What Lies Beneath

When it comes to synthetic biology as it relates to humans, a common narrative to emerge is one of the transformative potential it may have for our bodies. Yet when we look at the scientific practices themselves, are these transformative notions of the human body anywhere to be found? Join us as we explore how the human appears in synthetic biology practices, where bodies are to be found, and what we can learn from asking these questions.

Links between in-utero exposures to environmental chemicals and the future health of the individual are frequently reported. Recently, there has been much debate about the role that in-utero exposure to painkillers (also known as analgesics) might play in the development of asthma and reproductive disorders. The scientific studies that are attempting to answer these questions involve many different experimental approaches. Using exposure to analgesics as an example, we will explore how the studies are conducted, how they are interpreted by the scientists and how they are portrayed in the media