Promotes reflection on the socio-ethical and policy and regulatory aspects of genomics and biotechnology. This collection of essays illuminates the common themes surrounding this contested issue and considers the politics, public perception, ethics, media representations, and future possibilities of genomics.

Introduction Edna Einsiedel Part 1: The Financial Pipeline The Challenge of Creating, Protecting, and Exploiting Networked Knowledge Peter W.B. Phillips From Bank to Bench to Pharmacy Shelf: Biotechnology and the Culture of Finance Usher Fleising and Charles Mather Part 2: Policies and Publics Agricultural Biotechnology in Europe at the Crossroads Helge Torgersen Angels of Vision: Stakeholders and Human Embryonic Stem Cell Policy Development Robin Downey, Rose Geransar, and Edna Einsiedel Part 3: From Public Percetpion to Public Participation -- Consumer Choice and Dicision--Making Involving Communities: A Matter of Trust and Communication Beatrice Godard Canadian Attitudes to Genetically Modified Food Michelle Veeman, Wiktor Adamowicz, Wuyang Hu, and Anne Hunnemeyer Part 4: Framing the Gene -- The Media Sphere Media Representations of Genetic Research Tania M. Bubela and Timothy Caulfield Lay People Actively Process Messages About Genetics Celeste M. Codit Telling Technological Tales: The Media and the Evolution of Biotechnology Edna Einsiedel Part 5: Second Thoughts -- Ethical Issues Ethical Analysis of Representation in the Governance of Biotechnology Michael M. Burgess The Regulation of Animal Biotechnology: At the Crossroads of Law and Ethics Lyne Letourneau Second Thoughts on Biobanks: The Icelandic Experience Gardar arnason Part 6: Reflections Beyond the Here and Now In Search of Nanoscale Economics: Intellectual Property and Nano--Mercantilism in the Pre--Assembler and Assembler Stages of Nanotechnology Michael D. Metha and Linda Goldenberg Inhuman, Superhuman, or Posthuman? Jon Turney Part 7: Conclusions The Future of Genomics Peter W.B. Phillips and Edna Einsiedel Contributors Index

Edna Einsiedel is University Professor and Professor of Communications Studies in the Department of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary. She has been a member of numerous policy committees and written on biotechnology for the Canadian government. Edna Einsiedel is University Professor and Professor of Communications Studies in the Department of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary. She has been a member of numerous policy committees and written on biotechnology for the Canadian government. Timothy Caulfield is the Research Director of the Health Law Institute, professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, and a Senior Health Scholar with the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. He is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and an active researcher on the social issues associated with biotechnology. Frank Timmermans is a research assistant at the University of Calgary.