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While historians have analyzed and discussed the fragmentation of life in transatlantic societies by focusing on economics, law, or politics, we propose that a focus on biomedicine in the period since 1970 adds important perspectives on the shifting public role of science and of medicine. Biomedicine (the convergence of biological research and of medicine within the life sciences) moved to the center of public debates after the end of the Cold War. The papers in this special issue highlight how it became a prism through which societies, governments, and states renegotiated the roles of the medical and scientific professions, the opportunities, risks, and limits associated with scientific research and medical technologies, the responsibilities of individuals and of the professions in making life-or-death decisions, and important norms shaping the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Historians have analyzed and discussed the impact of market-oriented governing rationalities and of shifting discourses about the societal roles of individuals by focusing on politics, economics, or law. The contributors to this special issue propose to expand the focus towards biomedicine in order to include developments that otherwise would remain distinct from evolving narratives in recent contemporary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trachoma programs have dramatically reduced the prevalence of the ocular chlamydia that cause the disease. Some have hypothesized that immunity to the infection may be reduced because of program success in reducing the incidence of infection, and transmission may then increase. Longitudinal studies of multiple communities would be necessary to test this hypothesis. Here, we quantify transmission using an estimated basic reproduction number based on 32 communities during the first, second, and third years of an antibiotic treatment program. We found that there is little to no increase in the basic reproduction number over time. The estimated linear trend in the basic reproduction number, , was found to be −0.025 per year, 95% CI −0.167 to 0.117 per year. We are unable to find evidence supporting any loss of immunity over the course of a 3-year program. This is encouraging, as it allows the possibility that repeated mass antibiotic distributions may eliminate infection from even the most severely affected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]