It is a special moment in the history of STS. With the young discipline transitioning into a not ... more It is a special moment in the history of STS. With the young discipline transitioning into a not so-young-field-anymore, there is plenty of reason for celebrations: defining groups are celebrating remarkable anniversaries and individual careers are celebrated when founding figures retire. These celebrations are also excellent moments for reflections on pasts, presents and futures of STS and the place of STS in the wider world. In this conversation, Wiebe Bijker, recently subject of his own retirement celebration in Maastricht (Bijker 2017), shares his views on STS. We travel with him from the Netherlands to India, and briefly stop in Edinburgh at SSU where we find the origin of the SCOT abbreviation. On the way, we discuss Dutch activism, teaching, the institutionalization of STS, the emergence of international networks, and different roads STS can take. We end with an optimistic view towards a global future, while emphasizing the importance of the inclusion of history and the classics.
This paper analyses how a group of researchers from different disciplines has been able to form c... more This paper analyses how a group of researchers from different disciplines has been able to form creative collaborative spaces to model life together. Making mathematical models of life is a new way of creating biological knowledge – called systems biology – that ultimately aims to revolutionise medicine, by making it more effective through personalisation. By conceptualizing this interdisciplinary effort to create a new research field as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement, I analyse the entanglement of epistemic and social transformations, discussing how systems biology moved from the periphery towards the center of biology. Thereby, I am turning the focus on the spatial dimensions of Scientific/Intellectual Movements. More specifically, I introduce a topological approach detailing three interrelated spatial movements: aggregation, circulation and oscillation that together constitute the choreography of systems biology. They show how some strong, dispersed, local centers have effectively raised funds to build human capacity, organisations and infrastructures, while creating international networks. Through interaction with science policy makers, a global circulation of policies took place, stimulating the building of collaborative centers for systems biology, while the ending of funding programmes is now causing fragmentation again. As such, this paper argues that the choreography of systems biology as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement exemplifies how spatial (re-)configurations are fundamental to transformations in the knowledge landscape and the institutionalization of creativity.
In this article, we review the extant social science and ethical literature on three-dimensional ... more In this article, we review the extant social science and ethical literature on three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. 3D bioprinting has the potential to be a 'game-changer', printing human organs on demand, no longer necessitating the need for living or deceased human donation or animal transplantation. Although the technology is not yet at the level required to bioprint an entire organ, 3D bioprinting may have a variety of other mid-term and short-term benefits that also have positive ethical consequences, for example, creating alternatives to animal testing, filling a therapeutic need for minors and avoiding species boundary crossing. Despite a lack of current socioethical engagement with the consequences of the technology, we outline what we see as some preliminary practical, ethical and regulatory issues that need tackling. These relate to managing public expectations and the continuing reliance on technoscientific solutions to diseases that affect high-income countries. Avoiding prescribing a course of action for the way forward in terms of research agendas, we do briefly outline one possible ethical framework 'Responsible Research Innovation' as an oversight model should 3D bioprinting promises are ever realised. 3D bioprinting has a lot to offer in the course of time should it move beyond a conceptual therapy, but is an area that requires ethical oversight and regulation and debate, in the here and now. The purpose of this article is to begin that discussion. BACKGROUND: 'GROW YOUR OWN ORGANS'
Is biology the most recent member of the big science family? The increase of collaboration in bio... more Is biology the most recent member of the big science family? The increase of collaboration in biology research certainly became subject of heated debates in the wake of the Human Genome Project. However, debates and reflections remained largely mired in polemics and a limited appreciation of the diversity and explanatory power of the concept of big science. At the same time, scholars of science and technology have largely eschewed use of the term in their attempts to understand transformations in the current research landscape. This paper combines a conceptual analysis of the concept of big science, with different data and ideas from a multi-method investigation of several large-scale research projects in biology to move past normative debates, simplistic dichotomies and rhetorical positions to develop an empirically grounded, nuanced and analytically useful understanding of big biology. While the concept of big science can be seen as a fashion in science policy -and perhaps an old-fashioned one by now- I will argue that its analytic use importantly directs attention to increasing collaboration in the biosciences. Analysing big biology, and distinguishing it from big physics and other forms of big science, shows differences in patterns of its research organisation, technologies and the societal contexts in which it operates. As such, reflections on big science, big biology, and their relation to knowledge production can place recent claims about fundamental transformations in life science research into a historical context.
Adam James voices a common frustration of senior scientists regarding their administrative burden... more Adam James voices a common frustration of senior scientists regarding their administrative burden (Nature 475, 257; 2011). This viewpoint presumes a narrow definition of scientific practice and a rigid dichotomy between administrative and research tasks. Scientists should view administration as part of the research process, rather than eschewing it.
It is a special moment in the history of STS. With the young discipline transitioning into a not ... more It is a special moment in the history of STS. With the young discipline transitioning into a not so-young-field-anymore, there is plenty of reason for celebrations: defining groups are celebrating remarkable anniversaries and individual careers are celebrated when founding figures retire. These celebrations are also excellent moments for reflections on pasts, presents and futures of STS and the place of STS in the wider world. In this conversation, Wiebe Bijker, recently subject of his own retirement celebration in Maastricht (Bijker 2017), shares his views on STS. We travel with him from the Netherlands to India, and briefly stop in Edinburgh at SSU where we find the origin of the SCOT abbreviation. On the way, we discuss Dutch activism, teaching, the institutionalization of STS, the emergence of international networks, and different roads STS can take. We end with an optimistic view towards a global future, while emphasizing the importance of the inclusion of history and the classics.
This paper analyses how a group of researchers from different disciplines has been able to form c... more This paper analyses how a group of researchers from different disciplines has been able to form creative collaborative spaces to model life together. Making mathematical models of life is a new way of creating biological knowledge – called systems biology – that ultimately aims to revolutionise medicine, by making it more effective through personalisation. By conceptualizing this interdisciplinary effort to create a new research field as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement, I analyse the entanglement of epistemic and social transformations, discussing how systems biology moved from the periphery towards the center of biology. Thereby, I am turning the focus on the spatial dimensions of Scientific/Intellectual Movements. More specifically, I introduce a topological approach detailing three interrelated spatial movements: aggregation, circulation and oscillation that together constitute the choreography of systems biology. They show how some strong, dispersed, local centers have effectively raised funds to build human capacity, organisations and infrastructures, while creating international networks. Through interaction with science policy makers, a global circulation of policies took place, stimulating the building of collaborative centers for systems biology, while the ending of funding programmes is now causing fragmentation again. As such, this paper argues that the choreography of systems biology as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement exemplifies how spatial (re-)configurations are fundamental to transformations in the knowledge landscape and the institutionalization of creativity.
In this article, we review the extant social science and ethical literature on three-dimensional ... more In this article, we review the extant social science and ethical literature on three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting. 3D bioprinting has the potential to be a 'game-changer', printing human organs on demand, no longer necessitating the need for living or deceased human donation or animal transplantation. Although the technology is not yet at the level required to bioprint an entire organ, 3D bioprinting may have a variety of other mid-term and short-term benefits that also have positive ethical consequences, for example, creating alternatives to animal testing, filling a therapeutic need for minors and avoiding species boundary crossing. Despite a lack of current socioethical engagement with the consequences of the technology, we outline what we see as some preliminary practical, ethical and regulatory issues that need tackling. These relate to managing public expectations and the continuing reliance on technoscientific solutions to diseases that affect high-income countries. Avoiding prescribing a course of action for the way forward in terms of research agendas, we do briefly outline one possible ethical framework 'Responsible Research Innovation' as an oversight model should 3D bioprinting promises are ever realised. 3D bioprinting has a lot to offer in the course of time should it move beyond a conceptual therapy, but is an area that requires ethical oversight and regulation and debate, in the here and now. The purpose of this article is to begin that discussion. BACKGROUND: 'GROW YOUR OWN ORGANS'
Is biology the most recent member of the big science family? The increase of collaboration in bio... more Is biology the most recent member of the big science family? The increase of collaboration in biology research certainly became subject of heated debates in the wake of the Human Genome Project. However, debates and reflections remained largely mired in polemics and a limited appreciation of the diversity and explanatory power of the concept of big science. At the same time, scholars of science and technology have largely eschewed use of the term in their attempts to understand transformations in the current research landscape. This paper combines a conceptual analysis of the concept of big science, with different data and ideas from a multi-method investigation of several large-scale research projects in biology to move past normative debates, simplistic dichotomies and rhetorical positions to develop an empirically grounded, nuanced and analytically useful understanding of big biology. While the concept of big science can be seen as a fashion in science policy -and perhaps an old-fashioned one by now- I will argue that its analytic use importantly directs attention to increasing collaboration in the biosciences. Analysing big biology, and distinguishing it from big physics and other forms of big science, shows differences in patterns of its research organisation, technologies and the societal contexts in which it operates. As such, reflections on big science, big biology, and their relation to knowledge production can place recent claims about fundamental transformations in life science research into a historical context.
Adam James voices a common frustration of senior scientists regarding their administrative burden... more Adam James voices a common frustration of senior scientists regarding their administrative burden (Nature 475, 257; 2011). This viewpoint presumes a narrow definition of scientific practice and a rigid dichotomy between administrative and research tasks. Scientists should view administration as part of the research process, rather than eschewing it.
Health research and health care practice are radically transforming as governments invest more in... more Health research and health care practice are radically transforming as governments invest more in large scale, national and international health projects with increasing levels of interdisciplinarity as populations age and as nations grow wealthier. This volume examines the structures and dynamics of scientific collaboration in health research and health care. Bringing together detailed research from the US, Canada, Europe and Japan, Collaboration Across Health Research and Medical Care sheds light on the features, environments and relationships that characterise collaboration in health care and research, exploring changing patterns of collaboration and examining the causes and consequences of team work in the health domain.
With attention to the increasingly porous boundaries between health care and research, the book not only investigates research settings, but also considers the manner in which knowledge produced in laboratories and clinics is translated into day-to-day medical and care practice and health initiatives. It offers a rich examination of the political, technical and organisational facets of collaboration and the implications of changes in collaboration for every day treatment and practice, Collaboration Across Health Research and Medical Care will be of interest to scholars of sociology and science and technology studies, as well as those working in the field of health policy and research.
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With attention to the increasingly porous boundaries between health care and research, the book not only investigates research settings, but also considers the manner in which knowledge produced in laboratories and clinics is translated into day-to-day medical and care practice and health initiatives. It offers a rich examination of the political, technical and organisational facets of collaboration and the implications of changes in collaboration for every day treatment and practice, Collaboration Across Health Research and Medical Care will be of interest to scholars of sociology and science and technology studies, as well as those working in the field of health policy and research.