Bishnu wrote: _snip "In Hela, then, we glimpse the two faces of risk culture. The one, a > controversial and illicit scientific risk that potentiates the common good; > and the other, a predatory encroachment on human biopotentials for > individual glory and institutional profit."
Dear all, Bishnu raises two pretty startling outcomes. I just did a quick wiki search to get some background information on Henrietta Lacks immortal cell line HeLa and was awestruck by the medical progress that has been accomplished by the exploitation of her cells: -the Salk vaccine -AIDS research -the effects of radiation and toxic substances -gene mapping - testing how parvo virus infects cells of humans, HeLa, dog, and cats -viruses such as the Oropouche virus (OROV) -study of the expression of the papillomavirus E2 and apoptosis -study canine distemper virus' ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cell lines -cancer studies including those involving sex steroid hormones such as Estradiol, -estrogen, and estrogen receptors along with estrogen like compound such as Quercetin -effects of flavonoids and antioxidants with estradiol on cancer cell proliferation. investigation the phytochemical compounds and the fundamental mechanism of the anticancer activity of the ethanolic extract of mango peel -in vitro cancer research using cell lines -used to define cancer markers in RNA, and have been used to establish an RNAi Based Identification System and Interference of Specific Cancer Cells Not to condone the use of Henrietta Lack's bio material but was wondering what you thought about the tension between the risk culture and the medical outcomes above. How do we ethically balance risk culture with potential medical advances that save lives? On the other hand how do we handle cell contamination and the problem that HeLa strain cells have infiltrated into other cell strains? Renate Renate Ferro Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Cornell University Department of Art, Tjaden Hall Office #420 Ithaca, NY 14853 Email: <r...@cornell.edu> URL: http://www.renateferro.net http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net Lab: http://www.tinkerfactory.net Managing Co-moderator of -empyre- soft skinned space http://empyre.library.cornell.edu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empyre _______________________________________________ empyre forum empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au http://www.subtle.net/empyre
