#Radiolab.org

[bodyalive]

Here is a link to a nice Radiolab podcast about the interstitium, the "new organ/system" that's been in the news on and off for awhile now. It's a really cool story...they interview the pathologist who stumbled upon it a few years ago, while comparing dead tissue in organ walls to live imaging of the same tissue. It turns out that in live tissue, what has been thought to be organ / tissue walls, are in reality a pretty elaborate and interconnected honeycomb of fluids constantly in motion. (Who woulda known, huh?) And a lot of fluid, maybe four times as much as the total amount of blood in the body.

There was a companion article that made a brief mention of us, Rolfers/SI folks, osteopaths, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, as among those who are probably going to say "well, duh.." to this. But still, it's cool that the medical world has found this. It seems like a pretty big deal. There is probably a Nobel Prize somewhere in the future for this (for the pathologist, not Rolf or Sutherland or Feldenkrais or any of us yahoos of course.)

[small-potato]

Have you seen that the Radiolab podcast released an episode named after you? https://radiolab.org/podcast/small-potatoes

0: i dont hav ears

[enbycarp]

https://radiolab.org/podcast/right-stuff-2307

I just listened to this podcast about the potential of disabled people becoming astronauts and i cried

[chaoticoctopi]

Listening to an episode of Radiolab called How to Save a Life. And thinking about how very thankful I am that I've had access to regular first aid/CPR classes for the last *20 years* through my work.

There are people in my building who go out on survey vessels every year, and so at least two people became actual certified *instructors* so we could had yearly classes without even having to host an outside person to teach. And even though I don't go out on boats, they throw the classes open to everyone in the building.

I've done the old school compressions-and-breaths on dummies so many times now, and the updated compressions-only/hands-only system as well. I've had a chance to get that movement and rhythm into my bones, to feel how exhausted you get after only 2 minutes so I'm ready and not surprised by it. I've seen all the videos of wacky staged workplace injury hijinks so many times. Even though I'm a theater person and being loud and bossy isn't scary to me, I still take comfort in the rehearsal - "YOU! Call 911! YOU! Get the first aid kit..!"

There was a season where everyone seemed to be pregnant at my workplace. The guys brought in *infant rescussi-annies* for us. No babies would EVER be going out in a boat but they taught us how to do CPR on an infant anyway.

I forget how uncommon this is. That not everyone has had so much access to these classes - not only free for me to take, but done during *paid work time*, that the lessons begin to feel like second nature.

In the Radiolab episode, they mention that the odds of surviving a heart incident are something like 8%, because the public really just doesn't have CPR training. But in casinos the odds go up PAST 50%! There's old people! There's stress! There's a higher chance that someone is going to have a heart incident! But there's also cameras! And every worker in the place has been trained in CPR! So if you're not in a hospital, your next best place to have a heart attack is in a casino. 😂

We've all seen CPR depicted on TV. You know what it looks like, but the feel is so much different - harder, more work, and on TV it almost always results in the victim suddenly breathing again within seconds. In real life... In the Radiolab episode, they talk about a woman who did CPR on her husband for ten minutes before the EMT's arrived. Ten minutes. An eternity. And even then it took five shocks to get him back.

But he wouldn't have come back at all if she hadn't worked her ass off for those ten minutes.

If you can get yourself to a class, for the love of everything please do. And even if you can't, if you're in the wild and see someone go down - action is better than inaction. You don't even have to do *breaths*. Just interlace your hands and push hard and fast in the center of their chest. Just push. You could save a life.

...I don't really know where I'm going with this. It just brought up memories of witnessing someone totally bite it on their bike just DAYS after one of my first aid courses. No helmet, full faceplant on concrete. And me and my friend just leapt into it without thinking. I told her to hit the hazard lights and bailed out of the car before it even really stopped fully. The gal was rattled but ok. Mostly road rash. But we were able to assess the situation and keep traffic away while wrangling her, her bike and her dog. It wasn't just the theater kid in me that did that, it was the first aid classes too.

Get trained if you can. 💙

https://radiolab.org/podcast/how-to-save-a-life

[automatismoateo]

Ever heard of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri? Every Christian I know doesnt but Atheists should. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are scraps of early drafts of the Bible found at a 2000 year old garbage dump. This shows use man not God wrote the Bible via /r/atheism

Ever heard of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri? Every Christian I know doesn’t, but Atheists should. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are scraps of early drafts of the Bible found at a 2,000 year old garbage dump. This shows use man not God wrote the Bible About 130 years ago the garbage dump at the time the Bible was written was located in Oxyrhynchus. Two archeologists realizing what they found packed up 100 boxes of “garbage” which contains Bible verses with slightly different wording. IF God authored the Bible there would be no mistakes or changes as God is perfect. But there are changes to the scripture just like with Jospeh Smith and the Book of Mormon the text is different which shows us man, not God is the author of the Bible. If you would like to learn about the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Radio Lab has an episode on re-writing history https://radiolab.org/podcast/297250-help-transcribe-ancient-papyri AND if you watched any of Joseph Campbell lectures on YouTube you will find the stories in the Bible have all been ripped off from religions which date back thousands of years before the Bible. Submitted May 05, 2024 at 06:49PM by Impressive_Returns (From Reddit https://ift.tt/Ez43ePO)

[mrlnsfrt]

Life, the Universe, and Everything

42?

The title for this post is based on Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In this satirical work of science fiction, Douglas Adams describes how many millions of years ago a race of hyperintelligent pandimensional beings got fed up with the constant bickering about the meaning of life so they built themselves a stupendous super computer that was the size of a small city and amazingly intelligent. The computer’s name was Deep Thought and its creators asked it for the answer to the Ultimate Question, of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Deep thought replied it could give them the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, but it would take some time, seven and a half million years! Seventy-five thousand generations later the beings gathered to hear deep thought speak, they would finally know the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. The answer to the great Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42. (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy chapters 25-28)

If you are familiar with The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy you may have thought my post would be on the number 42. There are many opinions online about 42 being the answer to the ultimate question about Life, the Universe, and Everything but I am not going to chase the meaning of 42. I would rather consider the author. Douglas Adams described himself as a radical atheist, and this shows in his writing.

“If you describe yourself as 'Atheist,' some people will say, 'Don't you mean "Agnostic?' I have to reply that I really do mean Atheist. I really do not believe that there is a god — in fact I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one. It's easier to say that I am a radical Atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it's an opinion I hold seriously." —Adams interview, American Atheist (Winter 1998-99)

The universe in Hitchhikers’s Guide to the Galaxy is characterized by randomness and absurdity. The entire series of fiction novels mocks modern society with biting humor, cynicism, and quite a bit of pessimism. (Britannica.com) I remember reading Douglas Adam’s work and finding it both funny and somewhat depressive. But it is consistent with his worldview. If everything is random and absurd then there is no inherent meaning in life, your life means whatever you want it to mean. That may sound liberating at first, but it seems to me that the ultimate conclusion is rather depressive.

In the Dust of This Planet

In the Dust of This Planet is an academic treatise about the horror humanity feels as we realize that we are nothing but a speck in the universe. (Radiolab.org) Interestingly this academic book looking at philosophy and horror had quite an impact on pop culture. Whether or not you’re familiar with nihilism you have been exposed to it.

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Eugene Thacker, the author of In the Dus of This Planet

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Your hypothesis is the greatest horror is that nothing exists and nothing matters. And the world that we live in that we define in terms of humanity doesn’t care about us. 

EUGENE THACKER: Right. What in philosophy is often referred to as nihilism or pessimism. That there might not be a purpose to things or to your life or to our existence or to the cosmos. There might not be an order to things. We might not be here for a reason. This all might be purely arbitrary, an accident.

JAD: That there's no inherent meaning to anything.

EUGENE THACKER: That it just doesn't matter.

JAD: This is what Nietzsche called-

EUGENE THACKER: The most difficult thought.  (Radiolab.org)

Nihilism

According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy.

When you remove God from the picture, I can see how nihilism would be the logical approach to life, the universe, and everything. Everything is made up, it is all social constructs, made by people wanting to control other people. Who can tell you that you are wrong? What you feel is your reality and that is as real as it gets. Why should anyone else impose their reality on you? All you have is this life and you should be allowed to live it any way you please. Another way of looking at it is that other lives are only as important as you decide they are. If there is a life that inconveniences you, why not end it? If the fittest get to survive, should not the weak die? What makes it wrong? Who gets to decide? When there is no God, who gets to decide what is right and wrong? What makes one conclusion superior to another? What happens when we can’t agree on how we should live our lives?

I am not sure how many of you have played with these thoughts, it gets really dark real quick.

So how do I navigate life?

I am glad you asked.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16 NKJV

Maybe some of you roll your eyes at my answer. How cliché of me to quote John 3:16. It does seem simplistic to quote a well-known Bible verse, but maybe there is a reason this verse is so well-known, perhaps it encapsulates the biblical worldview succinctly. My approach to Life, the Universe, and Everything is to think about it in relationship to Jesus’ death on the cross. I do this because as Jesus hung on the cross it revealed the heart of God like nothing else in the history of the universe.

not just a god

It is not enough for God to exist as an intelligent designer or a cosmic force. A distant and uncaring God is not much better than no God at all. I don’t seek God simply to answer the questions that physics and biology are unable to answer. I don’t seek God to simply fill in the gaps that science inevitably leaves. The God of the Bible is a personal God who cares about us. God does not only care about us enough to create us, but cares enough to guide us, to provide for us, and to rescue us. God is not only all-powerful and all-knowing, God loves me personally and He loves you also. God loves us enough to send His unique Son to die so that we might be redeemed to live forever with Him.

When I consider Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for me and you I am filled with not only hope but the assurance that everything will work out in the end.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? - Romans 8:32 NKJV

I love how Paul puts it. Since God was willing to deliver His Son for us, would He withhold any good thing from us?

Peace and Hope

This understanding gives me peace when God answers my prayers with a “no” or a “not yet.” This also helps me get up in the morning and face the day, because I know I am not alone. When I look at the cross and I see how far God is willing to go to save me, I face my day with confidence that God is with me and will provide for all of my needs.

In light of the cross, consider the words of Jesus spoken in the Sermon on the Mount.

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - Matthew 6:25-34 NKJV

Since Jesus was willing to die on the cross to freely offer me salvation, I do not have to worry about the uncertainties of life. This also helps me live a generous life that is oriented towards blessing others, rather than an anxious life focused on selfish desires and gain at the expense of those around me. My awareness of God’s love for me brings me not only peace and hope but also gives me a purpose in life.

Purpose

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV

The God of the Bible offers us salvation as a gift. We do not have to do good works in order to earn our salvation. However, God has created us for good works. We do good works because in doing so we fulfill our calling and find joy and satisfaction. We do not have to be kind and generous and stand up for the truth in order to one day receive some reward, rather we do all those things because we are going to receive a great reward, but our reward is thanks to God’s grace and His great love for us, and not because of anything we have done to earn it.

We are selfish and foolish, we chase pleasure and happiness but never find it. God tells us how we should live our lives in order to maximize our existence in this sinful world.

6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. - Isaiah 58:6-11 NKJV

You have a choice

You can reject the Bible and the picture of God it conveys as nothing more than made-up stories or mythology. You don’t have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You can go through life chasing pleasure. Try being your own God, master of your destiny. See how that works out. Perhaps that’s where some of you are. Maybe you have broken every rule and guideline that God has given humanity, and you have realized that it never satisfied you and it only caused pain and suffering.

Another option is for you to give the God of the Bible a try. The God who loves you so much He sent His one and only Son to die for you. The God that offers you eternal life, but not only that, God also promises to take care of you and provide for you all the days of your life. The God of the Bible not only created us but also redeemed us. He is not a distant God. He is interested in your life, He wants to bring you comfort, healing, and strength. God wants to give you a hope and a purpose.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. - Jeremiah 29:11-13 NKJV

The cross of Calvary teaches us a clear lesson. God loves us, He loves you. The resurrection teaches us that Jesus has conquered the grave and we do not have to fear death. As you consider these truths about God and His plan to save you, how will you respond?

A knock at the door

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. - Revelation 3:20NKJV

Jesus knocks at the door. He chose to come and die for you, you did not have to force Him. He wants to have a relationship with you, He wants to save you, give you eternal life, and forgive all your sins. But Jesus remains at the door knocking. He will never knock it down. You have to open it.

Why not give God a try?

Why not open the door, invite Jesus in, and enjoy dinner with Him? Why resist someOne who loves you so much and wants what’s best for you?

I believe that everything that you are searching for, whether you know it or not is found in the God of the Bible. There are things you don’t even realize you need in your life that you will discover as you walk with God.

One possible answer to Life, the Universe, and everything is 42. Another possible answer is a life characterized by fairness, compassion, and a close relationship with God.

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NKJV

[arrjaysketch]

It's called a bit-flip, or single-event upset! A cosmic ray flips a bit in a computer from a 1 to 0, or 0 to a 1! Radio Lab did a fascinating story on this! https://radiolab.org/episodes/bit-flip

Bit-flips are usually of no consequence because most software is resilient against bit errors, but sometimes they do cause big problems.

[willwade]

This is just the most awesome radiolab episode. I can’t believe I have missed this one. It’s about Emilie and path through rehabilitation. I can’t even start to explain the aweseomeness of this. Just listen radiolab.org/podcast/f…

[im-not-internet-famous]

Straight Outta Chevy Chase

https://radiolab.org/podcast/straight-outta-chevy-chase

Very interesting podcast episode about how to define a music genre, keeping its history in mind while allowing it to grow and stay alive, plus questions of identity and who belongs in certain spaces. It's also interesting to discuss the issue of being a white man in predominantly black spaces when everything is usually about people of color in predominantly white spaces. My first thought when listening to this was "oh look a white man goes through the POC experience, cute!". I do appreciate that he actually knows the history of hip hop and understands the racial and economic contexts of the music, while still acknowledging that he is white and not appropriating black culture (I think). Most white people don't think much about their race; they have the privilege of being able to exist as a person outside their race that many POC are not afforded. The same goes for men not thinking about how their gender affects their place in the world compared to women. Peter Rosenberg definitely is more aware of his race, but I dont think that he's as aware of his male privilege, as is evident in his criticism of Nicki Minaj's song, where he seems to associate his disdain for Starships with its mainly female fanbase. I don't care how much he knows about hip hop, it rubs me the wrong way how he, as a white man, is hating on a black woman for putting out a successful song, and trying to tell her what music she should or shouldn't make. "I'm hard on you becuase I know you can be the best" yeah even if that wasn't a copout and a total lie, it's still unfair to be treating her differently, especially since she's already had to go through so much more bullshit compared to her male peers. I understand wanting to maintain the integry of hip hop, but the inherent nature of music genres is that they grow and evolve. People will make the music they want to make, influenced by the attitudes and technology of the times. The podcast also disses EDM, a genre I personally enjoy so I'm definitely biased, but I feel like you can't generalize such a broad genre and say it's all meaningless and meant to appeal to the widest audience possible. It's just a genre that arose with technology, and I like how accessible it is, since anyone with a computer can start making it, no access to expensive instruments or recording equipment necessary. It feels like Rosenberg worked really hard to get into this exclusive club of hip hop connoisseurs and is now working hard to keep it exclusive and maintain his higher status.

[things-xin]

DONUT REFERENCES

The Symbol of a Circle - symbolise the concept of cosmic unity - In mystical doctrines, the circle mainly symbolises the infinite and cyclical nature of existence, but in religious traditions it represents heavenly bodies and divine spirits - unity, infinity, wholeness, the universe, divinity, balance, stability and perfection - magic circle - containers of energy - The Wheel (as the first human invention shaped like a donut ring)

Donut Economics - Kate Raworth (Donut City)

Bespoke, artisanal craft (Baking) https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jul/18/rise-of-posh-doughnuts-gourmet

Donut City A city whose centre has deteriorated or declined as a result of rapid growth of the surrounding suburbs. https://smartcityhub.com/governance-economy/doughnut-cities/ https://www.atributosurbanos.es/en/terms/doughnut-city/ https://carnegieeurope.eu/2022/02/15/can-cities-use-doughnut-model-to-hack-liberal-democracy-pub-86368 https://fee.org/articles/theres-a-hole-in-the-middle-of-doughnut-economics/

Donut x Humans (as a singular tube): https://radiolab.org/episodes/guts-2211

Police x Donuts https://time.com/4800386/donuts-doughnuts-police-cops/ - Donuts as 24/7 food - Cheap, convenient - The accessibility of a donut for graveyard workers - "For the people"

Sinful Sweets, Unhealthy - Fried batter

Cosmic Donut (shape of the universe) - Matter surrounding nothingness (black hole) - The milky way https://www.vice.com/en/article/3aqjkn/the-universe-is-a-giant-donut-that-we-live-inside-new-research-suggests

Donut Particle Accelerator - Switzerland, UK etc https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/visiting-the-uks-largest-particle-accelerator-3345/

Decartes "I think therefore I am" - Perception is like a donut. You only know an object based on what is around it (senses, influences, culture etc.), but you will never actually know what lies in it's core (like the empty donut ring)

Jam Filled Donut as the concentration of wealth

Donuts as an Atom - the core of an atom

Donut Architecture - https://www.dezeen.com/2014/01/10/doughnut-shaped-skyscraper-guangzhou-china/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doughnut - https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/libraries-leisure-and-arts/arts-and-culture/public-art-afloat

Japanese/Chinese Currency

[audiovisionacupuncture]

Week 3

CLASS DISCUSSION https://radiolab.org/episodes/91584-time We talked in class about how the perception of time changes based on the number of events you remember in that time. It was covered in this episode of Radiolab. In my last assignment, I articulated many small gestures from the video and it felt longer than a peer’s sound design who only articulated the broad strokes. I wonder if you can hit a tipping point however, and have so many events articulated that it all just becomes a blur. That is kind of what my cafe figures sound design was, as I really did try and score every gesture. I think some of the moments you only notice on repeat viewings.

An important note from class as well, to mix on monitors not headphones. I did that for Assignment 2.2 and I think it made a better result. It’s hard to tell.

ASSIGNMENT WORK In preparation for future assignments, I’ve sent out an email to an animator and I’ve gotten a response. They like my work, and I think their prompt is interesting. I was drawn to it because of how thorough their description of texture and materiality was. It’s something I’m interested in, and I think timbre is something I understand quite well. Speaking of…

RESEARCH TIMBRE I’ve started reading Sweet Anticipation by David Huron and it has a very interesting discussion on timbre and musical schema. Basically, we identify genre based on the first 250 milliseconds of listening, which is too short of a time to understand things like form or lyrics. Instead, the only thing you get in that time is timbre. I like this explanation a lot, and it’s something I’ve suspected for a long time. I’ve never bought that a song’s structure plays a big part of genre because that’s never affected my experiencing in listening to music. I can feel genre from watching a TikTok that’s only 7 seconds long.I like to flick through songs on Spotify to discover new music, I might only listen to a song for two seconds, and I can basically tell if I’m going to like a song from that time.

THOMAS FLIGHT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWPFMmuagQ4 I really enjoyed the presentation of this video. And the two interviews linked really did help me in my assignment. Nope is one of my favourite movies and I think it is certainly one of the best sounding movie’s I’ve heard. I rewatched just the end part, which is after the horror premise is dropped and it becomes much more of an adventure movie. Everything just sounds so clear and crisp. I especially love the little staccato orchestral stab that is used whenever there’s a sudden realisation. It could be corny, but it feels so appropriate every time. It reminds me of that wind chime sounding thing from Back to the Future whenever there’s a time travel moment.

[awesomepygophilia]

Butt Stuff Episode of Radio Lab

https://radiolab.org/podcast/butt-stuff

The radiolab podcast talked to Heather Radke to discuss her book Butts: A Backstory. The interview was more about eugenics and why women's clothing doesn't fit them, which is interesting and a good message for people who struggle with finding cloth that fit. I would have preferred more discussion of butts, but still interesting.

[rzproduction]

Symmetry from Daniel Mercadante on Vimeo.

Made by Everynone

in collaboration with WNYC | Radiolab

everynone.com radiolab.org

[gaytrashfire]

There is actually a radiolab episode on this. I'm not sure the timestamp, but they talked with an elevator button historian(kinda), who said that these buttons often aren't even connected to the test of the elevator.

https://radiolab.org/podcast/buttons-not-buttons

[blackinhistory]

Henrietta Lacks

Though she died of cervical cancer in 1951, her cells were discovered to have unique properties. These immortal “HeLa” cells were instrumental in developing the polio vaccine as well as other key scientific landmarks including cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. Yet, her story has raised controversial questions about the ethics surrounding privacy & patient consent. Who was this unrecognized woman?

Born 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, Lacks grew up with humble beginnings. When Lacks’ mother died, her father moved the family to Clover, Virginia, where she stayed with her grandfather in a log cabin. That cabin was once the slave quarters on a plantation owned by her white great-grandfather. Living there, she worked as a tobacco farmer while meeting her cousin and future husband, David Lacks. Over the course of their marriage, they would have five children together and eventually move to the Baltimore, Maryland area.

Months after having their last child, Joseph, Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins hospital in early 1951. It was the only hospital in the area that treated black patients at the time. While receiving cancer treatment, doctors removed two samples of tissue from her cervix without Lacks' knowledge or permission, and sent them to Dr. George Otto Gey. He was a researcher (among many others) who had been attempting to grow tissues in cultures for decades with no success. 

But, Lacks’ cells were special and demonstrated very unique properties; they could survive much longer and were more durable than average cells, which only lasted days in comparison. Her cells were the first “immortal” human cells ever grown in culture. While Henrietta Lacks died at the age of 31 on October 4th, 1951, a part of her would continue to live on through science. Gey was able to isolate and reproduce Lacks’ cells, creating the “HeLa” immortal cell line. This detail was important because those same cells were used to conduct many experiments, key to the medical research process.

HeLa cells have been used across the world in many scientific breakthroughs related to cancer, AIDS, radiation, and gene-mapping research, among as others. The most notable “other” was Jonas Salk developing the famous polio vaccine in 1954 using a strain of the HeLa line. Over 10,000 patents were registered involving Lacks’ cells, and launched a multi-billion dollar industry.

Questions of consent and privacy were voiced by the Lacks family, as Henrietta nor her family gave permission for her tissues to be collected and used for medical research and commercial applications. What makes things more complicated is that at the time of collection, this practice was common and consent was not required or sought. In 2013, the genome of the HeLa cell line was released; this concerned the Lacks family, as it was their private genetic information being shared with the public. But, the family and National Institutes of Health came to an agreement which allowed some control over access to their DNA sequence.

Oprah Winfrey, partnering with HBO Films, is set to release a movie chronicling Henrietta’s story on April 22nd, 2017. The Radiolab Podcast aired a segment chronicling her journey as well.

Photo Source: Wikipedia Commons Source: Wikipedia Source: Smithsonian Mag Source: Biography.com Source: Radiolab.org

[bonos-grindcore-sideproject]

leopardskinpillboxhat replied to your link: “Extra Nice Foxes”:

Yep, it was a radiolab segment.

Weird, I was looking at this on my phone and somehow didn't see that it says radiolab.org right at the top. Help!? Anyway, thank you again! My mascot thanks you too. With a small blep and a yip.