Rise of the Self-Replicators
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Reforming Eugenics
Working Papers on the Nature of Evidence: How Well Do “Facts” Travel? No. 12/06 Confronting the Stigma of Perfection: Genetic Demography, Diversity and the Quest for a Democratic Eugenics in the Post-war United States Edmund Ramsden © Edmund Ramsden Department of Economic History London School of Economics August 2006 how ‘facts’ “The Nature of Evidence: How Well Do ‘Facts’ Travel?” is funded by The Leverhulme Trust and the E.S.R.C. at the Department of Economic History, London School of Economics. For further details about this project and additional copies of this, and other papers in the series, go to: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collection/economichistory/ Series Editor: Dr. Jon Adams Department of Economic History London School of Economics Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 20 7955 6727 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7955 7730 Confronting the Stigma of Perfection: Genetic Demography, Diversity and the Quest for a Democratic Eugenics in the Post- war United States1 Edmund Ramsden Abstract Eugenics has played an important role in the relations between social and biological scientists of population through time. Having served as a site for the sharing of data and methods between disciplines in the early twentieth century, scientists and historians have tended to view its legacy in terms of reduction and division - contributing distrust, even antipathy, between communities in the social and the biological sciences. Following the work of Erving Goffman, this paper will explore how eugenics has, as the epitome of “bad” or “abnormal” science, served as a “stigma symbol” in the politics of boundary work. -
SOHASKY-DISSERTATION-2017.Pdf (2.074Mb)
DIFFERENTIAL MINDS: MASS INTELLIGENCE TESTING AND RACE SCIENCE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Kate E. Sohasky A dissertation submitted to the Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Baltimore, Maryland May 9, 2017 © Kate E. Sohasky All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Historians have argued that race science and eugenics retreated following their discrediting in the wake of the Second World War. Yet if race science and eugenics disappeared, how does one explain their sudden and unexpected reemergence in the form of the neohereditarian work of Arthur Jensen, Richard Herrnstein, and Charles Murray? This dissertation argues that race science and eugenics did not retreat following their discrediting. Rather, race science and eugenics adapted to changing political and social climes, at times entering into states of latency, throughout the twentieth century. The transnational history of mass intelligence testing in the twentieth century demonstrates the longevity of race science and eugenics long after their discrediting. Indeed, the tropes of race science and eugenics persist today in the modern I.Q. controversy, as the dissertation shows. By examining the history of mass intelligence testing in multiple nations, this dissertation presents narrative of the continuity of race science and eugenics throughout the twentieth century. Dissertation Committee: Advisors: Angus Burgin and Ronald G. Walters Readers: Louis Galambos, Nathaniel Comfort, and Adam Sheingate Alternates: François Furstenberg -
Clinical Genetics in Britain: Origins and Development
CLINICAL GENETICS IN BRITAIN: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT The transcript of a Witness Seminar held by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, London, on 23 September 2008 Edited by P S Harper, L A Reynolds and E M Tansey Volume 39 2010 ©The Trustee of the Wellcome Trust, London, 2010 First published by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, 2010 The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL is funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is a registered charity, no. 210183. ISBN 978 085484 127 1 All volumes are freely available online following the links to Publications/Wellcome Witnesses at www.ucl.ac.uk/histmed CONTENTS Illustrations and credits v Abbreviations vii Witness Seminars: Meetings and publications; Acknowledgements E M Tansey and L A Reynolds ix Introduction Sir John Bell xix Transcript Edited by P S Harper, L A Reynolds and E M Tansey 1 Appendix 1 Initiatives supporting clinical genetics, 1983–99 by Professor Rodney Harris 83 Appendix 2 The Association of Genetic Nurses and Counsellors (AGNC) by Professor Heather Skirton 87 References 89 Biographical notes 113 Glossary 133 Index 137 ILLUSTRATIONS AND CREDITS Figure 1 Professor Lionel Penrose, c. 1960. Provided by and reproduced with permission of Professor Shirley Hodgson. 8 Figure 2 Dr Mary Lucas, clinical geneticist at the Galton Laboratory, explains a poster to the University of London’s Chancellor, Princess Anne, October 1981. Provided by and reproduced with permission of Professor Joy Delhanty. 9 Figure 3 (a) The karyotype of a phenotypically normal woman and (b) family pedigree, showing three generations with inherited translocation. -
Genetic Testing
GENETIC TESTING The transcript of a Witness Seminar held by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, London, on 13 July 2001 Edited by D A Christie and E M Tansey Volume 17 2003 CONTENTS Illustrations v Introduction Professor Peter Harper vii Acknowledgements ix Witness Seminars: Meetings and publications xi E M Tansey and D A Christie Transcript Edited by D A Christie and E M Tansey 1 References 73 Biographical notes 91 Glossary 105 Index 115 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Triploid cells in a human embryo, 1961. 20 Figure 2 The use of FISH with DNA probes from the X and Y chromosomes to sex human embryos. 62 v vi INTRODUCTION Genetic testing is now such a widespread and important part of medicine that it is hard to realize that it has almost all emerged during the past 30 years, with most of the key workers responsible for the discoveries and development of the field still living and active. This alone makes it a suitable subject for a Witness Seminar but there are others that increase its value, notably the fact that a high proportion of the critical advances took place in the UK; not just the basic scientific research, but also the initial applications in clinical practice, particularly those involving inherited disorders. To see these topics discussed by the people who were actually involved in their creation makes fascinating reading; for myself it is tinged with regret at having been unable to attend and contribute to the seminar, but with some compensation from being able to look at the contributions more objectively than can a participant. -
Johnston, Alan
Alan Johnston Personal Details Name Alan Johnston Dates 1928 Place of Birth UK (Manchester) Main work places Aberdeen Principal field of work Clinical genetics Short biography See below Interview Recorded interview made Yes Interviewer Peter Harper Date of Interview 24/09/2008 Edited transcript available See below Personal Scientific Records Significant Record set exists Records catalogued Permanent place of archive Summary of archive Biography Alan Johnston was born 8.1.1928 in Manchester, educated at Manchester Grammar School and studied medicine at Cambridge and UCH qualifying in 1951. He later spent a year at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He became Consultant Physician in the Aberdeen Teaching Hospitals in 1966 and subsequently Clinical Senior Lecturer in medicine and genetics. Fellowship of the three Colleges of Physicians followed. With Eric McKay, he initiated the clinical genetics service for N.E.Scotland. With David Pyke, he played a crucial role in the setting up of the Clinical Genetics Committee of the College of Physicians and was its first Hon. Sec. He also served in various capacities on other committees and working parties concerned in the recognition of the specialty and its training programme, including the Scottish Molecular Genetics Consortium. In addition to lectures to the Royal Colleges, he published around one hundred papers. His outside interests include eldership of the Church of Scotland, active membership of the Christian Medical Fellowship, travel, gardening, archaeology and three grandchildren. INTERVIEW WITH DR ALAN JOHNSTON, 24th SEPTEMBER, 2008 PSH. It’s 24th September 2008 and I’m talking with Dr Alan Johnston from Aberdeen and the recording is being made in London. -
2007 Newsletter
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR PEACE STUDIES AND GLOBAL PHILOS- OPHY Rhos y Gallt, Llanerfyl, Near Welshpool, Powys, Wales, SY21 OER Tel/Fax: 01938 820586 website: www.educationaid.net email: [email protected] Director, Thomas Clough Daffern B.A. (Hons) D.Sc. (Hon) PGCE email: [email protected] Tel. 01938 820586 Mobile: (m) 07951 600959 Secretary General, Mary Napper (B.A. Hons.) 01939 233834 email: [email protected] International Secretary: Sheena McDonagh 07779851739 [email protected] Olga Skerry, Development Coordinator, London 0207 341 7632 Mobile 0798 5590052 [email protected] Treasurer: Jenny Wheatcroft B.A. (Hons.) Tel. 00 64 4 2932987Email: [email protected] IIPSGP 2007 NEWSLETTER 1.EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION: Firstly, I thought I’d take this opportunity of the Newsletter to let you know a little of what I have been up to in the past year (2006). All in all it’s been a pretty eventful and memorable year for me, so I thought I would share it with my friends and IIPSGP members. This year (2007) there is no MUSES Journal per se; instead, members will receive a free copy of my SELECTED PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS 1985-2005 on CD rom. This is a 795 page book, which has been published in hard back form by www.lulu.com/iipsgp –The essays are divided into 9 sections, one dedicated to each to the 9 Muses, as is the normal Muses Love Journal from IIPSGP. I hope you enjoy them ! Next year a Journal ! In the Spring and Summer terms I was teaching still at Sherwood Hall School in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, and enjoying the regular rhythm of commuting to work, living in Nottinghamshire in the week and coming home for weekends, staying in an interesting part of Nottingham called Sherwood. -
Chromosomes in the Clinic: the Visual Localization and Analysis of Genetic Disease in the Human Genome
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2013 Chromosomes in the Clinic: The Visual Localization and Analysis of Genetic Disease in the Human Genome Andrew Joseph Hogan University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Hogan, Andrew Joseph, "Chromosomes in the Clinic: The Visual Localization and Analysis of Genetic Disease in the Human Genome" (2013). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 873. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/873 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/873 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Chromosomes in the Clinic: The Visual Localization and Analysis of Genetic Disease in the Human Genome Abstract This dissertation examines the visual cultures of postwar biomedicine, with a particular focus on how various techniques, conventions, and professional norms have shaped the `look', classification, diagnosis, and understanding of genetic diseases. Many scholars have previously highlighted the `informational' approaches of postwar genetics, which treat the human genome as an expansive data set comprised of three billion DNA nucleotides. Since the 1950s however, clinicians and genetics researchers have largely interacted with the human genome at the microscopically visible level of chromosomes. Mindful of this, my dissertation examines -
Stories in Isolation the Impact of Gene Discovery on Families And
Stories in Isolation The impact of gene discovery on families and professionals Catherine Sampson Submitted to Cardiff University in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2009 UMI Number: U585292 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U585292 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed.O?Jf^4*^ft< . ..(candidate) Date .•3?.:3:.as3.............. STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed. .. .(candidate) Date a o * 3 : ..2 s S f ll............ STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed Q)fr*&r?r.. .. .(candidate) Date... ....2Q.-3.:.2sP%............ STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. -
Historians Art and Science Have Discussed the Creation of Pictorial
OCAD University Open Research Repository Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and School of Interdisciplinary Studies 2005 Ideas About Heredity, Genetics, and ‘Medical Genetics’ in Britain, 1900–1982 William Leeming OCAD University [email protected] © Elsevier. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Not for redistribution. Original source at DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2005.07.004. Recommended citation: Leeming, William. “Ideas about Heredity, Genetics, and ‘medical Genetics’ in Britain, 1900–1982.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 36.3 (2005): 538–558. Web. Leeming, W. (2005). Ideas about heredity, genetics, and ‘medical genetics’ in Britain, 1900–1982. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 36(3), 538-558. Pre-Publication Draft Ideas About Heredity, Genetics, and ‘Medical Genetics’ in Britain, 1900-1982 Abstract: The aim of this paper is to understand how evolving ideas about heredity and genetics influenced new medical interests and practices and, eventually, the formation of ‘medical genetics’ as a medical specialism in Britain. I begin the paper by throwing highlight on the social and institutional changes through which these ideas passed. I argue that, with time, there was a decisive convergence in thought that combined ideas about the familial aspects of heredity and the health needs of populations with an omnibus ‘genetic’ approach to health and illness that focused on the structures and activities of chromosomes and genes in individuals. -
Nanotech Ideas in Science-Fiction-Literature
Nanotech Ideas in Science-Fiction-Literature Nanotech Ideas in Science-Fiction-Literature Text: Thomas Le Blanc Research: Svenja Partheil and Verena Knorpp Translation: Klaudia Seibel Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar Special thanks to the authors Karl-Ulrich Burgdorf and Friedhelm Schneidewind for the kind permission to publish and translate their two short stories Imprint Nanotech Ideas in Science-Fiction-Literature German original: Vol. 24 of the Hessen-Nanotech series by the Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, State of Hessen Compiled and written by Thomas Le Blanc Svenja Partheil, Verena Knorpp (research) Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar Turmstrasse 20 35578 Wetzlar, Germany Edited by Sebastian Hummel, Ulrike Niedner-Kalthoff (Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, State of Hessen) Dr. David Eckensberger, Nicole Holderbaum (Hessen Trade & Invest GmbH, Hessen-Nanotech) Editor For NANORA, the Nano Regions Alliance: Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, State of Hessen Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 75 65185 Wiesbaden, Germany Phone: +49 (0) 611 815 2471 Fax: +49 (0) 611 815 49 2471 www.wirtschaft.hessen.de The editor is not responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy and completeness of this information nor for observing the individual rights of third parties. The views and opinions rendered herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editor. © Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, State of Hessen Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 75 65185 Wiesbaden, Germany wirtschaft.hessen.de All rights reserved. No part of this brochure may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. -
Genetic Testing (V19) 3/11/03 8:46 Pm Page I
Genetic Testing (v19) 3/11/03 8:46 pm Page i GENETIC TESTING The transcript of a Witness Seminar held by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, London, on 13 July 2001 Edited by D A Christie and E M Tansey Volume 17 2003 ©The Trustee of the Wellcome Trust, London, 2003 First published by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, 2003 The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL is funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is a registered charity, no. 210183. ISBN 978 085484 094 6 All volumes are freely available online at: www.history.qmul.ac.uk/research/modbiomed/wellcome_witnesses/ Please cite as: Christie D A, Tansey E M. (eds) (2003) Genetic Testing. Wellcome Witnesses to Twentieth Century Medicine, vol. 17. London: Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. Key Front cover photographs, top to bottom: Professor Marcus Pembrey Dr Patricia Tippett Professor Doris Zallen Professor Sir David Weatherall, Professor Charles Rodeck Inside front cover photographs, top to bottom: Professor John Woodrow Professor Rodney Harris Professor John Edwards (1928–2007) Professor Sue Povey Back cover photographs, top to bottom: Professor Ursula Mittwoch Professor Malcolm Ferguson-Smith Professor Matteo Adinolfi Professor Paul Polani (1914–2006) Inside back cover photographs, top to bottom: Professor Matteo Adinolfi, Professor Paul Polani (1914–2006) Professor Paul Polani (1914–2006), Professor Rodney Harris Professor Bernadette Modell Mrs Cathy Holding, Professor Alan Handyside Genetic Testing (v19) 3/11/03 8:46 pm Page iii CONTENTS Illustrations v Introduction Professor Peter Harper vii Acknowledgements ix Witness Seminars: Meetings and publications xi E M Tansey and D A Christie Transcript Edited by D A Christie and E M Tansey 1 References 73 Biographical notes 91 Glossary 105 Index 115 Genetic Testing (v19) 3/11/03 8:46 pm Page iv Genetic Testing (v19) 3/11/03 8:46 pm Page v ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Triploid cells in a human embryo, 1961. -
Aliens!!! We Have One Data Point: No One Has Ever Detected an Alien
Aliens!!! We have one data point: no one has ever detected an alien: 1. No personal contact 2. No detection of alien ships/artifacts on Earth or elsewhere 3. No detection of signals of extraterrestrial origin Can we ask any scientific questions about aliens? A gray area between science and science fiction 1. Can we estimate the likelihood of alien life? 2. How might extraterrestrial life adapt to extreme environments? Estimating the abundance of alien life: A “back of the envelope calculation” or a “Fermi Problem” How much coal would it take to power the US for a year? How many air travellers are in the air right now? How many piano tuners are there in Chicago? The original Fermi Problem: How many piano tuners live in Chicago? How many people live in Chicago? 9 million How many households in Chicago? 4.5 million (2 people per household) How many households have pianos that get tuned regularly? (1 out of 20) = 225,000 tunings per year A typical work year is 2000 hours, and it takes about 2 hours to tune a piano, so a piano tuner does 1000 tunings in a year. So Chicago employs about 200 piano tuners How many aliens are there?? 1. How many stars are in the galaxy? 2. How many of these stars have planets? 3. How many planets develop life? 4. How many planets with life develop intelligent life? 5. How many of the intelligent aliens will broadcast their existence? The (in)famous Drake Equation: N = R* · fp · ne · fl · fi · fc · L If intelligent life is common, where are all the aliens? The “Fermi paradox” Solutions to the Fermi Paradox: 1.