Biotechnology and Society

Biotechnology and Society PDF Author: Hallam Stevens
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022604615X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
With Biotechnology and Society, Hallam Stevens offers an up-to-date primer to help us understand the interactions of biotechnology and society and the debates, controversies, fears, and hopes that have shaped how we think about bodies, organisms, and life in the twenty-first century. Stevens addresses such topics as genetically modified foods, cloning, and stem cells; genetic testing and the potential for discrimination; fears of (and, in some cases, hopes for) designer babies; personal genomics; biosecurity; and biotech art. Taken as a whole, the book presents a clear, authoritative picture of the relationship between biotechnology and society today, and how our conceptions (and misconceptions) of it could shape future developments. It is an essential volume for students and scholars working with biotechnology, while still being accessible to the general reader interested in the truth behind breathless media accounts about biotech’s promise and perils.

Biotechnology and Society

Biotechnology and Society PDF Author: Hallam Stevens
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022604615X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 404

Get Book

Book Description
With Biotechnology and Society, Hallam Stevens offers an up-to-date primer to help us understand the interactions of biotechnology and society and the debates, controversies, fears, and hopes that have shaped how we think about bodies, organisms, and life in the twenty-first century. Stevens addresses such topics as genetically modified foods, cloning, and stem cells; genetic testing and the potential for discrimination; fears of (and, in some cases, hopes for) designer babies; personal genomics; biosecurity; and biotech art. Taken as a whole, the book presents a clear, authoritative picture of the relationship between biotechnology and society today, and how our conceptions (and misconceptions) of it could shape future developments. It is an essential volume for students and scholars working with biotechnology, while still being accessible to the general reader interested in the truth behind breathless media accounts about biotech’s promise and perils.

Biotechnology and the Future of Society

Biotechnology and the Future of Society PDF Author: The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research
Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research
ISBN:
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 37

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Book Description
Breakthroughs in biotechnology are redefining the very concept of life, transforming society and presenting unprecedented opportunities and challenges: Will human genome sequencing help to treat genetic diseases and indefinitely prolong life? Will stem cell therapy and tissue engineering allow routine regeneration and replacement of diseased organs? Can new diagnostic tests revolutionize medicine and healthcare? Will genetic engineering allow parents to design perfect babies? Can nature’s workshop inspire superior biomaterials that transform industries? Will genetically modified super crops feed a hungry world? With biotechnology set to be the driving force of the twenty-first century, mastery of the life sciences will be the key to wealth generation and economic ascendancy. Can the Arab World regain its past supremacy in these fields? Can it benefit from the biotech revolution while avoiding its perils? Such implications were debated by experts at the ECSSR Eighth Annual Conference titled Biotechnology and the Future of Society: Challenges and Opportunities, held from January 11-13, 2003 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This volume of conference presentations explores the broad impact of the biotech revolution, highlighting trends in healthcare and molecular medicine, the genetic revolution in agriculture, the future of materials production, new drug discovery technologies and national security issues, including the threat of bio-terrorism. It also examines the complex ethical, legal and social issues raised by the biotech revolution that need to be resolved by governments and decision makers.

Science and Technology in Society

Science and Technology in Society PDF Author: Daniel Lee Kleiman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405148195
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
This thoughtful and engaging text challenges the widely held notion of science as somehow outside of society, and the idea that technology proceeds automatically down a singular and inevitable path. Through specific case studies involving contemporary debates, this book shows that science and technology are fundamentally part of society and are shaped by it. Draws on concepts from political sociology, organizational analysis, and contemporary social theory. Avoids dense theoretical debate. Includes case studies and concluding chapter summaries for students and scholars.

Genetically Modified Food

Genetically Modified Food PDF Author: Jeri Freedman
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN: 1435856740
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 67

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Book Description
Throughout the world today the debate still rages over whether genetically modified food is a blessing or a curse. On one hand, genetically modified food allows farmers to grow crops in places where standard crops won't grow. They can also reduce people's reliance on dangerous pesticides. On the other hand, there is much that is still unknown about such foods, and their effects on human and animal health, the environment, local economies, and biodiversity. In this book, readers learn about all these issues and concerns so that they can gain an understanding of the effects that raising and consuming genetically modified organisms have on the environment and on their bodies.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology PDF Author: Nico Stehr
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351323024
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
"While other books have addressed isolated aspects of recent developments in the biomedical sciences, Biotechnology: Between Commerce and Civil Society is the first book tgo engage with the full range of biotechnology's implications for social science and for society at large." -Professor Volker Meja New scientific knowledge is no longer merely the key to unlocking the secrets of nature and society. It now represents the "becoming" of a new world. Scientific developments affect the ways in which we conduct our affairs, as well as how we comprehend the changes underway as the result of novel technical artefacts and scientific knowledge. The practical fruits of biotechnology are a case in point; they have grasped our imaginations, and generated worldwide debate and concern. Debates on biotechnology shift between images of utopia and dystopia. The social sciences deserve a voice in the debate, and can do so through sober examination of the economic, social, and cultural implications of biotechnology. Some economists even predict that the importance of biotechnology as the technology of the future will far exceed that of the information technologies, in particular the Internet. The contributors to this volume are drawn from a broad spectrum of the social sciences, and include Nico Stehr, Gene Rosa, Steve Fuller, Steve Best and Douglas Kellner, Nikolas Rose, Fred Buttel, Javier Lezaun, Anne Kerr, Susanna Hornig Priest and Toby Ten Eyck, Martin Schulte, Alexander Somek, Steven P. Vallas, Daniel Lee Kleinman, Abby Kinchy and Raul Necochea, Herbert Gottweis, J. Rogers Hollingsworth, Gysli Pblsson, Elizabeth Ettore, Richard Hindmarch and Reiner Grundmann. The impact of science on society is destined to be a fundamental concern in the new century. This volume illustrates the contributions anthropology, law, political science, and sociology can make to the ongoing discussions about the role of biotechnology in modern societies. Nico Stehr is senior research associate, Institut for Technikfolgenabschotzung, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and Institut for Kostenforschung, GKSS, Germany. He also is a fellow in the Center for Advanced Cultural Studies in Essen, Germany, editor of the Canadian Journal of Sociology, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Among his recent books are Werner Sombart: Economic Life in the Modern Age (with Reiner Grundmann, published by Transaction); The Fragility of Modern Societies: Knowledge and Risk in the Information Age; Knowledge and Economic Conduct: The Social Foundations of the Modern Economy; and Wissenspolitik: Die ?berwachung des Wissens.

Genomics and Society

Genomics and Society PDF Author: George Gaskell
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1136548033
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
The impact of genomics on society has been the focus of debate and conflict across the world. Contrasting views of risks and benefits, trust in science and regulation, the understanding of science, media coverage and mobilization of the public by civil society groups all have been cited as drivers of public opinion. The long running controversy is a signal that the public's view cannot be ignored in the development and implementation of new technologies arising out of genomics such as agricultural biotechnologies, genetic testing and the uses of genetic information, the cloning of human cells and tissues and transgenic animals. Written by a progressive international group of social scientists from Europe, North America and Japan, this volume presents a series of comparative perspectives on the social, ethical and legal implications of genomics. The result is a book which encapsulates the lessons to be learned from the controversies of the 1990s and raises the level of debate on the societal implications of new developments in genomics.

Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Molecular Biology and Biotechnology PDF Author: John M. Walker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780851864532
Category : Biotechnology
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
A study of recent developments in molecular biology and biotechnology, including enzyme technology, genetics and various applications, for example in fermentation technology, protein technology, genetic engineering and product recovery.

Problems of Conception

Problems of Conception PDF Author: Marit Melhuus
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 0857455028
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
The Biotechnology Act in Norway, one of the most restrictive in Europe, forbids egg donation and surrogacy and has rescinded the anonymity clause with respect to donor insemination. Thus, it limits people's choice as to how they can procreate within the boundaries of the nation state. The author pursues this significant datum ethnographically and addresses the issues surrounding contemporary biopolitics in Norway. This involves investigating such fundamental questions as the relation between individual and society, meanings of kinship and relatedness, the moral status of the embryo and the role of science, religion and ethics in state policies. Even though the book takes reproductive technologies as its focus, it reveals much about vital processes that are central to contemporary Norwegian society.

First the Seed

First the Seed PDF Author: Jack Ralph Kloppenburg
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN: 9780521395588
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
This history of the scientific and commercial lines of plant development in the United States traces the transformation of the seed from a public good produced and reproduced by farmers into a commodity controlled by businesses and corporations divorced from the uses of their product.

The Handbook of Genetics & Society

The Handbook of Genetics & Society PDF Author: Paul Atkinson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134128770
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 566

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Book Description
An authoritative Handbook which offers a discussion of the social, political, ethical and economic consequences and implications of the new bio-sciences. The Handbook takes an interdisciplinary approach providing a synoptic overview of contemporary international social science research on genetics, genomics and the new life sciences. It brings together leading scholars with expertise across a wide-ranging spectrum of research fields related to the production, use, commercialisation and regulation of genetics knowledge. The Handbook is structured into seven cross-cutting themes in contemporary social science research on genetics with introductions written by internationally renowned section editors who take an interdisciplinary approach to offer fresh insights on recent developments and issues in often controversial fields of study. The Handbook explores local and global issues and critically approaches a wide range of public and policy questions, providing an invaluable reference source to a wide variety of researchers, academics and policy makers.