The placenta's second life
Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2009.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54572 |
| _version_ | 1826194181755764736 |
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| author | Glausser, Anne O. (Anne O'Brien) |
| author2 | Alan Lightman. |
| author_facet | Alan Lightman. Glausser, Anne O. (Anne O'Brien) |
| author_sort | Glausser, Anne O. (Anne O'Brien) |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2009. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:52:12Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/54572 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:52:12Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/545722022-02-07T15:48:34Z The placenta's second life Glausser, Anne O. (Anne O'Brien) Alan Lightman. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing MIT Program in Writing & Humanistic Studies Graduate Program in Science Writing. Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2009. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-42). This thesis, written for a popular audience, explores the many facets of the placenta, an organ that facilitates the growth of the fetus during pregnancy. It looks at what happens when the placenta dodges the hospital incinerator-taking on a second purpose, a second life. Once the placenta is expelled during the third stage of labor, once it has served its role in the body and is facing retirement, it can take on whole new forms of usefulness. Humans, artful at manipulating the materials of life, have created new-and often controversial-purposes for this discard tissue after it has served its primary role: expelled placenta is used in eye surgery, in training dogs to sniff dead bodies, in toxicology research, in forensics, in cosmetics, and, most significantly, in an emerging field of stem cell research. From ritual use to research subject to health treatment, we have taken the placenta from the realm of the dead and given it new vigor. by Anne O. Glausser. S.M.in Science Writing 2010-04-28T17:03:28Z 2010-04-28T17:03:28Z 2009 2009 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54572 567779304 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 42 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Graduate Program in Science Writing. Glausser, Anne O. (Anne O'Brien) The placenta's second life |
| title | The placenta's second life |
| title_full | The placenta's second life |
| title_fullStr | The placenta's second life |
| title_full_unstemmed | The placenta's second life |
| title_short | The placenta's second life |
| title_sort | placenta s second life |
| topic | Graduate Program in Science Writing. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/54572 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT glausseranneoanneobrien theplacentassecondlife AT glausseranneoanneobrien placentassecondlife |