The Emergence of Genetic Rationality
Автор: Phillip Thurtle
Год издания: 0000
The emergence of genetic science has profoundly shaped how we think about biology. Indeed, it is difficult now to consider nearly any facet of human experience without first considering the gene. But this mode of understanding life is not, of course, transhistorical. Phillip Thurtle takes us back to the moment just before the emergence of genetic rationality at the turn of the twentieth century to explicate the technological, economic, cultural, and even narrative transformations necessary to make genetic thinking possible.The rise of managerial capitalism brought with it an array of homologous practices, all of which transformed the social fabric. With transformations in political economy and new technologies came new conceptions of biology, and it is in the relationships of social class to breeding practices, of middle managers to biological information processing, and of transportation to experiences of space and time, that we can begin to locate the conditions that made genetic thinking possible, desirable, and seemingly natural.In describing this historical moment, The Emergence of Genetic Rationality is panoramic in scope, addressing primary texts that range from horse breeding manuals to eugenics treatises, natural history tables to railway surveys, and novels to personal diaries. It draws on the work of figures as diverse as Thorstein Veblen, Jack London, Edith Wharton, William James, and Luther Burbank. The central figure, David Starr Jordan – naturalist, poet, eugenicist, educator – provides the book with a touchstone for deciphering the mode of rationality that genetics superseded.Building on continental philosophy, media studies, systems theory, and theories of narrative, The Emergence of Genetic Rationality provides an inter-disciplinary contribution to intellectual and scientific history, science studies, and cultural studies. It offers a truly encyclopedic cultural history that challenges our own ways of organizing knowledge even as it explicates those of an earlier era. In a time in which genetic rationality has become our own common sense, this discussion of its emergence reminds us of the interdependence of the tools we use to process information and the conceptions of life they animate.
The Methods and Scope of Genetics
Автор: Bateson William
Год издания:
Genetics For Dummies
Автор: Tara Rodden Robinson
Год издания:
A plain-English guide to genetics Want to know more about genetics? This non-intimidating guide gets you up to speed on all the fundamentals and the most recent discoveries. Now with 25% new and revised material, Genetics For Dummies, 2nd Edition gives you clear and accessible coverage of this rapidly advancing field. From dominant and recessive inherited traits to the DNA double-helix, you get clear explanations in easy-to-understand terms. Plus, you'll see how people are applying genetic science to fight disease, develop new products, solve crimes . . . and even clone cats. Covers topics in a straightforward and effective manner Includes coverage of stem cell research, molecular genetics, behavioral genetics, genetic engineering, and more Explores ethical issues as they pertain to the study of genetics Whether you?re currently enrolled in a genetics course or are just looking for a refresher, Genetics For Dummies, 2nd Edition provides science lovers of all skill levels with easy-to-follow information on this fascinating subject.
Mean Markets and Lizard Brains. How to Profit from the New Science of Irrationality
Автор: Terry Burnham
Год издания:
Everyone from journalists to market pros are turning to behavioral finance to explain, analyze, and predict market direction. In contrast to old-school assumptions of cool-headed rationality, the new behavioral school embraces hot-blooded human irrationality as a core feature of both individuals and financial markets. The 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to scholars of this new scientific approach to irrationality. In Mean Markets and Lizard Brains, Terry Burnham, an economist who has a proven ability to translate complex topics into everyday language, reveals the biological causes of irrationality. The human brain contains ancient structures that exert powerful and often unconscious influences on behavior. This «lizard brain» may have helped our ancestors eat and reproduce, but it wreaks havoc with our finances. Going far beyond cataloguing our financial foibles, Dr. Burnham applies this novel approach to all of today's most important financial topics: the stock market, the economy, real estate, bonds, mortgages, inflation, and savings. This broad and scholarly investigation provides an in-depth look at why manias, panics, and crashes happen, and why people are built to want to buy at irrationally high prices and sell at irrationally low prices. Most importantly, by incorporating the new science of irrationality, readers can position themselves to profit from financial markets that often seem downright mean. Mean Markets and Lizard Brains skillfully identifies the craziness that is part of human nature, helps us see it in ourselves, and then shows us how to profit from a world that doesn't always make sense.
Genetically Modified and non-Genetically Modified Food Supply Chains. Co-Existence and Traceability
Автор: Yves Bertheau
Год издания:
In the European Union nations, and other countries including Japan, Australia and Malaysia, it is a legal requirement that food products containing genetically modified organism (GMO) materials are labelled as such in order that customers may make informed purchasing decisions. For manufacturers and consumers to be confident about these assertions, systems must be in place along the entire food chain which support the co-existence of GM and non GM materials whilst maintaining a strict segregation between the two. This book is an output of a European Union-funded project entitled «Co-Extra: GM and non-GM food and feed supply chains: their Co-Existence and Traceability». The objective of this four year project is to provide practical tools and methods for implementing co-existence that will: enable the co-existence of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops enable the segregation and tracing of genetically modified organism (GMO) materials and derived products along the food and feed chains anticipate the future expansion of the use of GMOs The project is designed to foster a robustly science-based debate amongst all of the stakeholders involved in the food and feed chains, and the tools will be assessed not only from a technical point of view but with regard to the economic and legal aspects. It also surveys the GMO-related legal regimes and practices that exist in and beyond the EU. This book examines the practical tools and methods available to implement the co-existence and traceability of GM and non-GM food materials along the entire food and feed chains, as demanded by consumers and by legislation in force in the EU and elsewhere. GM and Non-GM Supply Foods is a source of valuable information for food manufacturers, food research institutions and regulatory bodies internationally.
Reverse Genetics of RNA Viruses. Applications and Perspectives
Автор: Anne Bridgen
Год издания:
Reverse genetics, the genetic manipulation of RNA viruses to create a wild-type or modified virus, has led to important advances in our understanding of viral gene function and interaction with host cells. Since many severe viral human and animal pathogens are RNA viruses, including those responsible for polio, measles, rotaviral diarrhoea and influenza infections, it is also an extremely powerful technique with important potential application for the prevention and control of a range of human and animal viral diseases. Reverse Genetics of RNA Viruses provides a comprehensive account of the very latest developments in reverse genetics of RNA viruses through a wide range of applications within each of the core virus groups including; positive sense, negative sense and double stranded RNA viruses. Written by a team of international experts in the field, it provides a unique insight into how the field has developed, what problems are being addressed now and where applications may lead in the future. It will prove invaluable to bioscience, medical and veterinary students, those starting research in this area as well as other researchers and teachers needing to update their knowledge of this fast-moving field. An authoritative, comprehensive overview of reverse genetics in RNA Viruses. Includes numerous examples of cutting- edge applications of reverse genetics within each of the RNA viral groups. Written by a team of international experts, including some of the leading researchers in the field.