Beyond PCR: Biotechnology as an Emerging Culture

the 1993 Nobel Prize for chemistry, Cetus' scientists contribution, which ultimately ended up in a drawer of Making PCR. A Story of Biotechnology. history, proved significant enough to justify an expola-rion of this issue. Hence, more than an account of the invention of PCR, Rabinow's working approach should be viewed as " an pp. $22.50 experiment in posing the problem of who has the author-ity—and responsibility—to represent experience and knowledge. " Cetus Corporation offered a privileged re-Far from limiting his work to a description of a fundamen-search environment where team spirit boosted motiva-tal discovery that ultimately transformed the practices tion. The breakthrough of PCR and its consequent first and potential of molecular biology, Paul Rabinow's Mak-Nobel Prize based on research performed in a starting PCR is a true voyage into the emerging environment up biotechnology company, is significant: it should be of biotechnology during the eighties. understood as the recognition that start-up biotechnol-The author, professor of anthropology at the Univer-ogy companies are able to produce creative research sity of California, Berkeley, defines himself as " curious projects. Cetus' working ambiance and management about the form of life in the making both within the labs style made it possible for scientists to pursue experi-and beyond (as tentative, divergent, and emergent as it ments aimed at proving that the concept of PCR works, is). " As such, Rabinow chose to explore the steps and despite initial doubts about the outcome of such experi-circumstances of how (and by whom) the polymerase ments. Concluding his work, with what should be seen chain reaction (PCR) was conceived at Cetus Corpora-as an overall optimistic vision towards future research, tion, the first recombinant DNA start-up company, Paul Rabinow qualifies Cetus scientists " as earnest, in-founded in 1971. In the perspective of this ethnographic telligent, hardworking, and reasonably optimistic. These approach, Cetus should be considered, as defined by Americans are real professionals (...). Their scientific the author, to be a " fortuitous space of experimenta-practice, they firmly believe, contributes to a general tion, " in which one may see " a certain kind of instrumen-broadening of scientific understanding and technical talization of sites, subjects, and objects coming to-mastery, to an eventual improvement of public health, gether, for a time, into a contingent ensemble. " For his and even to the betterment of society. " part, Rabinow was concerned about learning enough As much as PCR became a milestone …