Health and Life Sciences
There has been a longstanding strand of research in the Unit concerned with researching the social aspects of health.
Key substantive areas being examined across Sociology include:
- Environmental impact of deindustrialisation
- Living with chronic illness
- Public understandings of science (including genetics and food modification)
- Research on cruelty and feticide
In recent years the health focus has expanded out to examine the social and ethical implications of the life sciences. The development, importance, and recognition of this area of work has been secured through the success of the Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences (PEALS) Research Centre (created in 1999), a partnership between Newcastle University, Durham University and the Centre For Life. Specific expertise in PEALS is evident in interdisciplinary research on areas such as reproductive and genetic technologies, disability, forensic investigations of biosecurity, stem cell research, nanobiotechnology, and ageing research.
