Cancer Mystery Solved, Cartoonist Ellen Forney, The Sleep-Diet Connection, And Wagner's "Ring"

What Caused Henrietta Lacks’ Aggressive Cancer? Researchers Now Know

The New York Times bestseller “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” tells the story of a young woman who died from aggressive cervical cancer and her amazing immortal cells which have been reproduced since 1951. A new study by the University of Washington has pieced together what caused her cancer, called “a perfect storm of what can go wrong in a cell.” We talk with study author Jay Shendure.

Art Of Our City: Cartoonist Ellen Forney

Ellen Forney is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator. Her work has been published by Fantagraphics and appears regularly in the pages of The Stranger. Forney has just published a graphic memoir. “Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michaelangelo and Me” chronicles Forney’s diagnosis with bipolar disorder, and her long journey to finding mental balance.

Sleep Less, Eat More?

Scientists have known for a long time that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain. A new study sheds light on why. The study in Nature Communications finds that lack of sleep causes people to crave unhealthy, high-calorie foods like potato chips and makes it harder for people to control their impulses. We talk with study co-author Matthew Walker of the University of California.

How Wagner Came To America

This month, opera lovers from around the world will flock to McCaw Hall to take in Seattle Opera’s internationally acclaimed production of Richard Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungen.” But where did a music lover go in the 1890s to take in some world-class Wagner? Would you believe Coney Island? Cultural historian and Wagner expert Joseph Horowitz tells KUOW’s Dave Beck the story of Laura Langford, the Brooklyn newspaper editor, suffragist, clairvoyant and Wagner disciple who founded a series of outdoor Wagner concerts at the famed Coney Island amusement park.