Synopses & Reviews
In 1993, an American biotechnology company and a French genetics lab developed a collaborative research plan to search for diabetes genes. But just as the project was to begin, the French government called it to a halt, barring the laboratory from sharing something never previously thought of as a commodity unto itself: French DNA."Can a country claim to have its own genetic material? . . . Rabinow demonstrates that the answer to this question is far from simple. . . . The wide variety of subjects that he treats guarantees the interest of a large group of readers: students, researchers, scientific managers from academic institutions as well as from industry, politicians, and interested laymen."--Wilhelm Ansorge, Science" A fast-paced story of personalities and research organizations, interspersed with chapters delving into French history and politics to analyse how past events influenced current thinking and decision making. . . . The author has done an excellent job of marrying presentation of 'news events, ' science, and philosophical analysis, and a book such as this is valuable for its cross-disciplinary insights."--Clare Robinson, Endeavour"Rabinow's book introduces a dramatic personae that could fill the pages of a bio-tech corporate thriller."--Gary Lachman, Times Literary Supplement
Synopsis
In 1993, an American biotechnology company and a French genetics lab developed a collaborative research plan to search for diabetes genes. But just as the project was to begin, the French government called it to a halt, barring the laboratory from sharing something never previously thought of as a commodity unto itself: French DNA.
About the Author
Paul Rabinow is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written numerous books, including Making PCR: A Story of Biotechnology and French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social Environment, both published by the University of Chicago Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Life as We Know It
2. Genomic Assemblages
3. Field Notes: The CEPH after Its Victory
4. Life: Dignity and Value
5. Millennium Comes to Paris
6. Normalization
Epilogue: The Anthropological Contemporary
Notes
Bibligraphy
Acknowledgments