Dissertation Research: Genomics and the Future of Aging

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

This ethnographic dissertation research project in Science and Technology Studies asks how investigations into genes and genomes blend the resources of the biological sciences and the computer industry to produce new meanings and possibilities for human aging. It will examine how current efforts in genomics open up prospects for more "successful" aging through the management of age-related diseases and extensions in life span, bringing together discourses of anti-aging with notions of reengineering and repair. It posits that the work of aligning organic and computational materials and ideas in genomics research is consequential for the development of biological theory, and that this is especially worth analyzing in the field of human aging. Aging has long been contested as a natural process that both invites and resists human intervention, and it is now becoming an object of technological dreams, just as reproduction has been for the past several decades. As in the case of reproduction, the possibility of intervening in aging raises questions about how the categories of the natural and normal are constituted and how they intersect and diverge. In a postgenomic era, cultural concepts of nature and normality are grounded (in part) in the mundane details of gene chips and other computational tools, which biologists use to identify age-related genes and develop models of the aging process. This project seeks to trace the relations that shape new visions of successful aging around the combined mechanisms of genes and computers. It focuses on the interpretive work of biologists, computer scientists, and others who collaborate on the analysis of genomic data to produce meaningful, coherent stories about what genes do. NSF funds support ethnographic research at a research lab in molecular and cell biology, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is led by a senior researcher in the biology of aging. Over a period of 12 months, the researcher will engage with scientists whose work relies on computational resources and access to engineering colleagues in order to identify how the capabilities and constraints of local information technologies are factored into experimental design Through its ethnographic approach, this study explores the linkages between new biological facts and societal concerns about health and youth, as they are articulated in the everyday practices of working with materials as diverse as tissue cultures and database software. This project offers benefits to society in fostering public discourse on the implications of genomic research and new theories of human aging. Even as the current science emphasizes more complexity and indeterminacy in genes and their interactions, public discourse tends toward genetic determinism. A more nuanced account of genomic analysis and discovery will help non-scientists understand how to interpret new results and ask questions about the biosocial implications of genomic knowledge. In addition, an anthropological perspective on the blending of computation with biology can enhance the collaborative efforts of practitioners in these fields.