Maurice Hilleman's Effect On Society

Have you ever heard of Henrietta Lacks, Phineas Gage, or Douglas Mawson? All of these people underwent major struggles for the sake of science, but one stands out more than the rest. Henrietta Lacks was a woman who died at age 31 due to cervical cancer; her cells helped form a multi-million dollar industry (“Immortal Cells, Enduring Issues”). Phineas Gage was a railroad worker who had once shoved a iron rod into a blasting hole, which caused the rod to shoot into his skull. Gage faced side effects from this that led scientists to uncover details on the frontal lobe of the brain, and brain disorders (“The Man with the Hole in his Brain”).

Sonali Sagar Block: 2B May 12th 2015 The Degradation of Morals and Ethics In the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks the author Rebecca Skloot tells us about a non-fiction story of an African American women who is diagnosed with cervical cancer and how the medical community exploited her for use of her “immortal” cells. From then onwards the cells have been used for widespread medical advancement and research. There is no denying the good that has come from this as even the polio vaccine was developed from these HeLa cells. Moreover, it has also been aiding with finding a cure for cancer as well as assisting with further research on AIDS.

IS THE POSSIBILITY OF POST-ANTIBIOTICS REAL? Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future is an essay written by Maryn McKenna to emphasize focus on our lack of appreciation for what antibiotics have done for us and will continue to do for us, but only if we let them. She presents a very insightful and eye opening argument. She relies heavily on a very personal story as well as many facts and research to create such a convincing argument. McKenna begins her essay with recalling a time in which she found out about the death of her great-uncle due to a very infection.

The third main point of the body of the essay is the impact of HeLa cells on modern medicine. Skloot demonstrates the pioneering research and medical advancements made possible by Henrietta's cells, from the development of the polio vaccine to cancer research and beyond. However, she also emphasizes the continued ethical responsibility and awareness necessary when dealing with the use of human tissue in medical

Throughout time as human population has continued to grow, there is an increasing need for a societal structure that addresses large health concerns as well as maintain infrastructure to provide health related services to the public. In our society today this is known as public health. Public health is the umbrella term for all services, preventions, and promotions of health related factors that directly relate to humans and animals as well as the environment around them. Due to the wide spectrum of responsibilities related to public health, many stories have arisen that directly relate to the abilities and processes that exist under it. The book called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks directly relates to the ethical aspect of public health.

In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, Rebecca Skloot analyzes ethics in past scientific/medical studies, specifically Henrietta Lack’s case, to alter the way the reader sees how modern medicine came to be. Doctors took the cancer cells of a young, poor, African-American woman diagnosed with cervix cancer in 1951, without her consent, and used them to grow an immortal cell line that has made millions of dollars and is still used today. Skloot shows the effect Henrietta’s infamous cells (HeLa cells) have had on the scientific community presently and show the negative effect it has had on her family. The author wants the audience be aware of the how an essential cell line used in research was created with great ethical injustice. Skloot wants audiences to learn a little from Henrietta’s story and at least be aware of the ethical scientific issues today to form their own opinion.

After analyzing, several sources, it is evident that even though both violated the Nuremberg code, Chester Southam has done more to advance science than Bertil Bjorklund. To begin, after evaluating the New York Times article A Virus's Debut in a Doctor's Syringe by Kent Sepkowitz, it is evident that Southam didn’t progress science in his initial way with a viral or immune therapy for cancer, but with drawing the realization on patient consents in American. In the article, it states, “his greatest contribution to medicine was not his groundbreaking work in viral or immune therapies of cancer. Rather, he occupies the unenviable position of having focused public attention on the ethical problems related to clinical research... highest priority

Patrick Bateman is a serial killer from the book American Psycho, written by Easton Ellis. Bateman kills for the adrenaline, as if it’s a high for him, because he’s very into drugs. Whenever he gets the opportunity, he kills and the individuals he chooses are the ones who he discriminates against. He never plans ahead of time because it doesn’t give him the same feeling. The city he lives in gives him a lot of opportunities to catch an individual that he doesn’t agree with their way of living.

Doctors, one side of the coin they are viewed as the ones that can cure the sick with their knowledge, the ones that are supposed to help them get better. The other side they are feared and are avoided at all cost by some. Doctors have this bad reputation about them because sometimes they don’t even tell their patients what is wrong with them. Or the patients themselves don’t even question the doctors because they went to school and have a prestigious piece of paper. In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, she describes benevolent deception, which doctors had no trouble of doing in the mid-century, as the doctors keeping their patients in the dark.

However, right beneath the surface also arose a figure, a man, who go down in history. One would believe the only way to become a part of history would be by changing the world, bringing something positive, not in this case. It has been almost a decade and a half since the infamous Dr. Henry H. Holmes walked the streets of Chicago; bringing a reign of terror along with him. This particular man would be recognized

Farmer took his education in one hand and ambition in the other to craft a better global society. He states in Pathologies and Power, “In an age of explosive development in the realm of medical technology, it is unnerving to find that the discoveries of Salk, Sabin, and even Pasteur remain irrelevant to much of humanity” (Farmer 144). Breakthroughs that others before him have made still goes unnoticed today. Dr. Farmer made sure his would not be. In my opinion Dr. Farmer is improving the world in every way possible.

The malpractice of doctors during the 19th century foreshadows the horrific human experimentation conducted by Nazi Germany medical experts during World War Two. The Second World War is distinguished by the mass murder of millions of European Jews. This genocide was conducted by Adolf Hitler, and it is primarily characterized by the utilization of those in concentration camps for medical experiments. Doctors in the 1800s lacked the knowledge of medicine and availability of modern technology to provide beneficial diagnoses and perform the most appropriate treatment. This lack of expertise lead to curiosity and eventually experimentation.

The Demented Doctor “The more we do to you, the less you seem to believe we’re doing it.” said Josef Mengele. He knew his own wrong doings all too well. This seemed to be the hard cold truth to every soul that was taken by the “Angel of Death”.

Immunology is a key to medical modern advances, and I would be glad to be apart of the advancement of medicine. Before modern times, medicine wasn’t as realizable. Civilizations throughout history have been able to advance medicine. Even though Egyptians were well known for being very healthy, their practices are not comparable to modern medicine. The ancient Chinese contributed to advances in medicine.

Once the child recovered from the cowpox disease, Jenner then tried to infect the child with smallpox, but the young man proved to be immune. “It seemed that this attempt at vaccination had worked. But Jenner had to work on for two more years before his discovery was considered sufficiently tested by the medical profession to permit widespread introduction.” (Alexander, 2003). Beginning in 1831 and ending in 1835, due to increasing vaccination, smallpox deaths were down to one in a thousand.