Questions for Chapters 17-23

Hey Guys Sorry for the lateness of this post. Here's some questions to consider for Chapters 17-23. Think about how to relate these to your topic or use them to brainstorm for a topic.

=>Describe the experiment that Southam developed to test his hypothesis about HeLa. Who were the test subjects in Southam’s first study? Were they informed about the research and its risks? What was the result of Southam’s first research study?

=> What does the term “informed consent” mean?

=>What was the result of the legal action taken against Southam and Mandel? Explain how the action against Southam and Mandel led to the development of informed consent forms as a standard medical practice.

=> Summarize the various ways that HeLa was used in the space program. What disturbing discovery did scientists make about the way HeLa responded in orbit?

What scientific discoveries were made possible as a result of fused hybrid cells?

=>How did the public respond to the idea of cell hybrids? In what specific ways did the media influence the public’s perception of cell hybrids?

=> What did Stanley Gartler discover about eighteen of the most commonly used cell cultures?

=>What unique abilities did HeLa have that allowed it to contaminate cultures without researchers being aware that contamination had occurred? Why would HeLa contamination be a problem for researchers?

=>What is “spontaneous transformation”? What did Gartler suggest about spontaneous transformation?

=>How did the scientific community respond to Gartler’s theory about HeLa contamination?

=> What are “night doctors?” Where did the term originate and why? What do the Lackses believe “night doctors” do? Is their belief based on real events? Explain your answer.

=> What does the 1969 Johns Hopkins study reveal about the researcher’s attitude and assumptions about race?

=> What is the Lacks family’s biggest complaint about the way they have been treated by Johns Hopkins and Dr. Gey?

=> After finding out that his cancer was terminal, what reason did Gey give for his decision to offer himself as a research subject?

=>What did Howard Jones realize when he reviewed Henrietta’s medical records?

=>What was the purpose of President Nixon’s National Cancer Act?

=> Do you agree that Henrietta should have been correctly identified in order to “give her the fame she so richly deserves,” or do you think her anonymity should have been protected? Explain your answer.

=>From a legal standpoint, how is the fact that the doctors failed to obtain consent prior to taking blood from the Lacks family in 1973 different from their initial failure to obtain consent from Henrietta in 1951?

=>Why did advances in genetic research necessitate establishing the legal requirement that doctors or researchers obtain informed consent documentation prior to taking DNA samples from patients for research?