4.2 Article

Blood culture: reimag(in)ing life at a cellular scale

Journal

INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
Volume 46, Issue 4, Pages 655-676

Publisher

ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/03080188.2020.1855377

Keywords

Blood; tissue culture; synthetic biology; art; body; scale; biotechnology; tissue economy

Funding

  1. NHS Blood and Transplant RD
  2. National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)
  3. NHSBT
  4. University of the West of England [IS-BTU-1214-10032]
  5. BBSRC/EPSRC grant [BB/L01386X/1]
  6. University of Bristol Brigstow Institute Seed Corn Grant
  7. BioDesign Institute, University of Bristol
  8. NIHR

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This paper discusses the collaboration between an artist, a scientist, and two social scientists in research on cultured red blood cells. They reflect on their efforts to study cellular processes, particularly in the production of laboratory-grown blood, and highlight the generation of knowledge that transcends disciplinary boundaries.
This paper reflects on collaboration between an artist, a scientist, and two social scientists involved in research on cultured red blood cells. Cell culture is part of a suite of methods used by bioscientists to study cellular processes outside of the living organism. The production of laboratory-grown blood is at the cutting-edge of cell culture and regenerative medicine, with hopes for significant therapeutic benefit in the future, particularly for patients with rare blood types or with conditions that require frequent blood transfusions. We reflect on our collaboration and on artistic experimentation with spatial dimensions of cells and scaffolds used in red blood cell culture, highlighting our efforts to generate knowledge that cuts across our respective disciplinary locations. We situate our work together in the context of the increasing molecularization of the body in science and medicine, and on the efforts to 'open up' scientific practice to multiple publics.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.2
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available