Margaret Lock Books

This collection of essays explores the impact and evolution of emerging medical technologies through an interdisciplinary lens. Contributors analyze how these advancements shape healthcare practices, ethical considerations, and patient experiences. By integrating perspectives from various fields, the book provides a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and implications of new medical innovations on society and the medical profession.

This publication reflects the key issues discussed at the ‘Genomics, Genetics and Society: Bridging the Disciplinary Divides’ conference held in Toronto in April 2004, which gathered representatives of disciplines involved with genomics, genetics and related fields. Examining the key social, political and philosophical issues associated with applied genetics and genomics, the papers cover four intersecting themes. The introduction of genetic and genomic technologies into communities (e. g., screening programs) and its consequences is followed by a discussion on governance and policy making, examining the definition of expert knowledge. The second half of this special issue focuses on the postgenomic understanding of genes and its translation to the public as well as on the public understanding of and trust in scientific knowledge. Urging for improved dialogue between the public and scientists, this publication is of special interest to clinical geneticists, basic scientists in genomics, policy makers, sociologists, anthropologists and bioethicists.

Why our approaches to Alzheimer's and dementia are problematic and contradictory Due to rapidly aging populations, the number of people worldwide experiencing dementia is increasing, and the projections are grim. Despite billions of dollars invested in medical research, no effective treatment has been discovered for Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. The Alzheimer Conundrum exposes the predicaments embedded in current efforts to slow down or halt Alzheimer’s disease through early detection of pre-symptomatic biological changes in healthy individuals. Based on a meticulous account of the history of Alzheimer’s disease and extensive in-depth interviews, Margaret Lock highlights the limitations and the dissent associated with biomarker detection. Lock argues that basic research must continue, but should be complemented by a public health approach to prevention that is economically feasible, more humane, and much more effective globally than one exclusively focused on an increasingly harried search for a cure.

Traces the discourse that contributed to the locating of a different criterion of death in the brain, and its routinization in clinical practice in North America. This book demonstrates that death is not self-evident, that the space between life and death is historically and culturally constructed, fluid, multiple, and open to dispute. schovat popis