Life Histories of Genetic Disease

Patterns and Prevention in Postwar Medical Genetics

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Reference, History, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences
Cover of the book Life Histories of Genetic Disease by Andrew J. Hogan, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Andrew J. Hogan ISBN: 9781421420752
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: November 1, 2016
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Andrew J. Hogan
ISBN: 9781421420752
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: November 1, 2016
Imprint:
Language: English

Medical geneticists began mapping the chromosomal infrastructure piece by piece in the 1970s by focusing on what was known about individual genetic disorders. Five decades later, their infrastructure had become an edifice for prevention, allowing today’s expecting parents to choose to test prenatally for hundreds of disease-specific mutations using powerful genetic testing platforms. In Life Histories of Genetic Disease, Andrew J. Hogan explores how various diseases were "made genetic" after 1960, with the long-term aim of treating and curing them using gene therapy. In the process, he explains, these disorders were located in the human genome and became targets for prenatal prevention, while the ongoing promise of gene therapy remained on the distant horizon.

In narrating the history of research that contributed to diagnostic genetic medicine, Hogan describes the expanding scope of prenatal diagnosis and prevention. He draws on case studies of Prader-Willi, fragile X, DiGeorge, and velo-cardio-facial syndromes to illustrate that almost all testing in medical genetics is inseparable from the larger—and increasingly "big data"–oriented—aims of biomedical research. Hogan also reveals how contemporary genetic testing infrastructure reflects an intense collaboration among cytogeneticists, molecular biologists, and doctors specializing in human malformation.

Hogan critiques the modern ideology of genetic prevention, which suggests that all pregnancies are at risk for genetic disease and should be subject to extensive genomic screening. He examines the dilemmas and ethics of the use of prenatal diagnostic information in an era when medical geneticists and biotechnology companies have begun offering whole genome prenatal screening—essentially searching for any disease-causing mutation. Hogan’s focus and analysis is animated by ongoing scientific and scholarly debates about the extent to which the preventive focus in contemporary medical genetics resembles the aims of earlier eugenicists. Written for historians, sociologists, and anthropologists of science and medicine, as well as bioethics scholars, physicians, geneticists, and families affected by genetic conditions, Life Histories of Genetic Disease is a profound exploration of the scientific culture surrounding malformation and mutation.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Medical geneticists began mapping the chromosomal infrastructure piece by piece in the 1970s by focusing on what was known about individual genetic disorders. Five decades later, their infrastructure had become an edifice for prevention, allowing today’s expecting parents to choose to test prenatally for hundreds of disease-specific mutations using powerful genetic testing platforms. In Life Histories of Genetic Disease, Andrew J. Hogan explores how various diseases were "made genetic" after 1960, with the long-term aim of treating and curing them using gene therapy. In the process, he explains, these disorders were located in the human genome and became targets for prenatal prevention, while the ongoing promise of gene therapy remained on the distant horizon.

In narrating the history of research that contributed to diagnostic genetic medicine, Hogan describes the expanding scope of prenatal diagnosis and prevention. He draws on case studies of Prader-Willi, fragile X, DiGeorge, and velo-cardio-facial syndromes to illustrate that almost all testing in medical genetics is inseparable from the larger—and increasingly "big data"–oriented—aims of biomedical research. Hogan also reveals how contemporary genetic testing infrastructure reflects an intense collaboration among cytogeneticists, molecular biologists, and doctors specializing in human malformation.

Hogan critiques the modern ideology of genetic prevention, which suggests that all pregnancies are at risk for genetic disease and should be subject to extensive genomic screening. He examines the dilemmas and ethics of the use of prenatal diagnostic information in an era when medical geneticists and biotechnology companies have begun offering whole genome prenatal screening—essentially searching for any disease-causing mutation. Hogan’s focus and analysis is animated by ongoing scientific and scholarly debates about the extent to which the preventive focus in contemporary medical genetics resembles the aims of earlier eugenicists. Written for historians, sociologists, and anthropologists of science and medicine, as well as bioethics scholars, physicians, geneticists, and families affected by genetic conditions, Life Histories of Genetic Disease is a profound exploration of the scientific culture surrounding malformation and mutation.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book The Unknown World of the Mobile Home by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Emmy Noether's Wonderful Theorem by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Pain by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Integrating the US Military by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Voices at Work by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Being Cool by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book The Morehouse Mystique by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Phantom Menace or Looming Danger? by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Unbiased Stereology by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book The 160-Character Solution by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Pure Products of America, Inc. by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book The Second Seminole War and the Limits of American Aggression by Andrew J. Hogan
Cover of the book Regulating Gun Sales by Andrew J. Hogan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy