Abstract
The Human Liver Proteome Project (HLPP) is the largest international scientific research project ever headquartered in China. At the same time, the HLPP is one component of the global Human Proteome Project (HPP), which in 2001–2002 began dividing the organs and systems of the human body between different national laboratories and institutes. Research on the kidney was assigned to Japan, brain research to Germany, liver research to China, etc. Only in China, however, did the project take on the character of ‘big science’, successfully competing with other scientific initiatives for funding and prestige at the highest level, and developing ‘national’ characteristics similar to that of genomics research in the United States. Our article considers this flagship Chinese bioscience project from two complementary angles: as ‘big science’ at the cutting edge of biomedical research, and as a discursive and practice-oriented meeting ground between modern and ‘traditional’ Chinese medicine. We also discuss how these strands are politically and philosophically convergent.
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