On a cold day in January of 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman from Virginia, rushed to the Johns Hopkins Medical center after experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding and severe uterine pain. Dr. George Otto Gey, a white, male physician, examined her, diagnosed her with a severe case of cervical cancer and began treatment. Eight months […]
Tag: science
Crispr and the Spectre of Eugenics
There are no more children with Down Syndrome in Iceland. At least, almost none. Depending on where you are in the world, and when in time, a certain explanation might come to mind. Were this the mid-20th century, or in several authoritarian regimes around the world, we might expect that this result was achieved through […]
Science and Philosophy: Friend and Foe to Abortion Debate
March 2021 was an eventful month for abortion in the news. On March 3, The New York Times published an opinion article outlining the political landscape around Roe vs. Wade versus heartbeat bans, one recently passed in South Carolina. No commentary from medical experts was included. Four days later, USA Today published an article titled, […]
Nobels and Whistles in Beijing
Tu Youyou was labeled with “three noes”: no medical degree, no doctorate, and no work overseas. And yet, she became not only the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize, but also the first Chinese citizen to earn a Nobel Prize in science. Tu was honored as one of 2015’s three Nobel laureates in […]