Bioscience, Governance and Politics - Hardcover

"This small book ... [will] be of interest, or even a source of enlightenment, to those pathologists who worked through the 'tissue retention' crisis of the opening years of this millennium and are still wondering 'How on earth did that happen to us?' ... The book is well written." - Bulletin of the Royal College of Pathologists

"Bioscience, Governance and Politics is a captivating and provocative read. Scholars in medical law, STS, SSK, policy studies and political science will enjoy the narrative presentation." - Medical Law Review

"The original research presented in the book is fascinating, its strength being the interviews with science governance's key players ... Bioscience, Governance and Politics is a fascinating and important book for anyone interested in the governance of bioscience in the UK or the more general issues of the uses and abuses of 'the public' in policymaking." - BioNews

Bioscience, Governance and Politics introduces a theoretical understanding of change in the governance of bioscience research over the past twenty years. In particular it examines change shaped by approaches developed by Science and Technology Studies and Sociology of Scientific Knowledge theorists, and taken up by a range of actors. Two internationally-significant case studies are used to explore the issues: research using human tissue and research using human embryos in the UK. Throughout the book, interviews with leading players in science, politics and governance provide expert interpretations of the changes to bioscience research in the last two decades.