Doctoral Dissertation Research: Experimenting with Security: Mexican Biology and Biosecurity

这项研究将表明，从事生物安全的科学家如何界定哪些生命形式被认为是墨西哥本土的，哪些是外来的;生物研究如何被用来界定哪些人类做法促进了良好的本土物种或微生物或病毒株的持续生长和发展;以及哪些做法促进了危险的外来物种的传播，使当地生态和生命处于危险之中。该项目将跟踪从事各种形式的生物安全研究的科学家小组，从评估转基因生物的风险，到控制入侵物种和恢复本地物种，到保护人类生物安全免受新出现的传染病的影响。生物安保做法影响到广泛的人类活动，因为产生的科学知识转化为政府法规和项目，以保护健康和生态。在实验室中形成的生物安保思想有可能影响墨西哥的农业、贸易、卫生和环境做法;本项目将详细研究这一进程。更抽象地说，研究这种知识的构建将有助于理解墨西哥自然，民族和身份之间的联系。随着生物安全研究的发展，也将有助于了解墨西哥国家生物学的想法如何纳入科学机构和实践，包括mestizaje（或混合物），遗产以及人，植物和地方之间的联系。

The research will show how scientists engaging in biosecurity define which life forms are considered natively Mexican and which are alien; how biological research is used to define which human practices foster the continued growth and development of good, native species or microbial or viral strains; and which practices facilitate the spread of dangerous, alien species that put local ecologies and life at risk. This project will follow groups of scientists engaged in various forms of biosecurity research, from assessing the risk of genetically modified organisms, to controlling invasive species and restoring native ones, to protecting human biosecurity against emerging infectious disease. Broader impactBiosecurity practices affect a wide range of human activity as the scientific knowledge produced is translated into governmental regulations and projects to protect health and ecologies. The ideas about biosecurity developed in laboratories have the potential to affect agriculture, trade, health, and environmental practices in Mexico; this project will study this process in detail. More abstractly, studying the construction of this knowledge will contribute to understanding connections between nature, nation, and identity in Mexico. Following the development of biosecurity research will also contribute to understanding of how ideas of Mexican national biologies are incorporated into scientific institutions and practices, including mestizaje (or mixture), patrimony, and the linkages between people, plants, and places.