Dorothy Nelkin

Dorothy Wolfers Nelkin (– ) was an American sociologist of science most noted for her work researching and chronicling the unsettled relationship between science and society at large. Her work often drew attention to the ramifications of unchecked scientific advances and the unwariness of the public towards scientific authority. She was the author or co-author of 26 books, including Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science and Technology, The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age, and Body Bazaar: The Market for Human Tissue in the Biotechnology Age. She was a supporter of National Center for Science Education (NCSE), and in 1981 testified for the plaintiffs in McLean v. Arkansas. In her later work, she examined the personal and social impacts of the commercialization of human genetics, including raising concerns towards the patenting of human genes and tissues and the collecting of DNA profile data for use by law enforcement.

Born in Boston, Massachussetts, Nelkin achieved a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1963. A prolific researcher and author, Nelkin rose to the rank of University Professor at the New York University (NYU) despite holding no advanced degrees. Nelkin was wife to physicist Mark Nelkin for 50 years, and mother to Lisa Nelkin.

External links

• http://www.nyu.edu/nyutoday/archives/16/11/Stories/Nelkin-Obituary.html
• New York Times Obit
• http://pus.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/12/4/355.pdf