Research Papet

Her cells, taken from a cervical cancer biopsy became the first cells to reproduce infinitely in a lab. HeLa cells are still the standard in labs around the world today. Before HeLa cells, scientists spent more time trying to keep cells alive than actually performing research on the cells. There is an endless supply of HeLa cells and this allows more time for new

These are issues because the cells of Henrietta lack were used to create “immortal” cells that provided a steady supply of cells for medical research and allowed to find cure for multiple diseases, and guaranteed the medical industry millions of dollar when her family his struggling to pay for healthcare. Moreover, researchers at Johns

Then it was transferred to George Gey’s lab, where they would cultivate it and attempt to grow new cells from the sample, however, there was not much hope for the sample, as they all eventually died within days, sometimes even hours. Henrietta’s cells changed this, after multiple days of being cultivated and still living, Gey began to realize that he had discovered something amazing, and he slowly started to share his discovery with the world.

In 1951, the first immortal cell line was created by a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital using tissue samples taken from a young, black woman named Henrietta Lacks. Her cells would come to be known as HeLa cells, and for a very long time, the owner of these cells was a mystery; even her family did not know about them. For years to come, her cells would be used in many important medical and scientific advancements. Over that time, HeLa cells would prove to be instrumental in developing a polio vaccine, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. They would even be sent to space to see how cells would react in zero gravity.

Henrietta Lacks died never knowing the impact her life would have on the world of medicine. A poor, black woman living in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1950s, Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer and died only nine short months after her diagnosis at the age of thirty-one. The mother of five children, Henrietta most likely died thinking her family would be her legacy. Little did she know her doctor at John Hopkins hospital, George Gey, had taken some of her cells before she died. With Henrietta’s cells, Dr. Gey was finally able to achieve a goal he had been working toward for decades – creating the first line of immortal cells (Freeman). These cells have been used for countless scientific research and have solidified Henrietta Lacks’ place

Due to the fact that Henrietta’s cells were the first human cells grown in a lab that did not die after a few cell divisions, they could be used for conducting many experiments. Her cells were considered “immortal”. This was a major breakthrough in medical and biological research. One major breakthrough was the development of a vaccine for polio. To test the vaccine the cells were quickly put into mass production in the first-ever cell production factory. Another enormous breakthrough was the successful cloning of human cells in 1955. Demand for the HeLa cells grew quickly. Since they were put into mass production, Henrietta’s cells have been mailed to scientists around the globe from “research into cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation and toxic substances, gene mapping, and countless other scientific pursuits.” (Smith, 2002, "Wonder Woman: The Life, Death, and Life After Death of Henrietta Lacks, Unwitting Heroine of Modern Medical Science".) HeLa cells have been used to test human sensitivity to tape, glue, cosmetics, and many other products. Scientists have grown some 20 tons of her cells, and there are almost 11,000 patents involving HeLa cells. (Batts, 2010)

The non-fiction book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, details the happenings and life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman and tobacco farmer who became a medical miracle in the 1950’s. The book is written in an attempt to chronicle both the experiences and tribulations of Henrietta Lacks and her family, as well as the events that led to, and resulted from, research done on Henrietta Lacks’ cells. Henrietta was a very average African American woman in this period; she had only a seventh-grade level education, and followed traditional racial and gender roles by spending her time has a mother and caretaker, as well as working on farms throughout her life until the involvement of the US in World War II brought her and her husband, “Day” Lacks, comparatively better work opportunities in industrial steel mills. However, after her death in 1951 Henrietta became much more than average to doctors at John Hopkins when the discovered that cells extracted from her cancerous tissue continued to live and grow much longer than any other tissue samples. Further investigation and isolation of these thriving cells led to the creation of the first ever immortal human cell line in medical history. The incredible progress in medicine made possible by Henrietta Lack’s tissue cells were not without downfalls, though. The treatments and experiences received by Henrietta and the effects it had on her and her family demonstrate both racial and gender

The HeLa cells are the first immortal cell lines. Immortal cell lines are not like other cells. These cells don’t die of old age. Immortal cells are important because these cells grow indefinitely and they survive and grow by dividing. This allows scientists to research more productively. HeLa cells are used for many researches to cure diseases and develop new drugs. With HeLa cells scientists did many researches and it led to breakthroughs in the study of leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, AIDS, and more. It became one of the important tools in medicine. These improvements in diseases saved lives of many people. HeLa cells are coming from an African American female from Baltimore. HeLa cells are taken from Henrietta Lacks’ cervix

The problem of possible contamination of other long-term cultured tumor cell lines with HeLa cells not only caused an international embarrassment, but also raised the concern of misattributing a specific property so another cell line, for example, a virus or a tumor-specific marker, which actually belongs to HeLa. With the continued and growing use of tissue culture in biochemist research, intra- and interspecific contamination becomes a significant risk. The determination of stable genetic markers on cultured cells is a powerful tool for monitoring such contamination. Recent experiments in which cultured cells and innumerable clones of somatic cell hybrids have been used for genetic analysis have shown that, with the proper use of polymorphic markers to characterize the cells, the possibility of undetected cross contamination of cultures is no longer the problem it once may have

The HeLa cells (the name for Henrietta Lacks cells) led to the discovery of polio vaccines, genetic medication, HPV vaccine, and much more. Still today, these HeLa cells are being researched and used to protect the public from life-threatening diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis. The public health response to new medical advancements and research from the HeLa cells has had many positive and negative consequences on the individuals, families/communities, and the nation.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story of a poor, Southern African-American tobacco farmer who died in 1951 at the very young age of 31 years old from cervical cancer. Little did she know that cells harvested from her tumor, which were obtained without her consent have lived on and on and became one of the most important tools in medicine today. Despite Henrietta’s story being full of legal and ethical issues, the story was one filled with success and anguish. Success for science as her cells served as advancement in medical research and development; yet was sorrowful for Henrietta and her family. This story occurred during a time of segregation in the United States, when Henrietta Lacks believed she

In this semester’s book club, I have enjoyed the book called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This book describes a true and famous cell line in the medical research field, that is the first immortal cell line in the world, HeLa cells. Not until I finished reading this fantastic book, I know that the HeLa cells were taken from a cervical cancer patient, Henrietta Lacks, without letting her know the truth about using her cells in research, even though she died. What more surprising to me was that her family lived a hard life without health insurance while the researchers make many profits from developing HeLa cells, they were never informed about their family member’s devotion to the scientific research.

After her death in 1951, for six decades, Henrietta Lacks did not exist in the eyes of the society, but her cells did. How? Well, the answer is quite simple. HeLa Cells are the first immortal human cells. These cells never die and multiply every twenty-four hours. After spending 10 years to perfect her first book, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot essentially captured the life, the death, and aftermath of Henrietta Lacks’ life. With controversial issues regarding science, ethics, race, and class Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey. From the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover,

The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, was a nonfiction story about the life of Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Henrietta did not know that her doctor took a sample of her cancer cells a few months before she died. “Henrietta cells that called HeLa were the first immortal human cells ever grown in a laboratory” (Skloot 22). In fact, the cells from her cervix are the most important advances in medical research. Rebecca was interested to write this story because she was anxious with the story of HeLa cells. When she was in biology class, her professor named Donald Defler gave a lecture about cells. Defler tells the story about Henrietta Lacks and HeLa cells. However, the professor ended his

“The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks” written by Rebecca Skloot exposes the truth about a colored woman, Henrietta Lacks, who died from cancer leaving five children and a husband behind. Before her death doctors took her cells,without her or her family consent, to do there own research and experiments. They discovered that her cells were immortal, they became the first immortal cells known as the HeLa cells..After the discoverment the Lacks family were never told that Henrietta Lacks cells were used, bought and sold. Through the HeLa cells the scientist had made money while Henrietta kids were mistreated and were in poor situations.It wasnt till 25 years later that the Lacks family found out about the HeLa cells doing miracles. Rebecca Skloot though “The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” was able to explain the unethical situations that the Lacks family faced after Henrietta’s death.