Epigenetics and Public Policy

[Srbija]

Epigenetics and Public Policy: The Tangled Web of Science and Politics
Praeger | English | 2018 | ISBN-10: 1440844690 | 365 pages | PDF | 31.23 MB

by Shea K. Robison (Author)

The exciting field of epigenetics offers novel and unanticipated science-based insights into human origins and development. This book presents one of the first detailed examinations of the political implications of epigenetics.

• Focuses on the latest developments in epigenetics, a subject that is attracting increased attention among scientists and researchers yet is practically unknown among policymakers and members of the general public
• Explains how epigenetics works, how it is related to genetics, how it differs from conventional genetics, the different kinds of epigenetic mechanisms, and the political history of genetics and epigenetics
• Addresses the latest research on epigenetics within the context of hot public policy topics such as cancer, obesity, and the environment and identifies potential policy recommendations

Review
"In Epigenetics and Public Policy: The Tangled Web of Science and Politics, Shea Robison explores the much neglected intersection of biology, political ideology, politics, and public policy. Robison first traces the highly political history of the development of epigenetics as a scientific field; then he places epigenetics and ideas about epigenetics within the context of important historical and social movements of the past one hundred years. Robison demonstrates the link between science and politics and provides fodder for discussions among and between biologists and political scientists. Finally, Robison looks at the development of epigenetics as a newer understanding of human genetics and pays particular attention to how epigenetics might transform political debates surrounding inevitable questions of nature versus nurture and the role of government, concluding with policy analysis of epigenetics and cancer and obesity policy. This is a unique and interesting book in the emerging political science subfield of politics and the life sciences; it will spur much-needed debate and further scholarship on the relationship between science and politics." (Mark K. McBeth, Professor of Political Science, Idaho State University)

"For decades, scientists and politicians looked to genetics to understand ultimate explanations in biology and, extrapolating from there, socio-cultural tendencies and even political behavior. Geneticists once promised their science would detail every feature, body and mind. However, epigenetics, the upstart biology of the twenty-first century, seems to challenge the supremacy of genetics. Epigenetics is not new, though both scientists and the public are only now beginning to understand its true importance. Robison shows just how consequential epigenetics could be for our understanding of health outcomes and policy, especially regarding areas of special concern like obesity and cancer. Perhaps most significantly, he highlights just how tightly we have woven the web of reciprocal relationships between policy, ethics, laboratory practice, and biological theory. Reweaving that web around our new appreciation for epigenetics will continue to have profound consequences for health, economics, and governance." (Erik L. Peterson, Assistant Professor of the History of Science, Department of History, The University of Alabama)

"Few scientific concepts are as volatile as the concept of 'epigenetics,' a sensitive term which has been much abused. Shea Robison bravely takes on this touchy subject and mixes it with politics, a sure recipe for explosion. Robison traces the largely unacknowledged and very political history of this line of science to understand why some aspect of epigenetics (such as 'inheritance of acquired traits') are still to a large extent taboo in the scientific community and why new discoveries in epigenetics remain under the radar to policy makers and to the public in general. He then examines the effects that assimilating modern ideas about epigenetics with a grander theory of inheritance could have on the political discourse: a synthesis that could affect all of us." (Oded Rechavi, Department of Neurobiology, the Life Sciences Faculty, Tel Aviv University)

About the Author
Shea K. Robison recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with the Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy and the Department of Public Policy at the City University of Hong Kong. His primary focus is the intersection of biology, morality and politics, with a focus on the political implications of the emerging science of epigenetics. He is currently teaching courses in political science at Idaho State University and the College of Eastern Idaho.

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