Description
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.
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Who will regulate genetic engineering? Carmen (political science, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) describes how political science, constitutional politics, and genomics are interlocked and generally at odds. Working from his four years of service on the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, the agency that regulates genetic engineering experiments in the US, Carmen introduces the study of sociogenomics, which studies how DNA influences human behavior. He believes sociogenomics will create a paradigm that political scientists who understand the biology of genetic engineering can use to ensure scientific knowledge is used appropriately. For example, Carmen believes one application could be the disclosure of the genetic attributes of those seeking public office, when those attributes have been proven by sociogenomics to affect cognition or some other important aspect of performance. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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