Genealogy of a Gene (eBook)

Patents, HIV/AIDS, and Race

Myles W. Jackson (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2015
352 Seiten
The MIT Press (Verlag)
978-0-262-32720-6 (ISBN)

Infos

The history of the CCR5 gene as a lens through which to view such issues as intellectual property, Big Pharma, personalized medicine, and race and genomics.In The Genealogy of a Gene, Myles Jackson uses the story of the CCR5 gene to investigate the interrelationships among science, technology, and society. Mapping the varied "e;genealogy"e; of CCR5-intellectual property, natural selection, Big and Small Pharma, human diversity studies, personalized medicine, ancestry studies, and race and genomics-Jackson links a myriad of diverse topics. The history of CCR5 from the 1990s to the present offers a vivid illustration of how intellectual property law has changed the conduct and content of scientific knowledge, and the social, political, and ethical implications of such a transformation.The CCR5 gene began as a small sequence of DNA, became a patented product of a corporation, and then, when it was found to be an AIDS virus co-receptor with a key role in the immune system, it became part of the biomedical research world-and a potential moneymaker for the pharmaceutical industry. When it was further discovered that a mutation of the gene found in certain populations conferred near-immunity to the AIDS virus, questions about race and genetics arose. Jackson describes these developments in the context of larger issues, including the rise of "e;biocapitalism,"e; the patentability of products of nature, the difference between U.S. and European patenting approaches, and the relevance of race and ethnicity to medical research.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 6.3.2015
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Medizinische Fachgebiete ► Biomedizin
• Themenwelt: Studium ► 2. Studienabschnitt (Klinik) ► Humangenetik
• Themenwelt: Studium ► Querschnittsbereiche ► Geschichte / Ethik der Medizin
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• ISBN-10: 0-262-32720-1 / 0262327201
• ISBN-13: 978-0-262-32720-6 / 9780262327206