Cells, vaccines, and immortality

Cells. Fifty trillion of them in my body and yours! They are in the news, because of the Republican debates. Texas Governor Rick Perry tried to vaccinate sixth grade girls to prevent them from getting HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. There are more than 100 strains of HPV in existence; thirteen of which cause cervical, anal, penile, and oral cancer. Over 90 percent of sexually active adults become infected with at least one strain during their lifetimes!

This month I have written a couple of brief posts about Rebecca Skloot's book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Ms. Lacks died in 1951 because she was infected with particularly virulent strains of HPV. But, her cells lived on, after her surgeon scraped some off one of her tumors without her consent. Using her cells and others, scientists discovered how her cancer started and why her cells never died. HPV inserts its DNA into the DNA of the host cell, where it produces proteins that lead to cancer. A German scientist earned the Nobel Prize because of his discoveries about HPV and the development of the vaccine, using Ms. Lacks' cells. When HPV inserted its DNA into Ms. Lacks' Chromosome 11, it essentially turned off the genes that suppress tumors, according to Ms. Skloots.

Normal cells are preprogrammed to live only so long. Cells that have been infected by a virus or cancer have the potential to divide indefinitely in cultures.

Remember how I used to write about Jill Bolte Taylor's book My Stroke of Insight? That is where I learned that we have 50 trillion cells in our bodies. Dr. Taylor writes about how she thanks her cells many times daily for their healing powers.

But, it is God who created us and all other life. It is God Whom we should be thanking for the miraculous bodies we live in. It is God Who makes available to us the opportunity to live eternally.