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A Cognitive Ethnography of Knowledge and Material CultureRNAi: An Instrument for Exploratory Experimentation

A Cognitive Ethnography of Knowledge and Material Culture: RNAi: An Instrument for Exploratory... [This chapter examines the conceptual space of RNA interference (RNAi), a crucial biotechnology in the experimental pipeline, and its transformation from an epistemic thing into a technical object. When adapted to the experimental system as a tool for investigating gene function to screen for therapeutic targets in the lice genome, RNAi enabled a new kind of “reverse vaccinology.” Drawing on historical and philosophical work on regulatory RNA research, I show how these new technologies germinate a distinct set of epistemic activities. Specifically, I capitalize on ideas by the “New Experimentalists,” and subsequent work on “exploratory experimentation,” which draws attention to the interplay between conceptual matters and materiality in the production of knowledge. The chapter fleshes out how RNAi, in conjunction with other technologies in the research pipeline, becomes a cognitive ecology, not just for testing hypotheses, but for promoting a range of epistemic goals.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Cognitive Ethnography of Knowledge and Material CultureRNAi: An Instrument for Exploratory Experimentation

Part of the Culture, Mind, and Society Book Series
Solberg, Mads
Springer Journals — Jun 16, 2021
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48 pages

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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
ISBN
978-3-030-72510-5
Pages
169 –217
DOI
10.1007/978-3-030-72511-2_4
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[This chapter examines the conceptual space of RNA interference (RNAi), a crucial biotechnology in the experimental pipeline, and its transformation from an epistemic thing into a technical object. When adapted to the experimental system as a tool for investigating gene function to screen for therapeutic targets in the lice genome, RNAi enabled a new kind of “reverse vaccinology.” Drawing on historical and philosophical work on regulatory RNA research, I show how these new technologies germinate a distinct set of epistemic activities. Specifically, I capitalize on ideas by the “New Experimentalists,” and subsequent work on “exploratory experimentation,” which draws attention to the interplay between conceptual matters and materiality in the production of knowledge. The chapter fleshes out how RNAi, in conjunction with other technologies in the research pipeline, becomes a cognitive ecology, not just for testing hypotheses, but for promoting a range of epistemic goals.]

Published: Jun 16, 2021

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