Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics
In view of the end of the golden years of the Norwegian oil economy, ocean genetic resources are being advertised in policy environments as holding great potential for the future of the country. Microbes have increased in popularity as promising agents of the Norwegian new bioeconomy, as advances in...
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ftoslouniv:oai:www.duo.uio.no:10852/92732 2023-05-15T15:06:05+02:00 Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics Delgado, Ana 2021-10-22T15:46:22Z http://hdl.handle.net/10852/92732 https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211055693 EN eng NFR/190743 Delgado, Ana . Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics. Science, Technology and Human Values. 2021 http://hdl.handle.net/10852/92732 1947891 info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.jtitle=Science, Technology and Human Values&rft.volume=&rft.spage=&rft.date=2021 Science, Technology and Human Values 29 https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211055693 Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY 0162-2439 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed PublishedVersion 2021 ftoslouniv https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211055693 2022-03-23T23:33:51Z In view of the end of the golden years of the Norwegian oil economy, ocean genetic resources are being advertised in policy environments as holding great potential for the future of the country. Microbes have increased in popularity as promising agents of the Norwegian new bioeconomy, as advances in gene sequencing technologies and genomics have made them more accessible. This paper examines the turn toward digital sequence data in bioprospecting to inquire about its political implications. It draws on a combination of empirical materials to describe the infrastructural work that goes into extracting microbes from their in situ locations in arctic and subarctic waters to in silico collections and databases. I argue that in that infrastructural work, microbes may become both more promising and more elusive public and political matters. As biodiversity is turned into data, bioprospecting appears as less dependent on material samples, which may ultimately render policy frameworks for biodiversity governance obsolete. The shift toward big sequence data in bioprospecting entails shifts in how promise is attributed to biodiversity, which life forms appear to be more promising, and how such life forms come to appear as public good. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Subarctic Universitet i Oslo: Digitale utgivelser ved UiO (DUO) Arctic Science, Technology, & Human Values 016224392110556 |
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Open Polar |
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Universitet i Oslo: Digitale utgivelser ved UiO (DUO) |
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ftoslouniv |
language |
English |
description |
In view of the end of the golden years of the Norwegian oil economy, ocean genetic resources are being advertised in policy environments as holding great potential for the future of the country. Microbes have increased in popularity as promising agents of the Norwegian new bioeconomy, as advances in gene sequencing technologies and genomics have made them more accessible. This paper examines the turn toward digital sequence data in bioprospecting to inquire about its political implications. It draws on a combination of empirical materials to describe the infrastructural work that goes into extracting microbes from their in situ locations in arctic and subarctic waters to in silico collections and databases. I argue that in that infrastructural work, microbes may become both more promising and more elusive public and political matters. As biodiversity is turned into data, bioprospecting appears as less dependent on material samples, which may ultimately render policy frameworks for biodiversity governance obsolete. The shift toward big sequence data in bioprospecting entails shifts in how promise is attributed to biodiversity, which life forms appear to be more promising, and how such life forms come to appear as public good. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Delgado, Ana |
spellingShingle |
Delgado, Ana Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics |
author_facet |
Delgado, Ana |
author_sort |
Delgado, Ana |
title |
Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics |
title_short |
Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics |
title_full |
Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics |
title_fullStr |
Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics |
title_sort |
microbial extractions: sequence-based bioprospecting, augmented promises and elusive politics |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10852/92732 https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211055693 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Subarctic |
op_source |
0162-2439 |
op_relation |
NFR/190743 Delgado, Ana . Microbial Extractions: Sequence-based Bioprospecting, Augmented Promises and Elusive Politics. Science, Technology and Human Values. 2021 http://hdl.handle.net/10852/92732 1947891 info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.jtitle=Science, Technology and Human Values&rft.volume=&rft.spage=&rft.date=2021 Science, Technology and Human Values 29 https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211055693 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211055693 |
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Science, Technology, & Human Values |
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016224392110556 |
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