“Editing” Genes: A Case Study About How Language Matters in Bioethics

O’Keefe, Meaghan; Perrault, Sarah Tinker; Halpern, Jodi; Ikemoto, Lisa C.; Yarborough, Mark A

doi:10.1080/15265161.2015.1103804

Cited by 53 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A recent article in the American Journal of Bioethics argues for the importance of language in bioethics through an analysis of metaphors used in mass media and popular science to describe and explain CRISPR-cas9, a new technique for genetic modification or “gene editing” (O’Keefe et al 2015). Similarly, this paper underscores the bioethical importance of the language and symbolism used in relation to new medical technologies and interventions within HIV cure research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healing Without Waging War: Beyond Military Metaphors in Medicine and HIV Cure Research

Nie

Gilbertson

Roubaix

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Bioethics

102

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Military metaphors are pervasive in biomedicine, including HIV research. Rooted in the mindset that regards pathogens as enemies to be defeated, terms such as “shock and kill” have become widely accepted idioms within HIV cure research. Such language and symbolism must be critically examined as they may be especially problematic when used to express scientific ideas within emerging health-related fields. In this paper, philosophical analysis and an interdisciplinary literature review utilizing key texts from sociology, anthropology, history, and Chinese and African studies were conducted to investigate the current proliferation of military metaphors. We found the use of these metaphors to be ironic, unfortunate, and unnecessary. To overcome military metaphors we propose to: 1) give them less aggressive meanings, and/or 2) replace them with more peaceful metaphors. Building on previous authors’ work, we argue for the increased use of “journey” (and related) metaphors as meaningful, cross-culturally appropriate alternatives to military metaphors.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healing Without Waging War: Beyond Military Metaphors in Medicine and HIV Cure Research

Nie

Gilbertson

Roubaix

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Bioethics

102

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hellsten and Nerlich (2008) and O’Keefe et al (2015) for example are among the few who perform a systematic analysis that not only includes the development of a comprehensive media corpus and the application of social science methods, but also engage deeply with theories and methods research on metaphor. They rely on five aspects of metaphor which they argue are of analytical importance.…”

Section: Metaphor and Synthetic Biology: Theoretical Dimensions For Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthetic biology in the German press: how implications of metaphors shape representations of morality and responsibility

Döring

2018

Life Sci Soc Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Synthetic biology (SynBio) represents a relatively young field of research which has developed into an important scientific endeavour. Characterised by a high degree of interdisciplinary work crossing disciplinary boundaries, such as biology, mathematics and engineering, SynBio has been, since its beginning, devoted to creating new biological functions, metabolic pathways or even minimal organisms. Although its often-articulated aim of developing new forms of life has so far not been archived, SynBio nowadays represents a well-established biotechnological approach and it has also attracted public concern, especially since Craig Venter’s work on Mycoplasma Mycoides JCVI-syn1.0. Taking these developments as a starting point, the paper empirically investigates the metaphorical representations of SynBio in two leading German media publications, the daily newspaper Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the weekly magazine Der Spiegel between 2000 and 2010. Using a novel combination of metaphor and co-occurrence analysis, the paper engages in a systematic examination of implicit moral implications inherent in linguistic images permeating this news coverage. It demonstrates a method of how media-metaphorical representations and their moral implications of SynBio could analytically be revealed and analysed. In doing so, it aims at contributing to empirical ethical analyses of the news coverage on SynBio in particular and offers an approach that methodologically adds to literature on responsible language use, which is emerging in science and technology studies and ethical analyses of new technologies.

show abstract

“…Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology now offers potential editing of the human germline (O'Keefe et al, 2015). Genetic engineering technology is expanding globally.…”

Section: Genetic Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen Science and Biomedical Research: Implications for Bioethics Theory and Practice

Callaghan

2016

InformingSciJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Certain trends in scientific research have important relevance to bioethics theory and practice. A growing stream of literature relates to increasing transparency and inclusivity of populations (stakeholders) in scientific research, from high volume data collection, synthesis, and analysis to verification and ethical scrutiny. The emergence of this stream of literature has implications for bioethics theory and practice. This paper seeks to make explicit these streams of literature and to relate these to bioethical issues, through consideration of certain extreme examples of scientific research where bioethical engagement is vital. Implications for theory and practice are derived, offering useful insights derived from multidisciplinary theory. Arguably, rapidly developing fields of citizen science such as informing science and others seeking to maximise stakeholder involvement in both research and bioethical engagement have emerged as a response to these types of issues; radically enhanced stakeholder engagement in science may herald a new maximally inclusive and transparent paradigm in bioethics based on lessons gained from exposure to increasingly uncertain ethical contexts of biomedical research.

show abstract

“Editing” Genes: A Case Study About How Language Matters in Bioethics

Cited by 53 publications

References 18 publications

Healing Without Waging War: Beyond Military Metaphors in Medicine and HIV Cure Research

Healing Without Waging War: Beyond Military Metaphors in Medicine and HIV Cure Research

Synthetic biology in the German press: how implications of metaphors shape representations of morality and responsibility

Citizen Science and Biomedical Research: Implications for Bioethics Theory and Practice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About