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Biotechnics and Society The Rise of Industrial Genetics
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By Sheldon Krimsky
ISBN: 0-275-93860-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-93860-4
280 pages, figures, notes, tables
Praeger Paperback
Publication: 7/30/1991
List Price: $31.95 (UK Sterling Price: £18.95)
Availability:
Media Type: Paperback
Also Available: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 X 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • This is an important work by a scholar with early and sustained involvement in biotechnology issues. Krimsky is widely read and insightful in his analysis of scientific hubris and societal tensions associated with the new molecular biology.
    —Rural Sociology
  • Biotechnics and Society will rapidly become the standard text in undergraduate courses dealing with contemporary science, technology, and society.
    —Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy
  • Endorsement From
    David Pimentel

    Professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

    Cornell University
    :     Dr. Krimsky has produced a valuable book on biotechnology and society. Krimsky provides a sound analysis of the social, economic, and environmental issues related to biotechnology that should be examined before specific technologies are recommended for adoption.
Description: Impacts of technological change have historically been assessed only after the passage of a significant period of time. It is then that historians recreate the decisions that were made, sort out the influencing factors, and debate in hindsight the options that were available at the time. Sheldon Krimsky, consistent with the importance of his subject, telescopes this process by providing contemporary readers a broad overview of the first ten years of the industrial revolution in applied molecular genetics. He discusses the birth and expectations of the biotechnology industry, the response to products of genetic engineering, perspectives on risk assessment from different sectors of the scientific community, and public initiatives to regulate new products. Krimsky explores the social and political discourse on the direction of biotechnology, and offers the most detailed examination to date of the controversy over the environmental release of genetically engineered organisms. Finally, he takes a critical look at the conventional role of technology assessment and suggests an alternative model that fits more closely with the needs of an environmentally sensitive world. Krimsky's thought-provoking work offers readers a unique opportunity to understand what questions were being asked, what options were available, and what decisions were being made when the industrial application of genetic technologies was still in its infancy. His insider's perspective will interest those working in the fields of biology and social issues; science, technology, and society; and the sociology of science. Challenging, cautioning, and balanced, this book is required reading for all who are seriously concerned with the relationship of emerging technologies to society.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
  • The Cultural Significance of the Genetics Revolution
  • The Industrial Context
  • The Emergence of the New Biotechnology Industry
  • Patenting Hybrids, Chimeras, and other Oddities
  • Science and Wall Street: Academic Entrepreneurship in Biology
  • Genetics and Ecology
  • Environmental Applications of Biotechnology
  • Evolving Policy: From the Laboratory to the Field
  • Controlling Frost with Bacteria: The First Field Test
  • Debates Over Deliberate Release: Disciplinary Fault Lines
  • Social Controls
  • Human Genetic Engineering: New Ethical Frontiers
  • The Growing Complexity of Regulation
  • Biotechnology Assessment: Dilemmas and Opportunities
  • Selected Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 90-23214
LCC Class: TP248
Dewey Class: 303.48
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