The Biomedical Sciences in Society

Book excerpt: This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the interdisciplinary field of the Social Studies of Science and Technology (SSST). Over the past two decades, the biomedical sciences have transformed our understanding of the relationship between the social and natural worlds, while its ‘promissory visions’ are seen to offer extraordinary opportunities for economic and social development. But alongside these scientific innovations have emerged new, and frequently unanticipated social, political, bioethical, and legal dilemmas and challenges. This cutting-edge text explores ‘post-genomic’ developments in the field of pharmacogenomics and the prospects for a new ‘precision’ or personalised medicine; the potential of environmental epigenetics to reconfigure the boundaries of the social and natural worlds; the emergence of an array of ‘neuro-disciplines’, seeking to identify the neural basis of a whole range of social and economic behaviours; and the challenges of constructing a coherent and robust governance framework for the conduct of biomedical science research and innovation, responsive to the social and health needs of the whole population.