to identify G × E and G × G interactions, marker-set approaches to assessing interactions at the gene level, and the use of a partial-least square (PLS) approach. The contributors then turn to specific complex phenotypes, research designs, or combined methods that may advance the study of G × E interactions, considering such topics as randomized clinical trials in obesity research, longitudinal research designs and statistical models, and the development of polygenic scores to investigate G × E interactions. Contributors Fatima Umber Ahmed, Yin-Hsiu Chen, James Y. Dai, Caroline Y. Doyle, Zihuai He, Li Hsu, Shuo Jiao, Erin Loraine Kinnally, Yi-An Ko, Charles Kooperberg, Seunggeun Lee, Arnab Maity, Jeanne M. McCaffery, Bhramar Mukherjee, Sung Kyun Park, Duncan C. Thomas, Alexandre Todorov, Jung-Ying Tzeng, Tao Wang, Michael Windle, Min Zhang
Mike Fortun
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520247505
- eISBN:
- 9780520942615
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520247505.003.0021
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
The Human Genome Project had overemphasized and overproduced what William Haseltine, CEO of Human Genome Sciences Inc., called “genetic genomics,” privileging the reference sequence for the human ...
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The Human Genome Project had overemphasized and overproduced what William Haseltine, CEO of Human Genome Sciences Inc., called “genetic genomics,” privileging the reference sequence for the human genome, and had relied too heavily on using that sequence to isolate potential drug targets. That approach might be fine for “populations where there is a clear lineage”—Estonia was the example Haseltine used, but Iceland would have served just as well—but more “outbred” populations required what he called “expression genomics.” When you play the slot machines in Atlantic City, you know that despite it being a game of chance, the game nevertheless has a well-defined structure: in the long run, the house always wins. While investing in genomics is not exactly parallel, since you always have the option of “going short” or “going long,” in general, the house will have a structural advantage. The broader Icelandic financial landscape was changing rapidly in the period before and during the deCODE Genetics years, and one feature of this new landscape was a more vibrant gray market.Less
The Human Genome Project had overemphasized and overproduced what William Haseltine, CEO of Human Genome Sciences Inc., called “genetic genomics,” privileging the reference sequence for the human genome, and had relied too heavily on using that sequence to isolate potential drug targets. That approach might be fine for “populations where there is a clear lineage”—Estonia was the example Haseltine used, but Iceland would have served just as well—but more “outbred” populations required what he called “expression genomics.” When you play the slot machines in Atlantic City, you know that despite it being a game of chance, the game nevertheless has a well-defined structure: in the long run, the house always wins. While investing in genomics is not exactly parallel, since you always have the option of “going short” or “going long,” in general, the house will have a structural advantage. The broader Icelandic financial landscape was changing rapidly in the period before and during the deCODE Genetics years, and one feature of this new landscape was a more vibrant gray market.
Donna Dickenson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231159753
- eISBN:
- 9780231534413
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231159753.003.0003
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter focuses on the components and implications of pharmacogenetics, which refers to the relationship between heritable variations and individual differences in drug response. ...
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This chapter focuses on the components and implications of pharmacogenetics, which refers to the relationship between heritable variations and individual differences in drug response. Pharmacogenetics aims to alter pharmaceutical patterns in cancer treatment and other branches of medicine in accordance to the patient’s individual genome. Some commentators believe that investment in pharmacogenetics is the most effective way to deliver the public health welfare originally pledged by the Human Genome Project. The chapter aims to devise a balanced judgment about pharmacogenetics, taking into consideration not only the medical evidence but also issues about justice, patenting, and drug rationing—including issues surrounding BiDil, a controversial personalized drug.Less
This chapter focuses on the components and implications of pharmacogenetics, which refers to the relationship between heritable variations and individual differences in drug response. Pharmacogenetics aims to alter pharmaceutical patterns in cancer treatment and other branches of medicine in accordance to the patient’s individual genome. Some commentators believe that investment in pharmacogenetics is the most effective way to deliver the public health welfare originally pledged by the Human Genome Project. The chapter aims to devise a balanced judgment about pharmacogenetics, taking into consideration not only the medical evidence but also issues about justice, patenting, and drug rationing—including issues surrounding BiDil, a controversial personalized drug.
Philip Kitcher
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195145830
- eISBN:
- 9780199833344
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195145836.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Concludes by considering the responsibilities of scientific researchers in societies in which the ideal of well‐ordered science does not hold. It looks, in particular, at the case of the Human Genome ...
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Concludes by considering the responsibilities of scientific researchers in societies in which the ideal of well‐ordered science does not hold. It looks, in particular, at the case of the Human Genome Project and at the moral imperatives that arise from our current, partial, knowledge of human molecular genetics.Less
Concludes by considering the responsibilities of scientific researchers in societies in which the ideal of well‐ordered science does not hold. It looks, in particular, at the case of the Human Genome Project and at the moral imperatives that arise from our current, partial, knowledge of human molecular genetics.
Eduardo Kac
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262015721
- eISBN:
- 9780262315159
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262015721.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This chapter focuses on the efforts of the author of bio art and transgenic art; he compares the advancements of biotechnology with the popularization of computers. It further discusses the author’s ...
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This chapter focuses on the efforts of the author of bio art and transgenic art; he compares the advancements of biotechnology with the popularization of computers. It further discusses the author’s important transgenic artworks and briefly explains the evolution of bio art. Genesis, GFP Bunny, The Eighth Day, Move 36, and Specimen of Secrecy about Marvelous Discoveries are the various artworks among the author’s discussion in the field of genetic engineering technology. The relationship between the above-mentioned biotopes and artistic works cover the later parts of the chapter, which concludes with an analysis of The Human Genome Project and Natural History of the Enigma concepts.Less
This chapter focuses on the efforts of the author of bio art and transgenic art; he compares the advancements of biotechnology with the popularization of computers. It further discusses the author’s important transgenic artworks and briefly explains the evolution of bio art. Genesis, GFP Bunny, The Eighth Day, Move 36, and Specimen of Secrecy about Marvelous Discoveries are the various artworks among the author’s discussion in the field of genetic engineering technology. The relationship between the above-mentioned biotopes and artistic works cover the later parts of the chapter, which concludes with an analysis of The Human Genome Project and Natural History of the Enigma concepts.
Lynn C. Klotz and Edward J. Sylvester
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226444055
- eISBN:
- 9780226444079
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226444079.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Biotechnology
Discoveries in molecular biology are changing the understanding of human complexity and unraveling these newfound complexities requires emerging disciplines such as systems biology. Some strategies ...
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Discoveries in molecular biology are changing the understanding of human complexity and unraveling these newfound complexities requires emerging disciplines such as systems biology. Some strategies of basic research and drug discovery and development could easily be turned toward bioweaponry with the technology already available. The Human Genome Project set one of the most ambitious goals in the history of science, to understand the “book” of instructions that makes human, and the books for other living things ranging from the ubiquitous bacterium E. coli and brewers yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to the deadly smallpox virus, Variola major. The nature of science itself, always seeks the simplest possible explanation for all the critical evidence found in unraveling any conundrum, but which has a way of finding ever new mind-numbing complications. The enormous complexity of the living world that hinders advance in medicine also hinders the fearful aspects of biological warfare and now is the time to develop biology for our benefit and not our destruction.Less
Discoveries in molecular biology are changing the understanding of human complexity and unraveling these newfound complexities requires emerging disciplines such as systems biology. Some strategies of basic research and drug discovery and development could easily be turned toward bioweaponry with the technology already available. The Human Genome Project set one of the most ambitious goals in the history of science, to understand the “book” of instructions that makes human, and the books for other living things ranging from the ubiquitous bacterium E. coli and brewers yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to the deadly smallpox virus, Variola major. The nature of science itself, always seeks the simplest possible explanation for all the critical evidence found in unraveling any conundrum, but which has a way of finding ever new mind-numbing complications. The enormous complexity of the living world that hinders advance in medicine also hinders the fearful aspects of biological warfare and now is the time to develop biology for our benefit and not our destruction.
Kelly E. Happe
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814790670
- eISBN:
- 9780814744727
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814790670.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Health, Illness, and Medicine
This concluding chapter argues for a postgenomics ethos, or what the texxt calls a biosociality without genes. Biosociality, according to Paul Rabinow, is a particular type of relationality made ...
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This concluding chapter argues for a postgenomics ethos, or what the texxt calls a biosociality without genes. Biosociality, according to Paul Rabinow, is a particular type of relationality made possible by the Human Genome Project (HGP) and the profound collective and cultural changes it augured. The genome, or simply heredity, has become the defining feature of social life: disease, behavior, identity itself are all inextricably bound up with genes and their variants. What is required then is a notion of biosociality without genes, perhaps even without biology. Biosociality in this sense is thus animated by the potential to act on one's experience, in connection with others.Less
This concluding chapter argues for a postgenomics ethos, or what the texxt calls a biosociality without genes. Biosociality, according to Paul Rabinow, is a particular type of relationality made possible by the Human Genome Project (HGP) and the profound collective and cultural changes it augured. The genome, or simply heredity, has become the defining feature of social life: disease, behavior, identity itself are all inextricably bound up with genes and their variants. What is required then is a notion of biosociality without genes, perhaps even without biology. Biosociality in this sense is thus animated by the potential to act on one's experience, in connection with others.
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226498065
- eISBN:
- 9780226498089
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226498089.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter discusses issues related to DNA profiling techniques. It explains that DNA analysis is widely regarded as the “ultimate method of biological individualization” and explains the key ...
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This chapter discusses issues related to DNA profiling techniques. It explains that DNA analysis is widely regarded as the “ultimate method of biological individualization” and explains the key differences between DNA analysis for forensics and DNA analysis for the Human Genome Project. The chapter discusses the different DNA typing systems, including polymerase chain reaction and another based on a kind of length variation called “restriction fragment length polymorphism.”Less
This chapter discusses issues related to DNA profiling techniques. It explains that DNA analysis is widely regarded as the “ultimate method of biological individualization” and explains the key differences between DNA analysis for forensics and DNA analysis for the Human Genome Project. The chapter discusses the different DNA typing systems, including polymerase chain reaction and another based on a kind of length variation called “restriction fragment length polymorphism.”
