First published in 1992, this book explores the efforts to counteract the high maternal and infant death rates present between the end of the nineteenth century and the Second World War. It looks at the problem in five different continents and shows the varying approaches used by the governments, institutions and individuals in those countries. Contributors display how policy and practice have been shaped by the structure of maternity services, nationalism, the conflict of colonization and cultural factors. In doing so, they illustrate how welfare policy and funding were moulded throughout the world in the times considered.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This volume looks at a number of types of migrant and minority groups from different societies around the world. Each chapter examines how health issues have interacted with developing ideas of ethnicity. Challenging common assumptions about migrants, minorities and health, the collection offers perspectives from a number of disciplines.

First published in 1992, this book explores the efforts to counteract the high maternal and infant death rates present between the end of the nineteenth century and the Second World War. It looks at the problem in five different continents and shows the varying approaches used by the governments, institutions and individuals in those countries. Contributors display how policy and practice have been shaped by the structure of maternity services, nationalism, the conflict of colonization and cultural factors. In doing so, they illustrate how welfare policy and funding were moulded throughout the world in the times considered.

Biotechnology harnesses cellular and biochemical systems to advance knowledge of the molecular cause of disease and to provide new diagnostic tools and more precisely targeted drugs. Within a decade, global investment in medical biotechnology has increased more than ten-fold, resulting in therapies for previously untreatable conditions. But what exactly is biotechnology and what are its origins? What further benefits to human health could it offer in the future? Written in an accessible style, contributors to this book explore the history behind different biotechnology tools, how they are used, and how they are reshaping the future of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. Among the technologies examined are genetic engineering, DNA sequencing, monoclonal antibodies, stem cells, gene therapy, cancer immunotherapy and the most recent newcomer - synthetic biology. Applying new biotechnologies in medicine is not without great challenges. As medicines shift from small organic molecules to large, complex structures, such as therapeutic proteins, drugs become difficult to make, administer and regulate. This book will intrigue anyone interested in medicine and how we have been, and may continue to, engineer better health for ourselves. Such changes have major implications for how and where drugs are manufactured, the cost of medicine and the ethics of how far society is prepared to go to combat disease.

Though notoriously associated with Germany, human experimentation in the name of science has been practiced in other countries as well, both before and since the Nazi era. Useful Bodies explores the intersection of government power and medical knowledge in revealing studies of human experimentation -- germ warfare and jaundice tests in Great Britain; radiation, malaria, and hepatitis experiments in the United States; and nuclear fallout trials in Australia.

"Makes a strong case for adopting a broad perspective in the analysis of research ethics... Besides gaining a rich picture of past scientific practices, readers will be better equipped to monitor the continuing search of 'useful bodies' in our own era." -- Nature Medicine

"Each chapter is a startling case study that examines the nature and degree of the state's involvement in human experimentation... With contributions by leading historians of medicine, science, and public policy, Useful Bodies will be of interest to ethicists, bioethicists and those engaged in the formulation of public health and policy." -- Issues in Law and Medicine

"A significant contribution to our understanding of the role of the state in human subjects research." -- Journal of the History of Biology

"Well written and meticulously researched, these essays offer the historical context to understand and evaluate human experimentation." -- Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

Jordan Goodman is an honorary research fellow at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London. Anthony McElligott is founding professor of history and director of the Centre for Historical Research at the University ofLimerick. Lara Marks is a visiting senior research associate at Cambridge University and an honorary senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.