The upcoming movie The Amazing Spider-Man with Emma Stone looks to be pretty cool and I’m not even a fan of Spider-Man.
However, making me even more interested in it are the rumors that stem cells are part of the plot. Some folks view stem cells as superheroes able to cure almost anything including COVID-19, but that’s the topic for another post.
One of the stars of the movie, actress Emma Stone, who plays the character Gwen Stacy reportedly mentioned stem cells several times during a press conference about the movie. In fact, apparently Stone was literally studying stem cells during the making of movie.
She is quoted as follows:
[The studio] took us to these labs and this was the first time in my life that I’ve really been very angry about not going to college, because I went to these labs and I was fascinated! I knew what they were talking about. We looked at Biophotonics, and what happens with cortisol fires off in your brain and how the same thing that causes acne can cause diabetes. And they’re proving that stress has a link. I was learning about regeneration. We were injecting axolotls and seeing how they removed their arms. We looked at stem cells that they wired to beat like a human heart. They are finding ways to do this. I was fascinated!
Hey, stem cells are even more cool if Emma Stone is fascinated by them, right?
She goes on to say:
“What do I need to do to intern?” You need to be a college graduate. And I was like, “But I know what you’re talking about! I can learn!” It made me so upset. It’s like joining the Peace Corps, you have to be a college graduate. It sucks! I can learn, I can learn, I swear. So I really got so interested in Biology, that was one of the most exciting parts of this process, learning about medicine and regeneration and stem cells, all of it expanded my mind in so many different ways. Now, I’m going to take a Biology class.
Hey, Ms. Stone, you can intern in my lab if you do a PSA promoting stem cells!
As someone who is not a Spider-Man expert, I also found it interesting that apparently stem cells have been involved in the plot of Spider-Man through the years.
She can intern in my lab as well. Willingness to learn, enthusiasm and careful work are the main criteria. I don’t recall stem cells exactly in the comics or films, since it happens to him when he is a teenager, thus it involves somatic changes.
1. Stem cells have NOT been a part of the plot (at least in the early days). I wonder where/when it was added…
2. Our education system is messed up if there are people who find science cool, but don’t want to go to college.
Michael, the new movie has stem cells in it.
I respectfully disagree about part of your 2nd point. Obviously I believe college is an incredibly important part of our educational system, but not everyone is going to go for various reasons. Many movie stars choose not to go to college because their focus is on their careers. Other movie stars such as Natalie Portman do go to college and I find that admirable. Nonetheless, I’m just happy if anyone finds science cool no matter their educational background and I believe a star such as Emma Stone could positively influence a lot of people.