Why Democracies Need Science by Harry Collins & Robert Evans

The Blurb On The Back:

We live in times of increasing public distrust of the main institutions of modern society. Experts, including scientists, are suspected of working to hidden agendas or serving vested interests. The solution is usually seen as more public scrutiny and more control by democratic institutions - experts must be subservient to social and political life.

In this book, Harry Collins and Robert Evans take a radically different view. They argue that, rather than democracies needing to be protected from science, democratic societies need to learn how to value science in this new age of uncertainty. By emphasising that science is a moral enterprise, guided by values that should matter to all, they show how science can support democracy without destroying it and propose a new institution - The Owls - that can mediate between science and society and improve technological decision-making for the benefit of all.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

This book defends what Collins and Evans call Wave Three of Science Studies, which aims to preserve the expertise of science and better manage its trade off with democratic accountability most notably though establishing a new institution called The Owls who can mediate between the two groups as some kind of honest broker in a highly theoretical read with noble intentions but which never really convinced me.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

Bioinformation by Bronwyn Parry and Beth Greenhough

The Blurb On The Back:

From DNA sequences stored on computer databases to archived forensic samples and biomedical records, bioinformation comes in many forms. Its unique provenance - the fact that it is 'mined' from the very fabric of the human body - makes it a mercurial resource; one that no one seemingly owns, but in which many have deeply vested interests.

In this groundbreaking book, authors Bronwyn Parry and Beth Greenhough explore the complex economic, social and political questions arising from the creation and use of bioinformation. Drawing on a range of highly topical cases - including the commercialisation of human sequence data, the forensic use of retained bioinformation, biobanking and genealogical research - they show how dramatically demand for this resource has grown, driving a burgeoning but often highly controversial global economy in bioinformation. But, they argue, change is afoot as new models emerge that challenge the ethos of privatisation by creating instead a dynamic open source 'bioinformation commons' available for all future generations.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

In this book Parry and Greenhough look at the ethical, legal and moral issues relating to the use and storage of bioinformation including issues such as donor consent, the use of bioinformation for forensics purposes and biobanking for medical research in a fascinating read that serves as an excellent introduction to anyone wishing to know more about the topic.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.