A groundbreaking analysis of how the genomic revolution is transforming American society and creating new social divisions - some along racial lines - that promise to fundamentally shape American politics for years to come.The emergence of genomic science in the last quarter century has revolutionized medicine, the justice system, and our very understanding of who we are. We use genomics to determine guilt and exonerate the convicted; devise new medicines; test embryos; and discover our ethnic and national roots. Onemight think that, given these advances, most would favor the availability of genomic tools. Yet as Jennifer Hochschild explains in Genomic Politics , the uses of genomic science are both politically charged and hotly contested.The political divisions around genomics do not follow the usual left-right ideological divides that dominate most of American politics. Through four controversial innovations resulting from genomic science - genetically modified medicines that target African-Americans, who are demographically moresusceptible to heart disease; the use of DNA evidence in the criminal justice system; the current ancestry craze; and the use of genetic tests in prenatal exams - Hochschild reveals how the phenomenon is polarizing America in novel ways. Advocates of genomic science argue that these applicationswill make life better, but their opponents respond by pointing out the potential for misuse - from racial profiling to "selecting out" fetuses that gene tests show to have conditions like Down's Syndrome. Hochschild's central message is that the divide hinges on answers to two questions: Howsignificant are genetic factors in explaining human traits and behaviors? And what is the right balance between risk acceptance and risk avoidance for a society grappling with innovations arising from genomic science? A deeply researched and original analysis of the politics surrounding one of thesignal issues of our times, this is essential reading for anyone interested in how the genetics revolution is reshaping society.

"Genetic Politics explores the history of eugenics and the rise of contemporary genomics, identifying continuities and changes between the past and the present. The authors reject the two extreme positions that human genetics are either fatally corrupted by, or utterly immune from, eugenic influence. They argue that today's forms of genetic screening are far from equivalent to the eugenics of the past, but eugenics cannot simply be dismissed as bad science, or the product of totalitarian regimes, for its values and practices continue to shape genetics today."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Racial and ethnic categories have appeared in recent scientific work in novel ways and in relation to a variety of disciplines: medicine, forensics, population genetics and also developments in popular genealogy. Once again, biology is foregrounded in the discussion of human identity. Of particular importance is the preoccupation with origins and personal discovery and the increasing use of racial and ethnic categories in social policy. This new genetic knowledge, expressed in technology and practice, has the potential to disrupt how race and ethnicity are debated, managed and lived. As such, this volume investigates the ways in which existing social categories are both maintained and transformed at the intersection of the natural (sciences) and the cultural (politics). The contributors include medical researchers, anthropologists, historians of science and sociologists of race relations; together, they explore the new and challenging landscape where biology becomes the stuff of identity.

Ira Carmen seeks a fusion of experimental biological research and political science research as he explores the important and controversial realm of human genomics. Politics in the Laboratory takes a close look at the ethical, legal, social, constitutional, and political implications of modern biological research. It addresses both biopolicy issues and basic science--including cloning, embryonic stem cell investigations, and experimentation involving the human germline--from the perspective of a political scientist.

To reduce the deleterious effects of environmental contamination, governments across the world have enacted regulations broadly conceived for entire populations. Information arising out of the Human Genome Project and other cutting-edge genetic research is shifting the policymaking process. This fascinating volume draws on experts from academia, government, industry, and nongovernmental organizations to examine the science of genomic research as applied to environmental policy. The first section explores environmental policy applications, including subpopulation genetic profiling, industrial regulations, and standardizing governmental evaluation of genomic data. The second section assesses from multiple angles the legal framework involved in applying genomics to environmental regulation. In the third section, the contributors review closely the implications of genomic research for occupational health, from disease prevention and genetic susceptibility to toxicants, to workers’ rights and potential employment discrimination. A fourth section explores the bioethical and philosophical complications of bringing genetic data and research into nonclinical regulatory frameworks. Genomics and Environmental Regulation points to ways in which information on toxicology and genetics can be used to craft more precise and efficient regulations.

The exciting field of epigenetics offers novel and unanticipated science-based insights into human origins and development. This book presents one of the first detailed examinations of the political implications of epigenetics. Epigenetics—the study of internal and environmental factors that affect how genes are turned on or off and how cells read those genes—is a rapidly emerging science akin to genetics that introduces a number of novel and unexpected biological explanations of human origins and development. It also poses fundamental challenges to many of the assumptions of the prevailing science of genetics. When science changes, how does public policy respond? This book comprehensively considers the political implications of the emerging science of epigenetics in specific policy domains, addressing the intersections of epigenetics with cancer, obesity, the environment, and the law. Author Shea K. Robison carefully navigates the messy history of genetics and epigenetics in order to explore what changes in public policy might come in the age of a new scientific frontier. Readers will understand how new findings in epigenetic research and increased acceptance of epigenetic science may lead to paradigm shifts in cancer prevention and treatment, significantly different policy solutions for combating obesity, and revised statutes of limitations and laws regarding civil and corporate liability and wrongful life.