HeLa Book Blog Page by Paul Huetteman

Blog Entry 1: Part 1 Ch. 1-5

Chapters 1-5 of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” introduced me to a new type of literature, as I have not had the opportunity to read a nonfiction novel dealing with detailed personal accounts about a medical condition before. Just reading about what Henrietta went through in Chapter 1 alone was painful for me, but I admired her bravery as she persevered through the difficult problems she had, both medically related and family/emotionally related alike. Henrietta and her sickness were interesting to read about because of how she handled her situation.

I had never heard of the substance radium before reading Chapter 5 of this book, and therefore I did not know it used to be one of the popular methods for treating cancer in the 1950s, particularly with cancer of the cervix. However, I do know that cancer patients today are not treated with radium today, due to the dangerous nature of the substance. Instead, today cancer patients are radiated by use of x-rays, gamma rays, charged particles, radioactive iodine and many other types of radiation. These methods, while not entirely safe, are much less risky than the use of radium. The use of radium, while successful in many cases of cancer in the 50s, has serious side effects and dangers surrounding it. However, it did help to develop these modern options for radiation.

Blog Entry 2: Part 1 Ch. 6-11

Chapters 6-11 of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” were very eye-opening for me. I had not previously been exposed to literature that discusses such specific details of medical procedures and personal elements of the life of a person before. I found many of the events described in the book shocking and surprising. While reading the seventh chapter, I became further interested in the descriptions of what had happened to Henrietta Lacks in her lifetime, and was intrigued by her condition. It kept me reading and sparked my interest.

I was captivated to discover the fact that the doctors had failed to gain informed consent from the family of Henrietta to collect her cells and use them for research, since her family would most likely have not allowed them to do so. The lives of Henrietta and her family would be completely different had the doctors not performed these experiments. They would not have been famous, since the uniqueness of Henrietta’s situation would never have been shared with the world. I believe it is important to point out the fact that Henrietta would never have participated in any treatment or experimental research at Hopkins if she had been informed about the results of the treatment stunting her ability to become pregnant. The doctors twice manipulated Henrietta and her family, forever changing their lives and consequently causing them to distrust doctors and hospitals.

Research A: How have scientists and doctors been able to use Henrietta’s immortal cells to their advantage?

Scientists have been able to create cell lines to reproduce the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks over and over again. They do this because of the advantages and special properties of these cells. Not only are these cells able to stay alive permanently in a lab; they are also able to reproduce quickly and without interruption. The discovery of these properties of the “HeLa” cells gave scientists the opportunity to study and learn more about the cells without fear of them dying, opening the doors for discovery. Scientists were able to use these cells to create vaccines for diseases such as polio and save millions of people. Scientists learned about cell cloning through the cell lines they were able to create with the HeLa cells. The HeLa cells also helped scientists correct the previous discovery of the number of human chromosomes from 48 to 46, and later determine the ability of these cells to act as stem cells, and function where certain cells have died. These are some of the most important uses scientists and doctors have had for the HeLa cells, and continue to take advantage of them for other reasons today.

Citation:

“Five Reasons Henrietta Lacks Is the Most Important Woman in Medical History.” Popular Science. N.p., 5 Feb. 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-01/five-reasons-henrietta-lacks-most-important-woman-medical-history&gt;

Freeman, Shanna. “How HeLa Cells Work.” HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/hela-cell.htm&gt;

Jamestown and Early Colonization

America would be very different today if Britain decided not to colonize in the New World and the colonies were founded by a different country or not at all. Just think about it. What would it be like if things happened differently. These colonies started out as  nothing more than a few settlers on the seaboard of a large piece of land and changed to become an independent country full of ideas about government and how people should live under it. These colonies have gone through quite a bit since their birth, but they started off on a shaky start. 

England’s first successful colony in North America was Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Named after King James I, Jamestown was a poor location for living as settlers there dealt with disease, mosquitoes, and Native American attacks. Luckily, Jamestown was saved from disaster by John Smith and John Rolfe. Smith’s leadership skills whipped the colonists into shape, and Rolfe introduced his ever popular tobacco which created business in the town, keeping the colony alive. After these events, Jamestown improved significantly. If not for these two men, Jamestown would surely have failed and the course of history would be strongly altered.Perhaps Britain would have given up on colonization and the colonies wouldn’t exist. Jamestown, while it may not seem extremely important, but as it was the first success it sets up England for the rest of its American colonization, it was. 

Jamestown had an interesting relationship with Native Americans. At first the Americans were hostile towards the settlers, but tensions were eased as John Smith came along. When John Smith was kidnapped in December of 1607 Chief Powhatan had him placed under a mock execution. As the clubs of the tribe were about to strike him, Pocahontas “saved” him by throwing her head between the clubs and Smith’s head. This was intended to impress Smith with Powhatan’s power and inspire peaceful relations between the Native Americans and the settlers. Peace was established temporarily, as the Indians helped provide the colonists with food, as many were starving. However, conflict arose again in 1610 when a relief party from Britain came with governor Lord De La Warr, who was given orders to declare war on the Indians in the Jamestown area. Just think, once peace is established between these groups, it starts right back up. The Indians must be frustrated at this point. After De La Warr and his men burned Native American villages and cornfields to the ground, Indians wanted peace again and this Anglo-Powhatan War was ended by a settlement involving the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas. Peace existed for quite some time, until the second Anglo-Powhatan War in 1644, which ended in 1646 when they were defeated. Finally, by 1685, it was determined that the Virginian Indians were extinct. It’s really quite sad that things didn’t work out. Peace appeared to be a viable option but conflict between these groups seemed inevitable, especially in other colonies.

The economic foundation of Jamestown and just about all of Virginia in the early colonial years was tobacco. Instigated by John Rolfe in 1612, it became so popular that the settlers had to import food since tobacco was growing instead of food based crops. Farm owners started out with white servants working on the farms but were introduced to black slaves later on. The crop, while ruining the soil, was quite popular and had high demand, so business was decent. It seems that this crop defined Virginia as a colony. What would have been the crop of the colony if not for John Rolfe? James I initially was proud of Jamestown, but he hated tobacco and the Virginian self-government the House of Burgesses, so he made Virginia a royal colony directly under his control. It’s interesting to think that tobacco helped a colony become royal. 

Overall, Jamestown and the colony of Virginia had interesting history and a lot of importance to Britain and the rest of the colonies. It was a good example of how a colony could make a comeback, and it proved to England that America had promise. Jamestown is the reason America became the way it is today and why England dominated the New World at one point. The events were monumental and inspired others for years.

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jamestown_Settlement_(1607%E2%80%9399) 

(Wikipedia)

Chapter 2 of American Pageant 

http://www.apva.org/history/