Biology Is Technology: The Promise, Peril, and New Business of Engineering Life

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Synopsis
“Essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the current state of biotechnology and the opportunities and dangers it may create.” —American ScientistTechnology is a process and a body of knowledge as much as a collection of artifacts. Biology is no different—and we are just beginning to comprehend the challenges inherent in the next stage of biology as a human technology. It is this critical moment, with its wide-ranging implications, that Robert Carlson considers in Biology Is Technology. He offers a uniquely informed perspective on the endeavors that contribute to current progress in this area—the science of biological systems and the technology used to manipulate them.In a number of case studies, Carlson demonstrates that the development of new mathematical, computational, and laboratory tools will facilitate the engineering of biological artifacts—up to and including organisms and ecosystems. Exploring how this will happen, with reference to past technological advances, he explains how objects are constructed virtually, tested using sophisticated mathematical models, and finally constructed in the real world.Such rapid increases in the power, availability, and application of biotechnology raise obvious questions about who gets to use it, and to what end. Carlson’s thoughtful analysis offers rare insight into our choices about how to develop biological technologies and how these choices will determine the pace and effectiveness of innovation as a public good.
Copyright:
2011

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
288 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780674053625
Related ISBNs:
9780674060159
Publisher:
Harvard University Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
the President and Fellows
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Science, Law, Legal Issues and Ethics, Philosophy
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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