Embryos, microscopes, and society

dc.contributor.author Maienschein, Jane
dc.date.accessioned 2016-07-07T17:33:35Z
dc.date.available 2016-07-07T17:33:35Z
dc.date.issued 2016-03-17
dc.description © The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 57 (2016): 129-136, doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.003. en_US
dc.description.abstract Embryos have different meanings for different people and in different contexts. Seen under the microscope, the biological embryo starts out as one cell and then becomes a bunch of cells. Gradually these divide and differentiate to make up the embryo, which in humans becomes a fetus at eight weeks, and then eventually a baby. At least, that happens in those cases that carry through normally and successfully. Yet a popular public perception imagines the embryo as already a little person in the very earliest stages of development, as if it were predictably to become an adult. In actuality, cells can combine, pull apart, and recombine in a variety of ways and still produce embryos, whereas most embryos never develop into adults at all. Biological embryos and popular imaginations of embryos diverge. This paper looks at some of the historical reasons for and social implications of that divergence. en_US
dc.description.sponsorship Thanks to the National Science Foundation for support through a series of grants. en_US
dc.identifier.citation Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 57 (2016): 129-136 en_US
dc.identifier.doi 10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.003
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/1912/8090
dc.language.iso en_US en_US
dc.publisher Elsevier en_US
dc.relation.uri https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2016.02.003
dc.rights Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International *
dc.rights.uri http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subject Embryos en_US
dc.subject Microscopes en_US
dc.subject Science and society en_US
dc.subject Bioethics en_US
dc.subject Science policy en_US
dc.title Embryos, microscopes, and society en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dspace.entity.type Publication
relation.isAuthorOfPublication 12601fb1-4e13-44b1-b2c1-f5f194768207
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery 12601fb1-4e13-44b1-b2c1-f5f194768207
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