THE discovery that it was possible to grow cells in a lab dish transformed them from being the immutable building blocks of individual bodies into plastic, malleable resources with a life of their own. In Culturing Life, anthropologist Hannah Landecker skilfully interweaves the scientific, historical and cultural aspects of this transformation, and examines how cell culture challenges humanity鈥檚 notions of individuality and immortality. This disembodiment of life, she contends, has even changed the meaning of the word 鈥渂iological鈥�. Although well argued, the book is peppered with sociological concepts and language that make it hard going in places for the lay reader. Nonetheless, it gives an insightful and thought-provoking perspective on how technology has changed scientists鈥� and society鈥檚 understanding of life.
Culturing Life: How cells became technologies
Harvard University Press
