{"title":"Making an Ecological Trap","authors":"Wakana Suzuki","doi":"10.3167/sa.2022.660202","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Inspired by recent discussions of ‘traps’ among STS and anthropology scholars, this article explores how Japanese scientists capture iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells to take advantage of their potentialities. Since iPS cells are tiny, unstable, and permeable, humans cannot intervene directly to transform their morphology and nature. Making a proper environment for their thriving—in other words, creating a trap—is the only way for humans to successfully harness and direct the cells’ potentiality. Based on long-term fieldwork in one laboratory, I suggest that the technologies, institutions, and laws that mediate between humans and cells can be understood as a series of ‘ecological traps’. Ultimately, iPS cells resist unilateral standardization and commercialization, forcing humans to adapt their own behaviors and governing systems to accommodate cells.","PeriodicalId":51701,"journal":{"name":"Social Analysis","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0000,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Social Analysis","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3167/sa.2022.660202","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Inspired by recent discussions of ‘traps’ among STS and anthropology scholars, this article explores how Japanese scientists capture iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells to take advantage of their potentialities. Since iPS cells are tiny, unstable, and permeable, humans cannot intervene directly to transform their morphology and nature. Making a proper environment for their thriving—in other words, creating a trap—is the only way for humans to successfully harness and direct the cells’ potentiality. Based on long-term fieldwork in one laboratory, I suggest that the technologies, institutions, and laws that mediate between humans and cells can be understood as a series of ‘ecological traps’. Ultimately, iPS cells resist unilateral standardization and commercialization, forcing humans to adapt their own behaviors and governing systems to accommodate cells.
期刊介绍：
Social Analysis is an international peer-reviewed journal devoted to exploring the analytical potentials of anthropological research. It encourages contributions grounded in original empirical research that critically probe established paradigms of social and cultural analysis. The journal expresses the best that anthropology has to offer by exploring in original ways the relationship between ethnographic materials and theoretical insight. By forging creative and critical engagements with cultural, political, and social processes, it also opens new avenues of communication between anthropology and the humanities as well as other social sciences. The journal publishes four issues per year, including regular Special Issues on particular themes. The Editors welcome individual articles that focus on diverse topics and regions, reflect varied theoretical approaches and methods, and aim to appeal widely within anthropology and beyond. Proposals for Special Issues are selected by the Editorial Board through an annual competitive call.
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