“Gartler’s findings did not go over well. In fifteen years since George Gey had first grown HeLa, the number of published articles involving cell culture had more than tripled each year. Scientist had spent millions of dollars conducting research on those cells to study the behavior of each tissue type, comparing one to another, testing the unique response of different cell types to specific drugs, chemicals, or environment. If all those cells were in fact HeLa, it would mean that millions of dollars had been wasted, and researchers who’d found that various cells behaved differently in culture could have some explaining to do” (Skloot 153).
This passage refers to the commotion Gartler’s announcement created when he suggested that HeLa was contaminating every single lab in the world and their cell cultures. I like this passage because it reminds how slow scientific advancement moves and how much effort is put into researches. It made me think about the big dispute between Darwin and Lamarck over how life evolved. Even though they both agreed that life changes gradually over time to a better suited form and become more adapted to their environments, they disagreed on how and if changes were passed to following generations.
On the one hand Lamarck believed that changes made by what and organism want or needs were passed down to offspring. He also believed that evolution happens according to a predetermined plan and that results have already been decided. On the other hand Darwin believed that changes in an organism during his life do no affect evolution. He suggested that the variation within the same species is what helps them to thrive or to disappear from the face or the Earth according to natural selection. The individuals with helpful traits thrive, while the ones not so well adapted die off. Eventually, over time, all of the individuals from that species will have the good trait. Although Darwin’s theory is accepted today, during his days he was humiliated in many different occasion for his revolutionary ideas. I imagine this was a similar situation as that of the HeLa cell bomb theory.
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