cover of episode The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

2025/2/21
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D
Deborah Lacks
D
Dr. Howard Jones
J
Jerry Lacks
L
Lulu
M
Mary Kubitschek
R
Rebecca Skloot
Topics
Lulu: 我讲述了亨丽埃塔·拉克斯的故事,她独自一人在浴室里发现自己患有癌症,这个私密时刻不断扩大,最终影响了每个人的生活,而她本人却从未知晓其影响。几十年后,关于身体自主权的问题仍然与这个故事息息相关。 Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich: 科学家们一直努力在体外培养人类细胞以研究人类生物学。HeLa细胞的发现是医学科学的一大突破,因为它具有无限增殖的能力,为疫苗研发和各种科学研究提供了极大的帮助。 Dr. Howard Jones: 我不记得亨丽埃塔·拉克斯本人了,但我永远不会忘记她的肿瘤,它与众不同。 Mary Kubitschek: 我亲眼见证了亨丽埃塔·拉克斯的癌细胞在培养皿中存活并生长,这在当时是前所未有的。这些细胞具有极强的生命力,不断增殖。 Rebecca Skloot: 我讲述了亨丽埃塔·拉克斯的生平,以及她的细胞如何被广泛使用和研究。她的细胞被用于研制小儿麻痹症疫苗,参与了太空任务,并被用于各种科学研究,包括病毒研究和化疗药物研究。HeLa细胞的发现是医学科学的一大突破,但同时也引发了伦理争议。 Deborah Lacks: 得知母亲的细胞仍在存活并被广泛使用,我感到震惊和困惑。我担心这些细胞的广泛使用和实验会伤害到母亲。我母亲的细胞被用于各种研究,甚至被送往世界各地,这让我感到不安。 Sadie Sturdivant & Gladys Lacks: 亨丽埃塔·拉克斯是一个美丽、坚强、自信的女人。 Jerry Lacks: 我认为未经我们家族同意就公开HeLa基因组序列侵犯了我们的隐私。我们不希望阻止科学进步,但我们也希望保护家人的隐私和权利。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The episode begins with Henrietta Lacks's unwitting contribution to medical science. Her cells, taken without her knowledge, became the HeLa cell line, crucial for numerous medical breakthroughs. The chapter details the initial discovery of her aggressive cancer and the surprising immortality of her cells in a lab setting.
  • Discovery of Henrietta Lack's cancer
  • HeLa cells' unusual immortality
  • George Gey's role in cultivating HeLa cells
  • Wide distribution of HeLa cells for research

Shownotes Transcript

Today, a story that starts small and private, with one woman alone in her bathroom, as she makes a quiet, startling discovery about her own body. But that small, private moment grows and grows, and pretty soon it becomes something so big that it has impacted the life of every person reading this right now… and all that without the woman ever even knowing the impact she had. We originally aired this story back in 2010, but we thought we’d bring it back today, as questions about bodily autonomy circle with renewed force.

**EPISODE CREDITS: **Reported by - Rebecca Skloot

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