This special issue focuses on the linguistic and discursive aspects of the dissemination of knowledge about sensitive and hitherto unforeseen bioethical issues, an area at the intersection between scientific discourse (e.g. medicine, biotechnology, genetics, environmental sciences) and other forms of specialised and professional legal, economic, political, religious discourse.
The issue investigates the literary, linguistic and discursive strategies that are employed in ‘translating’ and framing specialised bioethical notions, terms and debates within literary, journalistic, online, promotional, corporate and legal texts and media coverage. Such terms and debates involve complex fields and contested issues in which people fear that the application of new scientific experiments and findings could impinge on human rights and the dignity of - and responsibility for - birth, illness, performance, privacy, personhood and death, as well as the integrity and well-being of the environment.