November 2013
HOME’SCOOL E-ZINE
+ Meet the world’s first immortal woman: Henrietta Lacks
Drama Student Suspended for dressing as a homeless man.
Dear Readers, Hi All! Fall is officially here! Not only has the scorching weather passed (hopefully), we all get at least one night of extra sleep! Jesus is Lord! Thanks to everyone for your feedback and all of your support in the production of this E-zine as well as looking out for ways that I could improve. (Special Shout-out to Aunt Angel-Thanks for the publication recommendation! It has proven to be most resourceful) Please remember to set your clocks back one hour for Daylight savings time on Saturday night for November 3rd, 2013.
If you would like to comment, give us feedback and/or submit anything of interest, be sure to let me know through e-mail at tigacro@yahoo.com Thanks again! -T
november Henrietta Lacks P.5
The Left-Handed Corner Demographics of Social Media Users
Happy Thanksgiving
Articles The world’s first successful human cell line. P5-7 Boy dressed as Homeless man, suspended P. 8-10
Fall Fashion 2013 The best nail polish colors to wear in the Fall season P.11 Cute Sweaters for the Fall and Winter P.12
The Contributors Daddy ď Š
Marleena
Enoch
Teylor
Tia
Mom
Rilee
The Henrietta Lacks Story The history of human tissue cell culture began with Henrietta Lacks, a young black mother from Baltimore, a tobacco farmer who died from an aggressive strain of cervical cancer in 1951. Despite radiation and surgery as treatment before her death, her tumor spread rapidly. Within eight months she was dead, at age 31. 62 years later, part of Henrietta's cancer still remains alive. During surgery, a few pieces of her tumor had been donated to a laboratory specializing in tissue cell culture, without her or her family’s consent.
In those days, this was a frustrating business. Most attempts to grow human cells outside the body failed. Rarely, a few cells would thrive for a while, and then die off. Henrietta's cells were kept alive by feeding them a concoction (more like a witch's brew that a lab recipe for cell culture). Nevertheless, the success of the recipe brought forth a new age of modern virology. As chronicled by Michael Gold, A Conspiracy of Cells (1986), the laboratory concoction consisted of: (1) Blood from human placenta. (The placenta apparently contains powerful hormones and a host of viruses and bacteria, as yet not fully investigated.) (2.) Beef embryo extract (the ground-up remains of a three-weekold unborn cattle embryo. (3.) Fresh chicken plasma obtained from the blood of a live chicken heart. Lacks’ cell line has been used in numerous vaccines such as the polio vaccine, they have gone into space and have been exposed to nuclear testing and to toxins. The cells have furthered our understanding of cancer, HIV/AIDS and cells in general, and are still widely used today to grow viruses and to test anti-tumor medicines. For some unknown reason, Henrietta's cancer cells continued to grow vigorously. The cells did not age. Instead, if fed properly they could live and multiply indefinitely. Amazingly, her new tissue culture "cell line" proved to be "immortal." These malignant cells became the first successful human tissue culture cell line in medical history-the now famous HeLa cell line, thus commemorating the legendary Henrietta Lacks.
The moral and ethical issues surrounding HeLa cells and other human cell lines are still much debated. The Lacks family were unable to afford healthcare. Henrietta Lacks did receive free healthcare treatment for her cervical cancer, but, as she was African American, she had to travel miles to a segregated hospital to be treated. George Gey, the doctor who treated Henrietta Lacks, didn't profit from the cells when he sent them to other scientists. Yet, some pharmaceutical businesses cultured HeLa cells and have profited by their manufacture. Furthermore, should cells be used for the treatment (vaccines, shots, etc.) of other individuals without their consent? Is this morally indecent, a ghastly practice?
What’s your thoughts on this?
Student dressed as homeless man gets suspended A high school student who dressed as a homeless man for a drama assignment was so convincing that he fooled school officials — and ended up getting suspended. It began with an assignment last month, senior Michael Bodomov, 17, said: Create a character and be that person for an entire day at Mount Lebanon High School, just outside Pittsburgh. Bodomov hopes to attend the University of Pittsburgh next year and is still exploring whether theater and drama are his calling. Judging by his performance, he could be short-listed. "I wore like a couple layers of coats and some sweatpants," Bodomov said. He added a pair of fingerless gloves, mismatched shoes and plastic bags for socks. He also smeared ink on his face to make it look dirty.
Bodomov usually walks to school, but his mother, Marina, thought he looked so much like a homeless person that she drove him and dropped him off early, before the main entrance was open. Bodomov went to an alternate entrance, shook the door and attracted the attention of a teacher or hall monitor, who asked what the stranger wanted. "I had to kind of think on my feet," Bodomov said, since he didn't want to break character before the school day even began. "I kind of mumbled" and "said I need to talk to some people," Bodomov recalled, adding that in retrospect that might have made officials think he was mentally unbalanced. Bodomov said he was stuck between the desire to play his role and the temptation to just tell officials who he was. He decided that dropping hints about his identity was OK, because even if adults picked up on
"At one point, I think I said, 'I might be a student here,'" and a school official responded, "No, you can't be. You look like you're 30 and you haven't showered in 10 days.“At one point, I think I said, 'I might be a student here,'" and a school official responded, "No, you can't be. You look like you're 30 and you haven't showered in 10 days." He also tried showing them the garbage bag he was carrying, since it contained his school backpack. But his attention to character detail thwarted that, too. The bag was also filled with empty plastic bottles, and that's apparently all the officials saw. "It's not like this entire time I wasn't trying to let them know I was a student," Bodomov said. "It was pretty funny to me." Then the police showed up. After staying in character for a little longer, Bodomov explained the whole situation. The police left, and an administrator said he was suspended for insubordination and for breaking a rule that students must identify themselves to an administrator when asked. Bodomov understands that the school was in an unusual position, but the two-day suspension still stings. "I definitely think they overreacted," he said. But Bodomov's mother said the school was right to be careful, given safety concerns. She isn't upset that they suspended her son, adding, "It's a good school." When a mumbling stranger carrying a garbage bag shows up at a school, she said, "Who knows how it's going to turn out?“ What do YOU think? Did the school officials go too far? Did the student go too far? Let me know what YOU think about this at: tigacro@yahoo.com
3 of Fall’s hottest Colors
IRIDESCENT MAPLE Upon close inspection, it's gray with iridescent olive; at arm's length, it looks almost like a black pearl.
Minty Candy Apple
A very creamy, beautiful minty-green
Buttery Caramel
Turns out, a buttery caramel color makes a gorgeous neutral for medium to dark skin.
Keep Warm this Fall! What’s better than a graphic sweater? Well, that just depends on the person. Chunky Knit, fitted sleeves, even leather placements and zippers! Rock your favorite sweater this Fall!
Rilee’s Riddle
Why did the Indian chief wear so many feathers?
ANSWER: To keep his
The Left Handed Corner
The demographics of social media Men vs. Women
The Proof Pinterest
(DYK) DID YOU KNOW… • A rat can last longer without water than a camel. • The sentence: The
quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog uses every letter in the alphabet.
• The name Jeep came from the abbreviation used in the army for the “General Purpose” vehicle, GP. • The ant can lift 50 times its weight and can pull 30 times its weight. -submitted by Enoch Crooks
Motivational Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.