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Hela Cells: John Watkins And Henry Harris

Decent Essays

What the scientists are doing is morally right because the contributions their studies are making to medicine are worth giving up a few cells.

Through scientific research and fusion of cells, two British scientists named John Watkins and Henry Harris made an interesting discovery. They found that by fusing HeLa cells with deactivated chicken cells (ones that could no longer split and reproduce) they could somehow bring the chicken cells back to life. This showed a link between cells and genes, meaning they could possibly find a way to “turn disease genes off.” (Immortal Life of Henrietta) Doing so could save thousands of lives before the first signs and symptoms even show.

Cell fusion has also contributed greatly to the research of cancer cures. Scientists in Europe and North America fused cells and made the first ever “monoclonal antibodies.” (Immortal Life of Henrietta) A monoclonal antibody is, by definition, “A laboratory-produced molecule that's carefully engineered to attach to specific defects in your cancer cells.” The main purposes of these proteins were to make the cancer cells easier for the immune system to detect, deliver radiation to the cells, and to block growth of the cells. (Mayoclinic) Later, they were used to create a cancer treatment called Herceptin, and to make blood transfusions safer. (Immortal Life of Henrietta) …show more content…

In 1965 when cell fusion first began, people were horrified, and we're scared that Harris and Watkins would create human-animal hybrids, like the “mapes” (man slash ape hybrids) that Harris described. He did however say that this was taken out of context, and that “[they were] just creating cells, not trying to produce centaurs.” (The Immortal Life of

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