Gaps or deficits in knowledge present opportunities for new and innovative research, but when studies are undone much is lost. The concept of ‘undone science’ can be understood within related concepts, including ignorance, nescience, non-knowledge and the chilling effect. The Tasmanian devil cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), is a new and novel cancer, potentially providing many opportunities for innovative research. The contagious cancer hypothesis for DFTD is also novel. In the research it has sponsored, the Tasmanian government elected to follow this pathway, neglecting an alternative plausible hypothesis that toxins in the devils' environment may have played a role in the initiation or progression of the cancer. The studies were not viewed as opportunities to fill gaps in devil cancer knowledge, and remain undone.
New diseases in humans and animals have been the subject of considerable research as well as policy development and popular attention. Researchers commonly proceed on the basis of plausible assumptions about mechanisms, pathways, and dangers but seldom question the assumptions themselves. Studies in the history and sociology of science show that research trajectories are conditioned by social, political, and economic arrangements. The assumptions underlying research into three new diseases-devil facial tumor disease in Tasmanian devils, AIDS in humans, and leukemia in soft-shell clams-are examined, and dominant and alternative research programs compared. In each case, most research has assumed the disease is spread through "natural processes", while research about possible human influences has been left undone.
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