Welcome to the Henrietta Lacks Blog! We will as a class post twice a week...Wednesdays and Sundays. Please submit a post and then respond to one of your classmates' post. The first post is due on Wednesday, August 15th.
Criteria:
1. Your post must be at least 2 paragraphs.
2. Your response to a post must be at 1 paragraph.
Good Luck!
Blog Entry #1
ReplyDeleteAugust 15th, 2012
We as students find science as a chore, a simple replication of things done thousands of times over by learners all over the planet. However, revolutionaries such as George Gey and Richard TeLinde were pioneers in their specific fields because they had enthusiasm and determination to discover and create.
Today students think of scientists as being some of the most intelligent people ,and they believe this is what makes them revolutionaries in their fields. Gey worked hard to get through medical school and outside of the lab he was just your average middle class American. He even made wine in his garage, much to his neighbors' dismay. Gey was a pioneer in more ways than one. He taught me that you don't have to have money or extreme amounts of education to do great things. Anyone can do almost anything with the right work ethic.
Yes, Dr. Gey was a pioneer in his field, but his wife Margaret was the most important person in their "company". She was the backbone, and without her, the company would have went bankrupt (which it nearly did). The company would easily survive without Dr. Gey, but without his wife is another story. Without her sterilizing processes, HeLa cells may have never been known as "immortal" and maybe they would have died without her sterilization. As a result, I would consider Margaret Gey as a pioneer in the field of biology and cell culturing as well.
DeleteCaitlin, I agree with your statements, but what did you think about his scientific methods? What contributions did he make by building his own equipment? In your next post you need to delve a little deeper.
DeleteCaitlin, remember you need to respond to another classmates' post.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI find it intriguing that the HeLa cells were the only cells that did not die. Is it because her cervical cells were cancerous and the other biopsies taken were not cancerous? Or maybe even the researchers Mary, Margaret, and Dr.Gey did not sterilize the dishes properly. The fact that they used chicken blood as a medium to keep the cells alive was interesting. I am guessing that they used the various types of mediums (i.e Chicken Blood, Cow Fetuses, etc.)in a way to keep the cells living and growing (food for the cells, maybe?)
ReplyDeleteAlso, Henrietta seemed to have examined herself and diagnosed herself with a lump on her cervix without the assistance of a doctor. And in one passage in the novel, it was stated that no doctor before had found the tumor. Maybe the cancer grew so fast that at that point in time she was the first to find it, or it grew so slowly that no doctor before ever recognized the tumor at the base of her cervix. When examining the cells in the petri dish, her cells, of all the other cells, were the only ones that grew and continued living. From that point on, HeLa cells have been known as "Immortal". The family would never know until later that her cells were being sold by the billions, even trillions, and can NOW be found just about anywhere around the world
Oh wow I didnt even see your post on here before I finally posted mine. I dont really feel as if the result od HeLa's cells were effected by error on part of the researchers. but I do strongly think that the mediums reacting with the cancerous cells made a huge impact of the results
DeleteI also thought the medium they used was interesting, but they needed something to feed the cells.
DeleteOne thing that I found intriguing was the use of something that had proved to be lethal, as it had already killed two people who had constantly been exposed to it, converted into something that could possibly save the lifes of countless number of women and further the knowledge of science itself while using some pretty interesting mediums.
ReplyDeleteA question that arises in my mind is how Henrietta's cells were the only ones that didnt die off and became immortal. Was it due to the different mediums used such s cow fetuses acting as somewhat of a food source or stimulant for the cells?
If the cow fetuses and chicken blood worked on Henrietta's cells and 'made the immortal,' why doesn't it work on other patient's cells(that are diagnosed with cervical cancer)? Why did it specifically work on hers alone? It could either be: (a) there was contamination or (b) there was something wrong with the blood of the chicken and cow for it to produce such an effect.
DeleteMaybe the extent of her cancer had some kind of effect. Maybe even the fact that she had been diagnosed with other infections and illnesses prior to finding out she had cancer had some kind effect. It may have beep possible that the specific mutations she had in her cells along with the use of cow fetuses and chicken blood are what caused her cells to become "immortal". Everyone's cells are different so it is possible that there was something in her cells that just couldn't be found in anyone else's cells. I do find it intriguing though that her cells are the only ones that can even be deemed as immortal.
Deletei know i wonder how her cells keep on growing. at some point wouldnt they stop or if the had the food and warmth would it just keep on growing or is it immortal to a point. i wonder will this be to her benifit or not but it is a pretty cool thing to happen maybe there are other people who have cells just like hers it makes you wonder.
DeleteDevan, I know this is a blog, but you need to use correct grammar and punctuation.
DeleteIt befuddles yet arouses my interest of how the multiplication and growth of the cells were actually possible. Although the biography states the growth and pioneering of the cells were used with the aid of chicken blood, cow fetuses and the surrounding of a body temperature atmosphere, shouldn't the area be sterilized completely as well? In chapter 4's, The Birth of HeLa, Skloot states Gey made most of his laboratory apparatuses from the scraps of junkyards; that would have to take heavy sterilization for it to be 100% clean and usable for the examination of cells. It is also stated that Minnie, the local worker whose sole purpose was to wash glassware would often make mishaps and leave ''spots and smudges'' on the glass materials. "The Birth of HeLa,'' also mentions Dr.Gey had no knowledge about preventing contamination and sterilization; ''"Most culturists, like George were biologists; they knew nothing about preventing contamination.''
ReplyDeleteMy theorem is what if the glassware was actually contaminated. The evidence to this accident is plausible: Minnie's mishaps and Dr. Gey's obliviousness. Although Dr. Gey, Margaret and Mary were dedicated to the cell examinations, it was Dr. Gey who was dedicated to it wholeheartedly; it was HIS experiment and he watched over it continuously. Also, what if Margaret hadn't seen a smudge or smear on the glassware? It is after all a common mistake, especially when wearing a probable foggy surgical mask. Isn't is plausible it was just other bacteria in the glass? I find it impossible for one's cells to be immortal out of almost every other human cell on earth.
I think you're right. The possibility for contamination was very high, especially back then. Their sterilization techniques weren't amazing.
DeleteAlso the thing about the cells being immortal. They don't mean literally immortal (correct me if I'm wrong). They mean that a piece of Henrietta Lacks will always live on because her cells are being replicated all around the world and as long as those cells are alive, so is she. at least that's what I thought they meant.
Sydney, remember the area was sterile and his wife as William mentioned was an expert in sterilization. Now the idea of Henrietta's other infections as Jenelle mentioned, contributing to the growth of her cells was something I had not thought of.
DeleteI've read further into the book, and this contamination spreads further and is not just confined to Gey's lab either. They mention the beginning of the use of sterile hoods and other methods we use to prevent cross contamination. However, this was a time when they did not have the technology we have today. So I wonder if this really does have an effect on the HeLa cells,like you mentioned.
DeleteHey I just want to start off with saying 1. I'm sorry I'm posting so late and 2. this book is getting really interesting. Okay so I know this book is non fiction but some stuff is just like unbelievable. Things like the fact that we know so far that HeLa's cells helped with all this research right? and yes back then they had some sort of procedure going on. But we also know that the sanitary conditions that they have in "colored" hospitals probably weren't up to par. It's just amazing to me that the doctor got a good sample of the cancer cells and what not and nothing was contaminated and that these cells are all over the world now.
ReplyDeleteAlso it says in the book that cancer is uncontrollable mitosis right? well I was just wondering there are people nowadays that have cancer and its very slow developing cancer. Why was her cancer multiplying so fast? yes it was uncontrollably copying cells and she didn't really go to doctors or anything but why wasn't this a problem before? she had TWO kids before she decided it was time to go to the doctor for the lump. You're telling me, during the course of her pregnancy no one saw a lump? Some things I just don't understand.
The fact that this lump came about so fast is what makes them "immortal". I perceived it as she had pain during those last two pregnancies, yet there was no lump yet. This was because the cells were considered "carcinoma in situ" meaning they merely clung to the walls of her uterus but were not yet invasive. The doctors assumed a small lesion in her uterine wall from her last pregnancy caused the carcinoma in situ to become invasive cancer cells. This led to a rapid growth of cells, forming a purple jello-like lump in her uterus that had then become a problem.
DeleteSydnee, John Hopkins was not a "colored" hospital. They had a "colored" section. John Hopkins then and now is one of the best hospitals in the nation.
Deleteohhhhh okay. That fills in a lot. I also had more time to finish the reading after my posting and whatnot. Thanks you guys:]
DeleteSo this book. Its pretty great already, and its right up my ally, since I will be working in the obstetrics and gynecology field later in life. At first I thought it was going to be kind of boring and whatnot but the science part of this story wouldn't let me put it down. I think the idea of HeLa cells is absolutely mind-blowing and very hard to perceive. I still don't understand the legalities of it and how widespread the cells are without the permission of the producer.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think the most fascinating aspects of this novel are the key points in this universe that the HeLa cells have been. The moon, almost all labs and hospitals across the globe. Even the cells' ability to help with the polio vaccine, blood pressure studies, and anti-depression medication. The fact that one lump of cells has, and is still, reproducing after it's origin has been deceased for some 60+ years is unbelievable. I also found the "happy medium" in which the cells were kept in back in 1951 were very odd. Who would've thought cow fetus' and cord blood would be able to sustain the life of immortal human cells.
I find it incredible how one woman's cells turned out to have such a a vast use in the medical community. Even though her cells were taken without her permission, the result was ground breaking. It kind of intrigued me how Henrietta took so calmly to being sick. Henrietta knew something was seriously wrong with her from the moment she self examined herself and yet she never panicked or sought immediate medical help. Even after she was told that she did in fact have cancer and that it was malignant, she still continued her days and acted as if nothing happened. She just shrugged it off and was basically like "oh, I might die soon. Darn." But I think that maybe all the time that passed did have a role or was a factor in the reasoning of how her cells were able to become immortal. Time is always a factor.
ReplyDeleteI was also puzzled at the fact that two of the people who were exposed to radium died by keeping it stored in their possession but Henrietta was being directly exposed to it and her cells weren't completely destroyed from it. The book did say that radium was very dangerous and although it destroyed cancer cells, it kills cells that it comes it contact with. So how were Henrietta's able to survive? Was it the fact that she was sick? Did her cancer actually help protect her cells from dying out? Or did the use of the chicken plasma and cow fetuses solely have an effect on Henrietta's cells being able to survive?
I totally agree with you Janelle. Henrietta's reaction was completely calm, although her condition was quite serious. I think that her cells were protected by the cancer .I do not believe that the cow fetuses' or chicken blood had anything to do with her cells surviving. I think this because the same method was used on other cells, and none of those cells survived as long as Henrietta's did.
DeleteJaida, remember Dr. Gey tried to grow other cancer cells and was unsuccessful. What made Henrietta's cells different?
Deletei find it amazing how far science has come. if you think about during henrietta time you had to worry about if the doctors even knew how to give you the right treatment and how to interpet the results. yet now we have all these machines to do the surgery for us with little to no scarring for the patient. then there is gey and margaret who were trying to produce immortal cells they were regular people just like us striving to make a diffrence in the science world and make a path to find a way to cure cancer. it pretty amazing to know that a humans cell can keep on growing and not stop it shows us that there is more to learn about life and organisms.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. The scientist back in the day do not have it as easy as the scientist living now. Technology sure was not as good in th 1950's as it is in 2012. The fist time they discovered the amazing ways cells can survive and adapt was the star of a new chapter of discovery. Just ask yourself, what may have happened if Henrietta never felt anything wrong with her, we may have never had that amazing discovery with the way some cells work.
DeleteI definitely agree as well. Science has leaped farther forward in such a short amount of time than any time in history. Doctors have a better understanding of the human body and pople dont have to fear misdiagnoses. Our understanding of medicine on the cellular level can be largely contributed to HeLa cells. They have saved many lives and they currently still do. HeLa cells could be the key to unlocking the cures for more illnesses or maybe the next step in evolution. Just like with the rarest disease in the world, more than 1 person has to have it.
DeleteI think that it’s kind of weird that Mrs. Lacks cell did not die. A scientist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, created the first IMMORTAL human cell line with a tissue sample taken from a young black woman with cervical cancer. A doctor down at Hopkins Hospital took some of her cells and sent them down the hallway to a scientist that has been trying to grow tissues in culture. Her cells were essential to developing the polio vaccine. Many doctors have been trying to come up on something like this for a while. Did they cut the cells from her cervix to try and save her? I don’t think its fair how their just selling her cells to all these laboratories without permission. Its good that they took her cells and made all these medicines to help people but her family should’ve known about scientist will do anything just get a good report but they should have done it the right way by going to her family. all those times Henrietta was suppose to come back for treatments and she did not could have led up to her having that lump that she found and cervix cancer.how come no one found the lump before when she was pregnant?
ReplyDeleteJordan did some of your ideas come from online summaries about the book? Please use you own thoughts.
DeleteJordan, remember you need to respond to another classmates' post
DeleteIt is simply amazing to me how one simple procedure helped pave the way for many scientist to create even better ways to help patients. A small sample of cancer cells were cut of of Henrietta Lacks and actually survived then multiplied. This discovery left scientist baffled. Around the 1950's and even before that time, doctors had to figure out the best ways to help out their patients. Some had to go to extreme levels and others used invasive surgery.
ReplyDeleteMany mistakes from the characters were spotted in this book. Simple mistakes, as Henrietta finding something wrong with her and not going to a doctor soon enough. The cells from Henreitta were soon taken to scientist George Gey's lab. Even though Geys's lab was one of the best in the world, they still failed to grow immortal human cells. No matter if they failed or not, i still thank them for discovering this kind of issue because if they didnt the world wouldnt look to good right.
Chaz, did you use the internet to summarize your post? It seems very generic. You need to delve a little deeper.
DeleteWell, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" is beginning to be an excellent book. Although we know how Henrietta's story will end, Skloot writes the book with great compassion to the Lacks family. I found it very interesting how Henrietta diagnosed herself in her own bath tub. That was a very brave thing for her to do, and not many people could have done that. It confuses me why the doctors use radium to kill the cancerous cells, if they know that radium kills human cells. Understanding the time period of the therapy, shows me that technology wasn't advanced as it is now. So the doctors had to use radium to save lives although it had huge possible negative outcomes.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mary received Henrietta's cells and she placed them in the culture, she believed that the HeLa cells would surely die. Mary was completley wrong. I don't know if Lacks' cells survived because of Mary's precise sterilizing or because of something supernatural. Doctor Gey used cow fetuses' and chicken blood to harvest the cells. Though I do not know what doctors use today to harvest cells, I hope it is neither of those items. I believe that Henrietta Lacks cells were taken for a good cause but the doctors had no right to take them . Although her cells has helped many research experiments, her civil rights were transgressed by, firstly, TeLinde and then any other doctor that bought/sold her cells.
In my personal opinion, this book is absolutely stunning and beautifully written. This book reads into the life of Henrietta like a novel. It reads perfectly into her life from her childhood to her adulthood, and even the moment when parts of her body were illegally claimed without her permission. Scientists represent that 1 percent that truly changes the world in the sense of technology and medicine, yet they would do such an underhanded, unethical thing. I'm not going to lie; discovering HeLa cells was in fact, tantamount to the discovery of the Americas. Her cells have helped countless people recover from disease with no previous cure.
ReplyDeleteI happen to find it very interesting that the HeLa cells survived and the others didn't even though the same methods were used to sterilize and harvest all of the cells. The different mediums that they used as nutrition to grow the cells (i.e. chicken blood and animal afterbirth) were very primitive, but that shows how far science has come with the methods used to grow cells such as agar agar (or maybe the occasional sheeps blood agar). what made her so immortal? could it be mutation? This could possibly be the next step in evolution because she couldn't be the only person in the world with immortal cells.
I find it absolutely horrible, yet intriguing, that the radiation therapy Henrietta received blackened her entire abdomen. This had to be an absolutely horrific experience. I don't understand why Dr. Gey didn't insert or "fire" the radiation directly into her cervix rather than through her skin. It seems as if the doctors would understand the excruciating pain that this caused her, and would've taken precautions to prevent it.
ReplyDeleteToday, scientists use similar methods of radiation therapy to treat cervical cancer. There are two types of radiation therapy: internal and external. External therapy is, like in Henrietta's situation, shot directly through the skin, a lot like X-rays. This procedure, however, is absolutely painless. It is given every day for 4-6 weeks, and the patient is allowed to leave shortly after each treatment. Precautions and advances in medicine today have prevented the scorching of human skin through radiation. The second type, internal, is conducted by inserting radiation into catheters, seeds, or rods, which are placed directly into the cervix. Patients are checked every few days.
It is indeed terrible. It's horrible that in prior years, technology was not as advanced as it is today; many lives could have been saved or treated more precisely. Perhaps Dr. Gey could not have inserted the radium directly into her cervix without harming the skin.(I really don't understand that either) Remember technology was not as precise and advanced it is today; it is easier said that done.
DeleteFor me, from chapter 5 to 10, I was more intrigued about Skloot's morality and valor with dealing with Henrietta's case. It seems as if Skloot was more than adamant is receiving every tidbit of information about Henrietta and her cells. I admire Skloot's ability to be much more than a typical journalist, but someone that actually is intrigued and cares about the notable Henrietta Lacks. The author ventured to mysterious Clover of Southern Virginia, where it's shackled, abandoned and crime filled, where she observes the horrible condition Henrietta's family lives in; because of the poor living conditions, the legalities of this case furthers my anger more.
ReplyDeleteMuch to my chagrin, I am puzzled about the legalities of it. Like everyone else here, I do strongly believe the family should have received at least some form of payment. It is unjust that cells were removed from her body without the family's permission and were used for experiments. The lack of knowledge the family had about this situation also denotes how African Americans were routinely used as the subjects of highly unpleasant sets of experiments, like the Tuskegee syphilis study, which is mentioned in the book. In my opinion, I believe the family should have received some sort of payment for this; it's unjust and unfair for one to simply experiment on someone with their or the family's knowledge.
without*
DeleteI completely agree with you, Sydney. The fact that Henrietta and her family were unaware of the circumstances is immoral and unjust. It makes me angry that the doctors supposedly didn't inform her of the selling of her cells, and that she should have received compensation for something coming out of her body. It also makes me angry that no one told Henrietta that the treatment would leave her infertile. This, along with the rest of the situation, was extremely sketchy and wrong.
DeleteI found the way the writer depicted the life of Henrietta in her early years very informative. That along with the information on the doctors and being doctors in their respective fields gives them a good bit of credit.
ReplyDeleteI find it was not all in the wrong to take her cells. Yes, they could have informed her, but it is what was best for the majority of mankind that they did take them. If not for them many inovations in the field of cancer treatment and cultures would not have occured.
Although I feel as if permission should have been granted, I do agree with you Emilio. The fact that these cells led to so many discoveries, cures, and treatments for all of mankind is very humane and resourceful. I feel as if the HeLa cells will continue to provide us with further advanced treatment and maybe even cures to many diseases. Much respect is given to Henrietta.
DeleteWhat really intrigued me regarding these chapters were the tests scientists all around the world put HeLa cells through. The novel stated that the cells had been used in testings for cures to polio, viruses, and bacteria. They were able to be injected with bacteria, hormones, proteins, polio, and several different viruses. They were tested for antibiotics resistance trials and the effects of radiation from nuclear bombs and exposures. They were used to clarify many theories regarding genetic disorders such as Downs syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, and Turner syndrome. The cells were also put into mediums with magnets spinning around them, creating an ultimate gravity to show effects of deep-sea diving and spaceflight.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the scientists were able to make all of these discoveries from one persons malignant cancer cells is absolutely amazing. I am STILL questioning the legalities of it all, even though there are "laws" regarding permission and what not. It seems as if producing multi-billion dollar industries off of a deceased person's cancer cells, without permission, isn't right. However, whether the whole issue is "morally correct" or not, I feel very fortunate and thankful towards Henrietta for producing what would be tested to save lives around the world.
I found the combining procedures of HeLa cells and mouse cells very intriguing. The fact that this was even possible blows my mind. It leads me to think that scientists really can create half-human half-animal beings by simply combining each's cells. The fact that all of this was done back in the fifties makes me wonder what kind of crazy experiments and creations scientists around the world are conducting and creating today, especially by using HeLa cells.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the experiments done using HeLa cells led to answered questions regarding cancer, I feel very strongly that each and every patient should have been informed to the fullest extent exactly what was being done to their bodies. I feel that each doctor, reseacher, and anyone else involved in those cases deserved every punishment, and more, set upon them. It didn't matter whether or not those research patients were already sick or not, the research was still extremely dangerous. This case makes me thankful for the laws of medicinal practice and research set in place today.