A Metaphor Made in Public

<jats:p>The preliminary results of human genome research have become widely known as “drafts of the human genome.” Drawing on the interaction theory of metaphor, this article shows that take-up of the notion of a draft and its elaboration as a scientific metaphor was contingent on interactions with broader audiences.The notion of a draft was thus not merely a metonym of the popular but often-criticized Book of Life metaphor for the human genome.</jats:p>