368 Farm Ln
East Lansing, MI 48823
USA
Professor Jane Maienschein, Arizona State University
CRISPR in the Context of Developmental Biology: A Century+ of Engineering Life
Discussion around CRISPR has focused on social and ethical implications of using a powerful technology. The favorite narratives place gene manipulation within the history of recombinant DNA and of eugenics. Both carry negative connotations and implications that we must be careful not to “play God” again. Yet the history of interest in engineering life is much richer and more closely connected with developmental conceptions such as Jacques Loeb’s call for Controlling Life, as Philip Pauly put it in his biography of Loeb. It is worth looking at alternative positive narratives about such biological control and their implications for understanding CRISPR differently.
event flyer (with time & location details)