BIOS Annual Lecture: Experiments Without Borders: biology in the labs of life

On Thursday 15 June, 2006, Prof. Sheila Jasanoff gave the first annual BIOS Lecture, titled "Experiments Without Borders: Biology in the Labs of Life".

As life sciences leave the laboratory, and as their influence extends through all aspects of society, so scientific experiments, too, have begun to impinge upon forms of life that encompass much more than the activities of science itself. One response to this has been for governments to try to engage people earlier and more actively in the work of science.Reviewing some of these efforts, this lecture reflects on their implications for the democratic governance of the biosciences and biotechnologies.

Sheila Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and as president of the Society for Social Studies of Science.

(Photos by Filippa Lentzos)

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