http://www.tolerance.org/activity/test-yourself-hidden-bias This is a link to a "Hidden Bias" test, this is not a resist finder simply just describing you "deep down views" of blacks and Europeans... so I took the test, I favor white European Americans just slightly more than African Americans. to me this is not surprising at all, I know my mind and I recognises the instinctual feelings upon seen someone from another race. however I possess the necessary intelligence to over look that. also the test was not very... good or accurate in my opinion. a bunch of my friends scored exactly the same, and one of them just hit random buttons most of the time. also I don't like this test because people should know there own mind/ biases and if they don't, a test like this wont aid them if finding that out.

#6 Rapped up

Deborah has a stroke because she was putting herself through so much stress and because of her high blood pressure + sugar. Also the stress level increase b/c of September 11 which was also the date of the Henrietta conference. After gathering information for her book she keeps in contact with Deborah. Unfortunately Deborah dies wile Rebecca repeatedly tried to get in contact with her. And that’s a rap. Over this entire book was a great read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I defiantly would recommend this book to anyone. This book covered many themes and issues just a few are; race/ segregation, education/class, ethical use of cells and tissues, and just a touch on religion. I believe that having this book out has brought the issue of the ethical use of cells and tissues too many people’s attention so that we can deal with is legally, like in the case involving the spleen.

#5 Rapping it up

During this part they describe in minor detail of how the cells may be able to outlive any other due to DNA section called telomeres. Henrietta has become so well known BBC did a documentary on her http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2010/06/the_undead_henrietta_lacks_and.html. the authors relationship with one of the daughters, Deborah, strengthened and Deborah is now happy about her mother opposed to feeling annoyed and pressured. Then comes a lot more family drama. They get over it and go altogether to Johns Hopkins to see the cancer research program and facility. On a bad note they find records of Elsie, Henrietta’s favorite of when she was in the mental hospital, the records suggest that she was part of terrible tests and trials. This was on a trip that Rebecca took with Deborah to Crownsville Hospital Center aka the Hospital for the Negro Insane. During their stay the two of them get into an argument over the records, Deborah tries to fix thing however Rebecca is iffy about the situation. Then a bunch of religious stuff happens between Deborah and Gary because she is freaking out about cells.

#4 Legal Blah

Many miss-communications accrued b/c of diff educational backgrounds between the docs and the lacks. Turns out a guys (John Moore) spleen was used to create a cell line without his consent so he sued them and said that he should have the rights to his own line. So he started seeing his blood to researches b/c it had high levels of hepatitis B antibodies. John Moore won, the verdict “a patient must have the ultimate power to control what becomes of his or her tissues.”

#3 Things Get Harry

Turns out we have hit a part in this book that I close to my initial topic. A man named Chester Southam, a virologist thought it was a good Idea to do some human testing with HeLa cells to, generally speaking test its amino capabilities IE how the human’s immune system reacts to amounts of cancer cells being injected into them. He used cancer patients and told them he was just testing there immune system, when really he was seeing if tumors would develop b/c of his HeLa injection. He also used prison inmates as “volunteers”, these “test subjects” were healthy and clean of cancer. He ended up injecting 600 people. FUNNY (b/v of my initial idea) thing happened to stop him 3 Jewish men that were well rounded and had a large understanding of the Nuremberg trials. Scientists found that one of two things would happen to healthy cells, one they would die or two they could become cancerous and act the same way regardless of their previous function. Turns out that the reason that this happened was b/c the cells had been previously contaminated with HeLa, making many years of cancer research invalid. There was some more family drama (not trying to undermined it just not the juiciest stuff) Rebecca finally meets with family and threw such she finds out a lot about test done on blacks without their knowledge (fam doesn’t tell she looks into their fear of “night Dr.’s) the use of 7000 black kids blood was tainted with lead and other things without consent. Dr. Gey died of cancer, probably b/c he had been exposed to radium so much.

#2 Going, Going, Gone.

8 months after she had been diagnosed with cancer Henrietta passes away, and had only one wish, that Day takes care of the kids. Dr. Gey had asked of the family if they would allow for an autopsy so that he could collect tissues samples. Being Henrietta’s husband Day was the one “in charge” of making the big decision. Initially he declined but after being told what could be the result of the studies he then approved. Them being medicine and procedures that could aid his children in the future, rid them of things like what had killed Henrietta. On a strange note there was very terrible storms on the days following her death and as she was lowered into the grave a “deadly storm” started. HeLa cells were an un-struck gold mine soon to be stumbled upon. The cells were so easy to produce any Dr. that wanted the cells could buy them and have them shipped to you for $10. These cells played an important role in the vaccine for polio. On another good note testing for drugs and cosmetics was now widely being done on these cells opposed to cute mice. A not-so-nice trick pulled by Dr. Gey to “preserve" patient confidentiality he made up names to through off the press like Helen Lane and Helen Larson , also to prevent her family from finding out that her cells were being used without her consent prior to her death. Their family being close and supportive took care of each other as the family sort of fell apart. 3 of the kids contracted Tuberculosis and the other got drafted. Something else sort of strange in the Lacks’ family cemetery there are both white and black people buried there.

#1 To Sum it up

For a class that I am taking (the reason for this blog) we were assigned a semester project in which we read a book that focuses on a topic that is a current issue. Mine was initially going to be human experiments, like what the Nazi’s did in WWII led by the Angel of Death or also known as Dr. Josef Mengele. But unfortunately finding a book about that was more of a challenge then I wanted to deal with (our librarians couldn't think of one). So I changed it to cell manipulation and stuff of that sort and had been given the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I have been told and quickly finding out that this is about a fairly uneducated woman who is black and had REALLY BAD cervical cancer, that would leave her infertile due to treatment (she loved to have kids she had 5, also married her cuz David, or Day) and her cells were taken without her consent because she went to Johns Hopkins Hospital and there, apparently the doctors think that the patents are “open game” because it was a charity hospital so they felt they owed them. For the author Rebecca Skloot getting in touch with Henrietta’s family was a feet of its own. The lacks’ were tiered of people trying to contact them about her cells (HeLa cells). The one responsible for the “immortal” (just doubles itself every 24 hours) cells is Dr. George Gey and his assistant Mary Kubicek. They were given the cells and they found a substance of which would allow them to grow forever. Her cells later go into space and about 50 million metric tons made.

P.S. Henrietta is a strong stubborn nice loving woman who doesn’t show weakness. Also this takes place between the years 1920-2009 and there is some notable issues that are caused by race.