Cells and Human: Back to Origins or a Challenge of Revaluation. The Case of Stem Cells.

1. Cells and Human:Back to Origins or a Challenge of Revaluation. The Case of Stem Cells. Jekaterina Kalēja

3. - Since the beginning of time and until today there have been existing phenomena which one can always encounter. Now have a look at photos! Does anybody see what they have in common? Liv! -There are people at all of them. -Exactly! It’s a wonderful answer! Whatever part of the world you travel to, you will find communities of people, similar as yours. You are also a community. You are pupils, family.

4. Mary Douglas • Universal schematism of cognitive systems – universal categories and schemas to organise our experience • Society is an example and model of building any schemas of classifications

5. Mary Douglas Stem Cells as a SymbolicCategory • Order vs.ambiguity • Certain categories vs. transcending, mixed(uncertainty/ unclearness) • Gray zone: opportunity or danger • Media discourse analysis • “We <...> are positively re-ordering our environment, making it conform to an idea.” (M.Douglas, 2002 [1966]: 2)

6. Basics of Human Origin • Progressive technology explores the starting and recovery point of human [body?] • Progressive technology translates a miracle of conception and maintaining wholesome to processes of cell development and regulation

8. Basics of Human Origin • “...protection of life, health, privacy and dignity of human subjects in biomedical research...” (The Newsletter of the International Association of Bioethics/ Issue No. 21/ Nov 2008/ Bioethics in Singapore/ S. Lim and W. C. Ho/ 23 – 27pp.) • Living/ non-living • Whole/ part • Person/ non-person • If living/ person could be a material?

10. Origin of Material • Embryonic, fetal stem cells and adult stem cells • iPC (induced pluripotent cells) – adult non-pluripotent cells transfected/ “infected by transformation” to pluriponent state using retroviruses affecting certain stem cell-associated genes

11. Challenge of Revaluation • Unrevealed/unnoticed part ob the body => object of study and knowledge => actor graced with agency (own voice) • Example of redefinition of family(kin lines – extended family) • Why now stem cell has a force to cause the redefinition of symbolic categories? • Whypeoplearepayingrealmoneyforinnovationwhich just seems to occur?

12. M. Callon,B. Latour, J.Lawand Actor-Network Theory • Heterogenous relations - material-semiotic networks/ relations (transient, consistnat making – remaking=> relations repeattedly “performed”) • Astors • Alianses - networks • Translation of interests into acting

13. Stem Cells and ANT • Especially during last 20 years stem cells are not just a part of human bodies • In collaboration with scientists in laboratories and with doctors in clinics stem cells have got a new status • Stem cells became a newactor, who the scientists and the doctors introduced to us, • but who has its agencyto act through the network scientists and clinicians participate in and to give a rise for new networks as well

14. Stem Cells and ANT • Questions • What is the problem/ field? • Who are the actors? Mediators? • What are the interests of actors? • Alianses

15. Back to Origin - Progressive Biotechology, but Still Asking the Same Questions? • Who has knowledge? • Who has resources (money, qualified personal)? • Who has power economical and political? • Who is a recipient of realization of this knowledge and power (gender matters)? • Who has opportunities? • Revaluating/ reshaping borders of symbolic structure? Significantsymbolicrelationsshouldberepatedlyreaffirmed

16. Whocomesback to origin?ChickenandEgg Dilemma • Stem cells are an origin of us • We are an origin of stem cells