As I
read the book on Henrietta Lacks and the culturing of the cells I was
surprised/disgusted at the actions of George Gey. He, or more likely his staff, got the cancer
cells to grow and then he started giving out these cells as though they were
manna from heaven. How could scientists,
if they aspire to the high standards they claim, use these rogue cells to
perform medical research such as qualifying vaccines? The properties of these cells, as best I
could tell from the book, were never investigated. The scientists who were and, maybe still are,
using these cells do not even know why the cells survived and duplicated. Despite this firm basic knowledge these
cells, according to the book, appear to form the backbone for many medical
research projects. Talk about building
your house on sand, really!
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