CorporealSemiotics:TheBodyoftheText/theTextoftheBody 339
Re-WritingtheBookofLife:Genomics^21
The "culture of life" propagated by neocons and the religious right
attains even greater significance against the background of a wave of
new, potentially transformative biotechnologies, new pharmacological
productsandthespreadofdigitalhealthprojectsevenintoprivatelife.^22
Itwouldtakemorethanabookchaptertolistheretherecentdiscoveries
in these fields. Dolly the clone sheep was yesterday's news; today's
"biotech gold rush in medicine" (A. Elliott 110) is tossing up new
discoveries and new options at an almost daily rate. Revolutionary bio-
technologies already available at this time include genetic editing
(CRISDPR, the deletion by "molecular scissors" of genetic
deformations,), neuro-engineering (repairing, replacing, or enhancing
properties of the brain or the spinal cord), bio-banking (the storage of
biological samples for later genetic modification), bio-pharming
(molecular-based targeted drugs), and nutraceutical foods (genetically
composed dietary supplements). Most recently, the discovery of how
human-inducedpluripotentstemcellscanbeturnedintonervecellswas
awardedtheNobelPrizeforMedicine.Andmoreistocome.^23
Taken together, these technicological innovations (some may call
them revolutions) are in the years to come likely not only to disrupt
existing "somatic conventions" (Edwards 288) but to fundamentally
change attitudes toward the biological basis of life and thus usher in a
wholenew"cultureoflife"oftheirown.Whilemuchofwhatisinstore
(^21) For terminological clarification, I will here maintain the distinction described
abovebetweengenetics(thestudyofthetransmissionofheritablematerialfrom
one generation to the next) and genomics (the study of DNA material for the
sake of finding variations that affect health, susceptibility to disease, or
degenerativeprocess).
(^22) Luxurycarmakersarecurrentlyengagedinthefieldof"automotivehealth"as
a new businessarea.Cars are orsoonwillbe equipped with sensors working in
wayssimilartowearables,monitorvitalsignsofthedriver("AudiPartnerswith
DigitalHealthIncubatortoDevelop'AutomotiveHealth'"n.pag.).
(^23) Virginia Blum (in a different but related context) sees in the near future the
advent of a "postbody" culture in which "the material body seems to lose all its
pathetic vulnerability in the face of a host of medical/technological advances
meanttokeepyouperfectfromthebeginningtotheend"(49).