NEWS
See Also: Other News from BCMB | Newsletters | Faculty in the News | Upcoming Events
Incoming Freshman Life of the Mind Project has a Biology Focus
Each fall the incoming freshmen are asked to read a book, prepare an individual project on the book, and come to campus prepared to discuss this with a small group during their first few days on campus as a part of the "Life of the Mind" program. The 2011 book selection is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. As highlighted in the "Notes from the Chancellor" on July 26, 2011:
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells of the African American woman whose cervical cancer cells, taken during a biopsy and cultured without her knowledge or permission in the 1950s, have been integral in formulating the polio vaccine, unlocking secrets of cancer and viruses, and developing in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping. Scientists have used them to help understand the effects of the atom bomb, and the cells have been sent into outer space to monitor the effects of zero gravity…..The cells are known as HeLa, a name derived from the initial letters of her first and last names."
Faculty, staff and students from across campus are reading this book getting ready for the author's visit on August 15, 2011, when she will be speaking in Thompson-Boling Arena at 8:30 a.m.
The video introducing the book to freshmen at UTK during orientation can be found on YouTube:
