Research Catalog

Title

How to think about science. Episode 15.

Publication

[Toronto] : [CBC Radio One], [2008]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Duden, Barbara.
• Samerski, Silja, 1970-
• Cayley, David.
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Description

1 audio disc (55 min.) : digital; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

When Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen coined the term gene, in the early years of the 20th century, he described it as "a very applicable little word." And so it has turned out. Once a purely scientific and technical term, it has now spread into common, daily use. People speak familiarly of "my genes" or "your genes", newspapers report the latest "gene find," and an American company - 23 and Me - now offers anyone with a thousand dollars and a saliva sample the chance to have their genome mapped. Under the slogan "Genetics Just Got Personal," the company's website invites browsers to find out "what ... your genes say about you." But what happens when a scientific term migrates from the laboratory to the street in this way. What does the word gene signify in everyday speech? The question is posed by two German scholars: Barbara Duden and Silya Samerski. For several years they've been pondering what they call the pop-gene, the gene in popular culture.

Uniform Title

Ideas (Radio program)

Subject

• Duden, Barbara > Interviews
• Samerski, Silja, 1970- > Interviews
• Human genetics > Moral and ethical aspects
• Human genetics > Social aspects
• Human body > Social aspects
• Medical genetics > Social aspects
• Genetic counseling > Moral and ethical aspects
• Prenatal diagnosis > Moral and ethical aspects

Note

• Originally broadcast on CBC Radio One's program, Ideas on March 19, 2008.
• Compact disc.

OCLC

• ocn270772652
• 270772652
• SCSB-5403474

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries