Heard this on Radio ponce the other morning, interesting story. Guy couldn't remember anything long term after the surgery he had in 1953, any experience he had was instantly forgotten, he couldn't go anywhere on his own because he wouldn't remember where to go back to,....
Even more interesting is the story of the woman who has probably made a greater contribution to medical science than anyone else. Henrietta Lacks was an impoverished black woman who died in 1951.
Cells from her body were taken without her consent and cultured. They still are!
Virtually every single person owes a debt to her as he HeLa cells as they are known were key in developing cancer drugs, test allergies, develop vaccines, AIDS research, and there are 11,000 medical patents developed using their cells.
She may even be the most influential woman who ever lived!
There is also a downside though as despite the multi million dollar business in her cells her famiy remained in poverty and could not even afford a gravestone. They still cannot afford medical insurance.
The story is fascinating, and I can recommend the book "The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks", or the BBC documentary:
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