American Scientists in Cancer-virus Research

American Scientists in Cancer-virus Research PDF Author: National Cancer Institute (U.S.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cancer
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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American Scientists in Cancer-virus Research

American Scientists in Cancer-virus Research PDF Author: National Cancer Institute (U.S.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cancer
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description


A Contagious Cause

A Contagious Cause PDF Author: Robin Wolfe Scheffler
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022662837X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
Is cancer a contagious disease? In the late nineteenth century this idea, and attending efforts to identify a cancer “germ,” inspired fear and ignited controversy. Yet speculation that cancer might be contagious also contained a kernel of hope that the strategies used against infectious diseases, especially vaccination, might be able to subdue this dread disease. Today, nearly one in six cancers are thought to have an infectious cause, but the path to that understanding was twisting and turbulent. ​ A Contagious Cause is the first book to trace the century-long hunt for a human cancer virus in America, an effort whose scale exceeded that of the Human Genome Project. The government’s campaign merged the worlds of molecular biology, public health, and military planning in the name of translating laboratory discoveries into useful medical therapies. However, its expansion into biomedical research sparked fierce conflict. Many biologists dismissed the suggestion that research should be planned and the idea of curing cancer by a vaccine or any other means as unrealistic, if not dangerous. Although the American hunt was ultimately fruitless, this effort nonetheless profoundly shaped our understanding of life at its most fundamental levels. A Contagious Cause links laboratory and legislature as has rarely been done before, creating a new chapter in the histories of science and American politics.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks PDF Author: Rebecca Skloot
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307589382
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

A Contagious Cause

A Contagious Cause PDF Author: Robin Wolfe Scheffler
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022662840X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
Is cancer a contagious disease? In the late nineteenth century this idea, and attending efforts to identify a cancer “germ,” inspired fear and ignited controversy. Yet speculation that cancer might be contagious also contained a kernel of hope that the strategies used against infectious diseases, especially vaccination, might be able to subdue this dread disease. Today, nearly one in six cancers are thought to have an infectious cause, but the path to that understanding was twisting and turbulent. ? A Contagious Cause is the first book to trace the century-long hunt for a human cancer virus in America, an effort whose scale exceeded that of the Human Genome Project. The government’s campaign merged the worlds of molecular biology, public health, and military planning in the name of translating laboratory discoveries into useful medical therapies. However, its expansion into biomedical research sparked fierce conflict. Many biologists dismissed the suggestion that research should be planned and the idea of curing cancer by a vaccine or any other means as unrealistic, if not dangerous. Although the American hunt was ultimately fruitless, this effort nonetheless profoundly shaped our understanding of life at its most fundamental levels. A Contagious Cause links laboratory and legislature as has rarely been done before, creating a new chapter in the histories of science and American politics.

The Science of Cancer

The Science of Cancer PDF Author: Scientific American Editors
Publisher: Scientific American
ISBN: 1466859075
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
The past few years have seen tremendous strides in our understanding of cancer, including new hypotheses about its genetic origins and new treatment alternatives using the body’s own immune response. In this eBook, The Science of Cancer, we examine what we know and what we’re finding out about this scourge of humankind. We delve into the molecular basis and complex causes of cancer, the arguments for and against screenings, new and targeted therapies, and minimizing risk. In “How Cancer Arises,” Robert Weinberg presents what has been the central dogma of cancer genetics, which says that a handful of essential mutations in specific genes lead to tumor growth; however, recent discoveries are challenging this theory, as we see in “Untangling the Roots of Cancer” and “Stem Cells: The Real Culprits in Cancer?” Early detection of cancer is important for treatment, but not all screening tests are created equal. In “The Great Prostate Cancer Debate,” Mark Garnick lays out the controversy over the value of the prostate-specific antigen test for prostate cancer and the rationale against screening. With our increasing knowledge of cancer’s causes, exciting targeted therapies are on the rise, including homing in on stem cells, making use of viruses, and manipulating the immune system as we see in “A New Ally against Cancer,” which focuses on treatment with therapeutic vaccines. Does this mean a cure is around the corner? Perhaps not, according to Scientific American Editor Dina Fine Maron in “Can We Truly ‘Cure’ Cancer?” But with remission rates rising for certain types of cancers and with new discoveries opening up further avenues of research, there is reason for optimism.

The Virus and the Vaccine

The Virus and the Vaccine PDF Author: Debbie Bookchin
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312278724
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Jonas Salk's polio vaccine has taken on an almost legendary quality as a medical miracle, for it largely eradicated one of the most feared diseases of the 20th century. But the story of the vaccine has a dark side, one that has never been fully told before... Between 1954 and 1963, close to 98 million Americans received polio vaccinations contaminated with a carcinogenic monkey virus, now known as SV40. A concerted government effort downplayed the incident, and it was generally accepted that although oncogenic to laboratory animals, SV40 was harmless to humans. But now SV40 in showing up in human cancers, and prominent researchers are demanding a serious public health response to this forgotten polio vaccine contaminant. A gripping medical detective story, The Virus and the Vaccine raises major questions about vaccine policy.

Russian Scientists in Cancer-virus Research

Russian Scientists in Cancer-virus Research PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cancer
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Virus Hunting

Virus Hunting PDF Author: Robert C. Gallo
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 9780465098156
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The renowned AIDS researcher Robert Gallo tells his story of scientific breakthrough in a riveting portrait of the people, the politics, and the pace of modern scientific discovery.

Progress Report

Progress Report PDF Author: U.S.-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cancer
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description


An Ungovernable Foe

An Ungovernable Foe PDF Author: Natalie B. Aviles
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231551770
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 553

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Book Description
In American politics, medical innovation is often considered the domain of the private sector. Yet some of the most significant scientific and health breakthroughs of the past century have emerged from government research institutes. The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) is tasked with both understanding and eradicating cancer—and its researchers have developed a surprising expertise in virus research and vaccine development. An Ungovernable Foe examines seventy years of federally funded scientific breakthroughs in the laboratories of the NCI to shed new light on how bureaucratic organizations nurture innovation. Natalie B. Aviles analyzes research and policy efforts around the search for a viral cause of leukemia in the 1960s, the discovery of HIV and the development of AIDS drugs in the 1980s, and the invention of the HPV vaccine in the 1990s. She argues that the NCI transformed generations of researchers into innovative public servants who have learned to balance their scientific and bureaucratic missions. These “scientist-bureaucrats” are simultaneously committed to conducting cutting-edge research and stewarding the nation’s investment in cancer research, and as a result they have developed an unparalleled expertise. Aviles demonstrates how the interplay of science, politics, and administration shaped the NCI into a mission-oriented agency that enabled significant breakthroughs in cancer research—and in the process, she shows how organizational cultures indelibly stamp scientific work.