Evolution Made to Order

Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth-Century America

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Botany, Evolution
Cover of the book Evolution Made to Order by Helen Anne Curry, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Helen Anne Curry ISBN: 9780226390116
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: November 11, 2016
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Helen Anne Curry
ISBN: 9780226390116
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: November 11, 2016
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

In the mid-twentieth century, American plant breeders, frustrated by their dependence on natural variation in creating new crops and flowers, eagerly sought technologies that could extend human control over nature. Their search led them to celebrate a series of strange tools: an x-ray beam directed at dormant seeds, a drop of chromosome-altering colchicine on a flower bud, and a piece of radioactive cobalt in a field of growing crops. According to scientific and popular reports of the time, these mutation-inducing methods would generate variation on demand, in turn allowing breeders to genetically engineer crops and flowers to order. Creating a new crop or flower would soon be as straightforward as innovating any other modern industrial product.
 
 In Evolution Made to Order, Helen Anne Curry traces the history of America’s pursuit of tools that could speed up evolution. It is an immersive journey through the scientific and social worlds of midcentury genetics and plant breeding and a compelling exploration of American cultures of innovation. As Curry reveals, the creation of genetic technologies was deeply entangled with other areas of technological innovation—from electromechanical to chemical to nuclear. An important study of biological research and innovation in America, Evolution Made to Order provides vital historical context for current worldwide ethical and policy debates over genetic engineering.
 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the mid-twentieth century, American plant breeders, frustrated by their dependence on natural variation in creating new crops and flowers, eagerly sought technologies that could extend human control over nature. Their search led them to celebrate a series of strange tools: an x-ray beam directed at dormant seeds, a drop of chromosome-altering colchicine on a flower bud, and a piece of radioactive cobalt in a field of growing crops. According to scientific and popular reports of the time, these mutation-inducing methods would generate variation on demand, in turn allowing breeders to genetically engineer crops and flowers to order. Creating a new crop or flower would soon be as straightforward as innovating any other modern industrial product.
 
 In Evolution Made to Order, Helen Anne Curry traces the history of America’s pursuit of tools that could speed up evolution. It is an immersive journey through the scientific and social worlds of midcentury genetics and plant breeding and a compelling exploration of American cultures of innovation. As Curry reveals, the creation of genetic technologies was deeply entangled with other areas of technological innovation—from electromechanical to chemical to nuclear. An important study of biological research and innovation in America, Evolution Made to Order provides vital historical context for current worldwide ethical and policy debates over genetic engineering.
 

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Time for Frankie Coolin by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Uncomfortable Situations by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book The Mahabharata by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book The Great Movies IV by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Greater Ethiopia by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Making the Second Ghetto by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Outbreak by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book "Do You Know...?" by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Selling the Yellow Jersey by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Issues in Law and Economics by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Toward "Natural Right and History" by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Rootedness by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Power without Victory by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book A Fragile Life by Helen Anne Curry
Cover of the book Why Birds Matter by Helen Anne Curry
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy