PAGES OF REVOLUTION, PROMISE AND HOPE: metaphors of cloning and stem cell research in Brazilian newspapers

Metaphors not only contribute to cognitively accommodate new information and concepts, but also to mobilize political, social or ideological meanings. In the popularization of biotechnology-related facts and achievements, the metaphors chosen to construct newspaper articles may influence both positively and negatively the general public perceptions of its several applications. This study reports a discourse analysis of metaphors used in Brazilian opinion-leading newspapers to popularize cloning and stem cell research: "revolution", "opening new ways/doors", "promise" and "hope". Predominantly associated with positive sense, they may have contributed to reduce the resistance against animal and/or therapeutic cloning and to construct a moral imperative in favor of embryonic stem cell research, which would lead to therapies or cures for incurable diseases.