If you read my Saturday posts, you know that I love me some non-fiction, specifically from the science section. Yes, it sounds super nerdy, but let me tell you, the science section houses some of the most interesting and relevant books in all the bookstore. Another one to add to that list is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.

If you’ve never heard of Henrietta Lacks, you’re not alone. However, some of you may have heard of HeLa cells. HeLa cells are used in scientific research and have been part of almost every medical breakthrough since the ’50s. And they’re immortal. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

So what is the connection between Henrietta – a poor, black woman from Baltimore – and the trillions of HeLa cells in the world? You won’t believe it, but every single one of those trillions of cells are HERS. Even the name HeLa comes from her name: HEnrietta LAcks. And even more miraculous is the fact that you’re probably more familiar with Henrietta than you think. Odds are, one of the vaccines you’ve received in your life was created from her cells or maybe even contained her cells. Mind-blowing.

In 1951, Henrietta visited John Hopkins complaining of a “knot” in her stomach. She was eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated in the fashion of the day: tubes of radium were sewn onto and in her. However, before beginning the treatment, a doctor took a sample of her tumor and shipped it off to George Gey. Gey had been trying to create immortal cells for years. Up until this point, cells died within a few days in a culture and scientific progress was at somewhat of a standstill. But when Gey cultured Henrietta’s cells, he noticed that the cells weren’t dying – in fact, they were multiplying. The culture grew so quickly that he had to move it to another jar! Gey was fascinated by this immortal cell line. He sent samples to any scientist who asked and eventually HeLa cells were turned into a BILLION-dollar industry. Read More »

Not everyone is on birth control, and for those of us who have, for one reason or another, said no thanks to those tiny multicolored pills, figuring out when Aunt Flow is going to arrive can be somewhat of a hassle.

We’ve all been there; you wake up and instantly feel stabby pains gnawing at your insides, already knowing you’re going to have to do laundry before you throw off the covers to investigate. Or you suddenly sit up a little straighter in your chair, taking a moment to process the fact that yes, your period has indeed started without warning, right in the middle of class.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to find a pattern, a method to the madness of your menstral cycle? Well, now there is — on the internet, no less! Mon.thly.info is a website that was invented to help women everywhere keep track of their cycles with a super simple, super clean interface.

“Each time you start your period, add the date to your Mon.thly account“, the website states, “and it will use your history to predict the next time your cycle will start. Read More »