Biology

The woman everyone should know about: Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks’ (HeLa) cells, collected in 1951 at the John Hopkins Hospital, are possibly the most important discovery in medical research. They are known as being ‘immortal’ as their number can double every 24 hours, creating an infinite supply that could be studied outside of the body. Realising the significance of HeLa cells, the government set up a factory producing six trillion cells.

“they were found to divide more quickly in zero gravity”

Vital in the creation of the polio vaccine, HeLa cells helped end the polio epidemic. They have also aided the development of a HPV vaccine and led to the birth of America’s first ‘test tube baby’ in 1981. HeLa cells have also been sent into space, allowing scientists to observe the effect of space on human cells. They were found to divide more quickly in zero gravity – increasing the chance of mutations.

Henrietta Lacks was an African-American tobacco farmer who died aged 31 in poverty. Her family suffered without healthcare, whilst others were profiting from the disocveries emerging from her cells. Henrietta’s cells were taken without her consent or even knowledge. In 2013, her genome was published online without her permission, giving personal information about the Lacks family’s own health issues. As a result, the HeLa Genome Committee was established. This gave the family control over Henrietta’s DNA and Henrietta herself was awarded an honorary doctorate. Even today, her cells continue to aid our knowledge of biology, saving millions of lives worldwide. If you’re interested, read ‘The Immortal Life of Heniretta Lacks’ - it’s amazing!

Hannah Coxhead, Year 12

Getting to know... Ms Brown, Head of Biology

1. What specialised cell or organelle do you most relate to and why?

A ribosome because I’m always busy.

2. What inspired you to become a Biology teacher?

My mum works with adults with learning disabilities and I used to go in and help her out so that’s why I’m a teacher. The Biology part – I was nearly a History teacher but Biology won because it’s more relevant to everyday life.

“I was nearly a History teacher but Biology won”

3. Do you have any embarrassing teacher moments?

Every. Single. Day. (Just ask any of my classes). In my first ever lesson I had to teach sexual reproduction to Year 8 boys, that was pretty mortifying!

4. If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take three things with you, what would they be?

Beatrix (my daughter, because she’s lovely), sunglasses and my phone.

5. Do you have any party-tricks?

Swimming (I used to have a British record until it was broken by someone faster) and I make a good mince pie.

“Wind back the tape of life; let it play again from an identical starting point, and the chance becomes vanishingly small that anything like human intelligence would grace the replay.”

NHEHS girls tackle the Biology Olympiad!

This year, Year 10s participated in the Biology Challenge against an incredible 43,000 pupils around the country. Year 12 also participated in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad. The results are below.

Year 10

Gold

Hannah Schroeder Zareen Hyatt Chloe Braganca Vasconcelos

Silver

Megha Maudgil Thushika Ravichandran

Bronze

Elizabeth Nandra

Year 12

Gold

Rinda Naresh

Silver

Karen Ramzy Yakoub Alisha Godhania

Bronze

Anika Dhawan Issi Stronge Philippa Jones Iva Grujic Sharuka Ravichandran

Biology Jokes

When you keep forgetting whether the bicuspid valves are on the left or right side of the heart, or you just can’t remember what the vacuole does, here are some jokes to remind you of the joys of Biology!

What did one cell say to his sister cell when she stepped on his toe?

Ouch, that’s mitosis!

What did the femur say to the patella?

I kneed you.

These jokes are getting cornea and cornea...

How does Juliet maintain a constant body temperature?

Romeostasis

What is the fastest way to determine the sex of a chromosome?

Pull down its genes.

Why Biology is the Best Subject

Biology enthusiasts, Alisha Godhania and Rinda Naresh, set out to discover why everyone loves Biology so much. Here is what they found...

Lucy Psaila, Year 12

‘Now that I’ve dropped Biology, there is a cellular-shaped hole in my life.’

Sharuka Ravichandran, Year 12

‘It’s in my genes’

Mr Cheney

‘What could be more important than intelligent life forms trying to understand life itself? And studying the brain has to be one of the most amazing things to do. Using your brain to try and understand how a brain works… why can’t your brain just ask itself how it works? Whatever you enjoy and appreciate in life can be linked to Biology and the brain.’

Madison, Year 7

‘I love it because it gives you an insight into the amazing things inside you’

Freya Rylatt and Pooja Pillai, Year 8

‘Biology gets my heart pumping.’

Meher Sandhu, Year 9

‘Biology is my life.’ (pun intended) In May 2018, our school participated in the programme “Living Eggs”. Twelve Year 7 Chick Representatives cared for and studied ten chicks as they hatched and developed,with help from Ms Richardson and Ms Brown.

“Megg-hen Markle, Chickira, Chick Norris and Tchickovsky!”

What I enjoyed most about being a Chick Rep was finding out how they developed and deciding their names. These included Megg-hen Markle, Chickira, Chick Norris and Tchickovsky! Normally, when a hen has her eggs, on average only 30% of the eggs hatch but we were lucky enough to have 80% hatch!

Chloe Brennan, Year 7

I learnt so many new facts such as, a fully developed chicken has more neck bones than a giraffe and a chick’s heartbeat is averagely 275 bpm. I was able to clean, as well as provide water and food for the chicks. My favourite memory of the chicks was when “Chicky”, the smallest, fell asleep in my palm - he felt so fragile and delicate!

Genevieve Pearce, Year 7

A Snapshop of the Biology Department

Exploring Science Club: making glow-inthe-dark slime.

A Year 7 biologist with her project on DNA. In her left hand she is holding her own DNA that she extracted herself.

Mr Ives with one of his favourite scientists, Robert Winston.

Robert Winston Comes to NHEHS

In March, NHEHS was extremely fortunate to welcome Lord Robert Winston into our school. As a Professor of Science and Society at Imperial College London, he and his team performed the world’s first fallopian tube transplant and later founded the NHS IVF programme. He is also famous for writing and producing TV shows such as BBC’s ‘Child of Our Time.’

Lord Winston‘s talk about the cells of our body and our journey from gamete to adulthood captivated the entire assembly hall. Perhaps what made it so incredible was that Lord Winston managed to appeal to all students, even those not taking the sciences. He answered some difficult questions from Notting Hill girls, who probed him about the 14-day rule for experimentation on embryos, what it was like to be a life peer in the House of Lords and whether he believed gene-editing should be used for humans. To this he wisely replied that modifying humans would diminish the value of human life itself – a message that resonated with both scientists and non-scientists.

Overall, it was an incredible experience that inspired girls from Year 8 to the Sixth Form to continue persevering with, or indeed spark, a love of biology.