Gene Therapy’s Dark Ages
Distillations | Science History Institute
Gene therapy is based on a simple-sounding, yet deceptively complicated premise: adding or replacing faulty genes to fix medical problems. A compelling idea that came out of breakthroughs in DNA research, the field grew lightning fast. But the death of teenager Jesse Gelsinger after a gene therapy clinical trial left the public and scientists questioning the field’s promise. Why did researchers push ahead with clinical trials despite gene therapy still being in its infancy? What does the Jesse Gelsinger story tell us about the personal risk behind medical breakthroughs? Credits...
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'The Andromeda Strain': An Interview with Luis Campos
Distillations | Science History Institute
Producer Mariel Carr talks to historian of science and former Science History Institute fellow, , about his article “Strains of Andromeda: The Cosmic Potential Hazards of Genetic Engineering." He shares how Michael Crichton’s first novel and the subsequent film influenced the conversation and controversy around recombinant DNA research in the 1970s. Credits Host: Executive Producer: Producer: Associate Producer: Audio Engineer: Music by Resource List . IMDb. Campos, Luis A. "."
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The People vs. Recombinant DNA
Distillations | Science History Institute
In 1976, Harvard University wanted to build a specialized lab for recombinant DNA research. But first, it had to get permission from the city of Cambridge. The resulting city council hearings drew TV stations and captured the attention of the whole country. At the center of the controversy? A wise-talking mayor, a young outspoken molecular biologist, and an important question: in scientific research, how much say should the public have? Credits Host: Executive Producer: Producer: Associate Producer: Audio Engineer: Resource List Cobb, Matthew. New York: Basic...
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Science, Interrupted: Part 2
Distillations | Science History Institute
Genetic engineering breakthroughs in the late 1960s and early 1970s came with a lot of promise—and peril too. Fears about what could happen with recombinant DNA experiments put scientists in the middle of a moral dilemma. Did they have a responsibility to consider how others might use their work? Or was their place simply to be on the lab bench? In this two-part episode, we’ll share the story about the first time scientists stopped and considered the ramifications of their work, with a self-imposed moratorium. And we’ll explore all the controversy that led to the historic pivotal...
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Science, Interrupted: Part 1
Distillations | Science History Institute
Genetic engineering breakthroughs in the late 1960s and early 1970s came with a lot of promise—and peril too. Fears about what could happen with recombinant DNA experiments put scientists in the middle of a moral dilemma. Did they have a responsibility to consider how others might use their work? Or was their place simply to be on the lab bench? In this two-part episode, we’ll share the story about the first time scientists stopped and considered the ramifications of their work, with a self-imposed moratorium. And we’ll explore all the controversy that led to the historic pivotal...
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New Season Trailer! Coming August 5th.
Distillations | Science History Institute
Check out our new season, dropping weekly on Tuesdays, starting August 5th.
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The History of the School Lunch
Distillations | Science History Institute
Feeding kids a healthy lunch every school day is a feat of science and logistics. Molded into shape by nutrition scientists who wanted to optimize children’s health, the school lunch has endured war, economic depression, and even a global pandemic. Some might say it’s all the stronger for it. So how did all these crises shape school lunch? And is there any room to give our rectangle pizzas and frozen chicken patties a little grace? Credits Host: Executive Producer: Producer: Associate Producer: Audio Engineer: Music by . Resource List YouTube video. 1:54. Posted...
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ALS Patients Take on the FDA
Distillations | Science History Institute
ALS is a fatal neurological disease that kills motor neurons. Even though it was first described more than 150 years ago, there is no cure, and the few drugs available only dampen the symptoms or slow the progression by a few months. In recent years new drugs have emerged. However, there is one problem: the life expectancy is just two to five years after diagnosis. This timeline is incompatible with the FDA drug approval process, which takes years and even decades. This has created a tense situation for desperate patients who are demanding the FDA approve unproven drugs. What’s the harm in...
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The Fraud that Transformed Psychiatry
Distillations | Science History Institute
In 1973 a bombshell study appeared in the premier scientific journal Science. It was called “On Being Sane in Insane Places.” Its author, a Stanford psychology professor named David Rosenhan, claimed that by faking their way into psychiatric hospitals, he and eight other pseudo-patients had proven that psychiatrists were unable to diagnose mental illness accurately. Psychiatrists panicked, and, as a result, re-wrote what’s known as “psychiatry’s bible”—the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. The study and the subsequent overhaul of the DSM changed...
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Cancer Virus Hunters: An Interview with Gregory J. Morgan
Distillations | Science History Institute
For more than 100 years, biologists who suggested that some cancers may be caused by viruses were the pariahs of genetics. However, they persevered and incrementally built their knowledge, leading to the discovery of retroviruses, the development of a test to diagnose HIV, and the creation of the HPV vaccine. Join us as we interview Gregory J. Morgan about his book Cancer Virus Hunters: A History of Tumor Virology. Credits Host: Senior Producer: Producer: Associate Producer: Audio Engineer: “Color Theme” composed by . Additional music by ...
info_outlineIn 2019, Abdul-Aliy Muhammad, a community organizer and journalist, learned that the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology had a collection of skulls that belonged to enslaved people. As Muhammad demanded that the university return these skulls, they discovered that claiming ownership over bodies of marginalized people is not just a relic of the past—it continues to this day.
Credits
Host: Alexis Pedrick
Senior Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath
Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer
“Innate Theme” composed by Jonathan Pfeffer. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Resource List
It’s past time for Penn Museum to repatriate the Morton skull collection, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad
Penn Museum seeks to rebury stolen skulls of Black Philadelphians and ignites pushback, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad
Penn Museum owes reparations for previously holding remains of a MOVE bombing victim, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad
City of Philadelphia should thoroughly investigate the MOVE remains’ broken chain of custody, by Abdul-Aliy Muhammad
Black Philadelphians in the Samuel George Morton Cranial Collection , by Paul Wolff Mitchell
Some skulls in a Penn Museum collection may be the remains of enslaved people taken from a nearby burial ground, by Stephan Salisbury
Remains of children killed in MOVE bombing sat in a box at Penn Museum for decades, by Maya Kassutto
The fault in his seeds: Lost notes to the case of bias in Samuel George Morton's cranial race science, by Paul Wolff Mitchell
She Was Killed by the Police. Why Were Her Bones in a Museum?, by Bronwen Dickey
Corpse Selling and Stealing were Once Integral to Medical Training, by Christopher D.E. Willoughby
Medicine, Racism, and the Legacies of the Morton Skull Collection, by Christopher D.E. Willoughby
Final Report of the Independent Investigation into the City of Philadelphia’s Possession of Human Remains of Victims of the 1985 Bombing of the MOVE Organization, prepared by Dechert LLP and Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads LLP, for the city of Philadelphia
The Odyssey of the MOVE remains, prepared by the Tucker Law Group for the University of Pennsylvania
Move: Confrontation in Philadelphia, film by Jane Mancini and Karen Pomer
Let the Fire Burn, film by Jason Osder
Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (MOVE) Records, archival collection at Temple University's Urban Archives