Big Tissue and Society (360G-Wellcome-208198_Z_17_Z)

‘Big Tissue’ marks a new era of biological innovation based on industrial production delivering a step-change in the quantities of bodily tissue engineered. This project analyses four case studies of significant upscale in human and animal tissue production: cultured blood, cultured skin, cultured meat, and biofabricated animal tissue. Collectively these case studies illuminate the complicated and contradictory ways Big Tissue will transform our sense of what we can do with the body. Qualitative methods (interviews, observations, documentary analysis) will inform a sociological and Science and Technology Studies (STS) perspective. Key analytical themes include commercialisation and value, human-animal relations, the sensory, and the ontological and ethical status of each case and the broader category of Big Tissue. The research will assess current practice and articulate future social science research agendas about human and animal health. Key goals: -Analyse the current ontological, ethical, commercial, and material context of Big Tissue through empirical analysis of four case studies. -Articulate the novel relationships invoked by Big Tissue and how the social science agenda must respond. -Deliver six papers, a monograph, significant public engagement, and contribute to policy at governmental and third sector level.