Bücher der Reihe Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine

With the rise of genomics, life sciences have entered a new era. This text provides a history of mapping procedures as they were developed in classical genetics. It shows the technology of genetic mapping is by no means a recent acquisition and demonstrates that the development of mapping technologies has accompanied the rise of modern genetics.

This volume traces the origins and evolution of the idea of human extinction, from the ancient Presocratics through contemporary work on "existential risks."Many leading intellectuals agree that the risk of human extinction this century may be higher than at any point in our 300,000-year history as a species. This book provides insight on the key questions that inform this discussion, including when humans began to worry about their own extinction and how the debate has changed over time. It establishes a new theoretical foundation for thinking about the ethics of our extinction, arguing that extinction would be very bad under most circumstances, although the outcome might be, on balance, good. Throughout the book, graphs, tables, and images further illustrate how human choices and attitudes about extinction have evolved in Western history. In its thorough examination of humanity's past, this book also provides a starting point for understanding our future.Although accessible enough to be read by undergraduates, Human Extinction contains new and thought-provoking research that will benefit even established academic philosophers and historians.

This volume is an interdisciplinary attempt to insert a broader, historically informed perspective into current political and academic debates on the issue of evidence and the reliability of scientific knowledge.

We are now accustomed to conceive of science as an instrumental activity, producing numbers, measurements and graphs by means of sophisticated devices. This book looks at the historical process that gave rise to this instrumental culture.

With the rise of genomics, the life sciences have entered a new era. This book provides a comprehensive history of molecular genetics and genomics.

Patrice Pinell's socio-historical approach to the early developments in the fight against cancer describes how scientific, therapeutic, philanthropic, ethical, social, economic and political interest combined to transform medicine.

Bringing together authorities on the history, historiography and methodology of contemporary science, this book reviews the problems facing historians of technology, contemporary science and medicine and explores ways forward.

Examining the issue of 'British decline' after the war, this book describes the evolution of cooperation in Britain and France, and argues that the relationship between these two countries helped to disseminate a culture of research, resulting in the transformation of the medical sciences and the pharmaceutical industry in both countries.

A historical exploration of scientific disputes on the causation of so-called 'prion diseases', this book covers diseases including Scrapie, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

This book provides an historical examination of official science and technology statistics and indicators in Western countries.

Tione Pieters charts the history and development of one of the most important medical substances of the 20th century, Interferon, as a drug. The author looks at the development of Interferon through the worlds of biological and clinical research, the pharmaceutical industry, doctors, patients, and many more.

We are now accustomed to conceive of science as an instrumental activity, producing numbers, measurements and graphs by means of sophisticated devices. This book investigates the historical process that gave rise to this instrumental culture.

The Analogue Alternative tracks the development, commercialisation and ultimate decline of the electronic analogue computer in the USA and Britain.

This book focuses on the major developments in the history of contemporary (19th and 20th century) mathematics as seen in the broader context of the development of science and culture.

Shows how sovereignty has been constructed, reaffirmed, and transformed in the Twentieth century by the construction of scientific disciplines, knowledge practices, and research objects. This book offers a redefinition of the modern concept of sovereignty and an illuminating reassessment of the role of science in political life.

In this volume, scholars from these two very different traditions are brought together. Never before has a single volume contained such a distinguished and diverse group of historians of technology.