The Biomedical Sciences In Society: An Interdisciplinary Analysis

Description

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the interdisciplinary field of the Social Studies of Science and Technology (SSST). Over the past two decades, the biomedical sciences have transformed our understanding of the relationship between the social and natural worlds, while its ‘promissory visions’ are seen to offer extraordinary opportunities for economic and social development. But alongside these scientific innovations have emerged new, and frequently unanticipated social, political, bioethical, and legal dilemmas and challenges. This cutting-edge text explores ‘post-genomic’ developments in the field of pharmacogenomics and the prospects for a new ‘precision’ or personalised medicine; the potential of environmental epigenetics to reconfigure the boundaries of the social and natural worlds; the emergence of an array of ‘neuro-disciplines’, seeking to identify the neural basis of a whole range of social and economic behaviours; and the challenges of constructing a coherent and robust governance framework for the conduct of biomedical science research and innovation, responsive to the social and health needs of the whole population. Contents......Page 5 List of Figures......Page 6 List of Tables......Page 7 General Introduction......Page 8 Who Is This Textbook Intended for?......Page 9 Interdisciplinarity in Research and Analysis......Page 10 Interdisciplinarity in the Biomedical Sciences......Page 11 Social Studies of Scientific Knowledge (SSK)......Page 13 The ‘Discipline’ of Science and Technology Studies (STS)......Page 15 Scoping the Field of SSST Analytical Research......Page 18 The Structure of the Book......Page 20 Conclusion: The Constituents of Critical Analysis......Page 22 Bibliography......Page 23 Interdisciplinarity and Philosophy......Page 24 The Role of Philosophy in Scientific Understanding......Page 25 Scientific Realism: From Empiricism to Logical Positivism, and onto the Hypothetico-Deductive Method......Page 27 Thomas Kuhn: ‘Paradigmatic Shifts’ and ‘Scientific Revolutions’......Page 30 Anti-realism: The Social Construction of Knowledge in Science......Page 32 Critical Realism: Ontological Realism and Epistemological Constructionism......Page 35 Chapter Summary: Key Points......Page 37 Bibliography......Page 38 Introduction......Page 40 Anthropologists in the Lab......Page 41 Transforming Life in the Laboratory......Page 45 The Epistemic Cultures of Science......Page 47 Epistemic Disputes in Interdisciplinary Bioscience: The Case of Systems Biology......Page 49 Models of Disease in Laboratory Work......Page 52 Bench-to-Bedside: The Translational Imperative in Biomedical Research......Page 54 Chapter Summary: Key Points......Page 59 Bibliography......Page 60 Introduction......Page 62 The Emergent Field of Cognitive Neuroscience......Page 63 An Introduction to Medical Perception and the ‘Clinical Gaze’......Page 64 The Path from Laboratory-Based Research to Clinical Interventions......Page 66 Neuro-Imaging Research: Localisation, Representation, and ‘Black Boxes’......Page 67 Constructing Mental Disorders: From Psychiatry to Neuroscience......Page 71 Hope and Uncertainty: Neuroscience and the Case of Autism Spectrum Disorder......Page 74 Concluding Comments......Page 77 Bibliography......Page 78 Introduction......Page 80 The ‘Seductive Allure’ of the Neuroscience of Human Behaviour......Page 81 Neuro-enculturation 1: Neurolaw......Page 85 Neuro-enculturation 2: Neuroeconomics......Page 86 Neuro-enculturation 3: Early Years Development......Page 89 Neuro-enculturation 4: Cognitive Enhancement......Page 92 Concluding Comments......Page 94 Bibliography......Page 95 Introduction......Page 98 From Mendelian Genetics to Molecular Genomics: A Brief Journey......Page 99 Sequencing the Human Genome and Its Aftermath......Page 100 A Promissory Vision for Pharmacogenomics and the Role of Big Pharma......Page 103 The Challenge of Integrating a Personalised Medicine Within Health Care Systems......Page 106 An Era of Personal Genomics?......Page 111 Concluding Comments......Page 113 Chapter Summary—Key Points......Page 114 Bibliography......Page 115 An Introduction to Epigenetics......Page 118 Classic Rodent Studies: Stressors and Early Development......Page 119 ‘Natural Experiments’ and Human Epigenetic Research......Page 122 Epigenetic Inheritance Research: The Transgenerational Imprinting of Social Behaviour?......Page 123 ‘Race’ and Categories of Difference in Epigenetic Research......Page 125 Constituting the ‘Environment’ in Epigenetics: Renegotiating the Biological-Social Boundary......Page 131 Chapter Summary—Key Points......Page 133 Bibliography......Page 134 Introduction......Page 136 The ‘Female Brain’ and Other Gender Myths......Page 137 ‘Leaky Pipelines’ and Gendered Roles in Biomedical Science Careers......Page 143 Chapter Summary—Key Points......Page 146 Bibliography......Page 147 A Cautionary Tale......Page 148 Frameworks of Science Governance......Page 149 The Role of Government in Biomedical Research and Development......Page 153 The Public Engagement with Science......Page 156 Techno-Scientific Innovation and Risk......Page 159 Alternative Scenarios: Epidemics and Moral Panics......Page 162 Chapter Summary: Key Points......Page 166 Bibliography......Page 167 Introduction......Page 169 Three Case Studies in the Regulation of Research......Page 170 The Role of Biobanks in Biomedical Research......Page 174 Commercialising Biodata: A Challenge for Regulation......Page 176 Bioethical Principles in the Context of the Governance of Biobanks......Page 178 Big Data Analytics and the Emergence of Bioinformatics......Page 181 Conclusions: Limits to Governance......Page 184 Bibliography......Page 185 Conclusion: Future Pathways in the Interdisciplinary Analysis of Biomedical Science......Page 188 Glossary......Page 190 Bibliography......Page 194