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

这项研究将展示从事生物安全的科学家如何定义哪些生命形式被认为是墨西哥本土的，哪些是外来的；如何利用生物学研究来确定哪些人类活动促进了良好的本地物种或微生物或病毒菌株的持续生长和发展；哪些做法助长了危及当地生态和生命的危险外来物种的传播。该项目将跟踪从事各种形式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，再到保护人类生物安全免受新出现的传染病的侵害。更广泛的影响生物安全实践影响广泛的人类活动，因为所产生的科学知识被转化为保护健康和生态的政府法规和项目。实验室开发的生物安全理念有可能影响墨西哥的农业、贸易、卫生和环境实践；本项目将详细研究这一过程。更抽象地说，研究这些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，也将有助于理解如何将墨西哥民族生物学的思想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.