Biographies of Scientific Objects

"This book explores the ways in which scientific objects are both real and historical. Whether discovered or invented, objects of inquiry broaden and deepen in meaning -- growing more 'real' -- as they become entangled in webs of cultural signficance, material practices, and theoretical derivations. Thus their biographies will matter to anyone concerned with the formation of scientific knowledge and with the reconciliation of ontology and history."--Page 4 of cover.