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Rating: 
Summary: An innovative look at biotech...
Review: This is an exciting book - it's basically a look at biotech from the angle of new media or media studies. Clear, astute descriptions of current research, as well as innovative ways of looking at the research. And best of all, there's none of the familiar jargon of cyborgs, cyberspace, or "virtual" this or that. Thacker goes beyond what alot of science studies and media studies have said on this topic, and opens up worthwhile new avenues to explore.As a recent grad student, I've read more than enough books on biotech. Also, I've enjoyed Thacker's various posts to lists like Nettime and other online journals; he always seems to cut to the core of an issue, but without simplifying things. An example is the chapter on systems biology, which raises alot of basic questions for research today. Thacker looks at a range of approaches that eschew the gene-based imperatives of the drug R&D industry, but also shows their differences. For instance, the tendency now towards systems biology often doesn't question the basic gene-centrism of alot of research. Complexity and other approaches do offer alternatives, but ones that exist separate from the imperatives of the drug R&D approaches. The chapters on bioinformatic and DNA computing are also really good, as it patiently sorts out the tensions between materiality and immateriality. I appreciated this attention to philosophical issues, while remaining rooted in the technology itself. Perhaps the biggest lesson one can take away from this book is Thacker's concept of "biomedia": that biology and biotech is integrated with information technology, but that does _not_ mean that biology is becoming immaterial - it means the opposite. On a final note, I'm not a big science fiction fan, so the segments on sci-fi wasn't as effective for me, but the juxtaposition of science and sci-fi is interesting. I'd recommend this alongside other like-minded work, such as Richard Doyle's Wetwares.
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