All 8 Uses of
positive
in
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- One month prior to current visit, patient tested positive for gonorrhea.
Chpt 1.1 (definition 1) *positive = indicating that a condition was found
- When radium was first discovered in the late 1800s, headlines nationwide hailed it as "a substitute for gas, electricity, and a positive cure for every disease."
Chpt 1.3 (definition 2) *positive = certain
- Within weeks of Henrietta's death, Sonny, Deborah, and baby Joe—all between one and four years old—tested positive for TB.
Chpt 2.15 (definition 1)positive = indicating that a condition was found
- Before beginning his talk, Hayflick stood at the podium and announced that, since WISH cells supposedly tested positive for a genetic marker found only in black people, he'd called his wife during the break to ask if he was, in fact, his daughter's father.
Chpt 2.20 (definition 1)
- Many of their cell lines tested positive, including the skin cells George Hyatt had transplanted onto a soldier's arm years earlier.
Chpt 2.20 (definition 1)
- HeLa cells in his lab tested positive for the HPV-18 strain, but zur Hausen requested a sample of Henrietta's original biopsy from Hopkins, so he could be sure her cells hadn't been contaminated with the virus in culture.
Chpt 3.27 (definition 1)
- The sample didn't just test positive; it showed that Henrietta had been infected with multiple copies of HPV-18, which turned out to be one of the most virulent strains of the virus.
Chpt 3.27 (definition 1)
- I held a page of the records close to my face to make out the small script, then began reading out loud, " 'This twenty-eight-year-old' … something … I can't read the handwriting … 'positive Rh.' "†
Chpt 3.34 (definition 2)
Definitions:
-
(1) (positive as in: The test came back positive.) found a condition or substance to be present
-
(2) (positive as in: I'm absolutely positive!) certain (having no doubt; or used for emphasis)