Rebecca Skloot

The ethnic barriers in the world of science have always been blurry and hard to determine. Depending on the time, and the popular social ideologies of that time, scientific practices may switch to and fro on the scales of ethicality. Because of these obscure complications, scientists often have a hard time picking their sides on the age-long debate between practically and morality. Some experimental procedures may have deemed acceptable in the past, but are now frowned upon. Although amazing…

Tuskegee Experiment The Tuskegee syphilis experiment began in the 1930’s after a pilot program ended after it ran out of money, the pilot program was a program that treated 10,000 poor African-Americans with syphilis for free but there wasn’t enough money to continue the program so it ended shortly after it started. Taliaferro Clark then came up with the idea of the Tuskegee experiment which was where the government conducted an experiment to research and study syphilis and latent…

Will Discrimination Ever Stop? Discrimination has had a big impact on everyone in our world since the old days until now and especially in LGBT community. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. While researching I came across some articles by the LGBT community and how people treat them poorly due to their sexuality. In addition, they are not only treated poorly due to their sexuality, but are also denied from their human rights. The LGBT community faces many problems the one…

requirement. Not only is using a patient's cells without their consent unprofessional, but it ruins the reputation of the the doctor involved. In the article Your Cells. Their Research. Your Permission, Rebecca Skloot says, “Tissues from millions of Americans are used in research without their knowledge (Skloot). Once people hear about foul practices within a certain medical facility, they will fear hospitals and procedures. The relatives of Henrietta Lacks and members of the small town she was…

Reading Memoir “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Said Dr. Seuss. Ever since I can remember, reading was a little fun for me. Reading is something required throughout life. For example, people read contracts. Contracts, recipes, and instructions. Career success requires reading. For example, a nurse scrutinize a patients chart daily. Over my life, the reading I have encountered has shaped my academic journey.…

they certainly cannot put into place access to medical care for the poor and minority groups. This atrocious issue lies in the government's hands and demands the need for access to healthcare. In addition to greater access, it is apparent in Rebecca Skloots findings, that there is a considerable amount of distrust between African Americans and doctors still to this day. The missing link to workplace hazards not only lies in prevention from agencies such as OSHA, but within the medical community…

Immortality is a concept that invokes thoughts of gods or energy, but can this concept apply to humans as well? In 1986 Freddie Mercury’s song, “Who wants to live forever,” has an underlying theme of one living forever against their will. 35 years before this song, cells taken from Henrietta Lacks became immortal and left her family to face a similar unimaginable quandary. The ethical research issues that have derived from the procurement and cultivation of her cells, and her family’s current…

Rebecca Skloot, in the second part of the “Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks”, extensively examines the relationship of science with the non-scientific and indicates the reality of the scientific community. Basically, the reading explicates the consequences, both within and outside science, of the research enthusiasm of the scientists. Humans are classified in terms of their ability and regularity of exercising science. This categorization is quite different from those based on identity such as…

The author of Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Chernoh Alpha M.Bah, explanation of the outbreak in Sierra Leon and how it influences people’s perception and the response to Ebola from both the political and social perceptive, is one of my favourite reading as it correlates to the topics discuss in lectures so far. As he demonstrated, structural violence in this case must be understood in the context of a regional history and global economy that have cultivated inequalities. For instance, it is no…

Ethics of Patient Treatment The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story based on Henrietta Lacks, who was a patient at John Hopkins in the 1950’s. Treatment of African Americans in the 1950’s was very cruel and inhuman in the medical field and was fueled by racial stigmas and socioeconomic status. In the 1950’s African Americans were also targeted because of their socioeconomic status and ethnicity to participate in medical research such as the very cruel Tuskegee syphilis…