Summary: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

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 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.

We had to read a book that was written about the HeLa cells and all that they have done. The title of the book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and was written by Rebecca Skloot. The cells that were taken from (He)nrietta (La)cks are so special because they were the first human cells ever grown in culture that were immortal. They never die, and they reproduce at great speeds. HeLa cells helped aid the progression of gene mapping, vaccines for various of diseases and also replaced the use of animals in some cosmetics

Skloot stated, “… using culturing techniques HeLa helped develop, scientists could now take a sample of someone’s cornea, grow it in culture, then transplant it into someone else’s eye to help treat blindness.” (162). This is just amazing how a single women’s cells could lead to so many scientific and medical advancements. Without the discovery of HeLa cells, we would not be able to grow a part of someone’s cornea and use it to help treat another person’s blindness also we probably would not have a polio vaccine.

We like to believe that science is a very precise field. We record every bit of data we can find so as to validate our results and obtain the most accurate information. However, if science is supposed to be a field where facts and statistics are safeguarded for future review, how is it that the story behind the origin of the famous HeLa cells went untold for so long? In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot aims to shine a light on the events that lead to the discovery of the HeLa cells, how it has changed not only the scientific field, but also the world in general, and how it has affected the family of Henrietta Lacks a woman whose name was almost forgotten.

It is critical to understand the extent of the importance of HeLa cells in order to comprehend the effects of this hypothetical alteration of history. Within the book titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and written by Rebecca Skloot, a brief summary of the applications of the cells are provided: “...her cells went up in the first space missions to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity, or that the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization” (Skloot 2). According to this information, HeLa cells had significance in many areas of science, whether it was exploring the unknown that lies beyond our world or understanding the genetic code of our own bodies. Additionally, these immortal cells advanced our knowledge concerning the medical needs of the human species. Sans HeLa cells, the release of the vaccine to prevent polio, a sometimes fatal disease, would have been delayed, resulting in more cases of this illness existing the the future and therefore causing the deaths of many. The development of chemotherapy would have been postponed as well, removing this method of treatment from the

The effect the discovery and creation of the HeLa cells made on the science community and Henrietta’s family had a domino effect. Both had different opinions and beliefs on the matter; this led to some difficult questions asked of the family and of the medical community. Due to the new and advanced methods of experimentation, the HeLa cells made to to the field of science, the scientific community and the media failed to remember that Henrietta and her family were not abstractions but actual people. Rebecca Skloot, however, took into account the Lack’s family, she inquired both the history of the HeLa cells as well as the Lacks family, treating them as actual people with inalienable rights.

"He repeated this process with about a dozen other cancer patients. He told them he was testing their immune systems; he said nothing about injecting them with someone else's malignant cells" (Skloot 128). In February of 1954, a cancer researcher, Chester Southam, preforms an experiment on many cancer patients without their knowledge. He injects millions of HeLa cells into his patients to test the theory that cancer is caused by either a virus or an immune deficiency. During the 1950s, the line between what is ethical and what is unethical in the medical field is grey and unclear. Innocent people's privacy is invaded, but the scientists claim they are doing it to advance science. Henrietta Lacks is the originator of the HeLa cell line. The HeLa cell line is found in early 1951, when Henrietta passes away; this cell line is one of the most important cell lines ever discovered in the medical field because of its ability to grow and the possible cures which can be created from its use.

Gey became upset that HeLa was no longer in his control. HeLa cells eventually started being used in cancer research on live patients by researcher Southham, without him disclosing the true intentions of his research. His unethical research practices involving HeLa cells sparked the needed for regulations on clinical research in the United States but they had no bearing on the ethical dilemma of actually using the HeLa cells. HeLa use had became so wide-spread more scientist had become interested in the background story of the women and where exactly the cells came from. It wasn’t until geneticist Stanley Gartler figured out that HeLa’s owner was a black women because he discovered the cells contained glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-A which is almost exclusively found in African-Americans. However, the true identity of HeLa’s owner did not come to light until Dr. Gey passed and his colleagues wrote a history article about HeLa’s origins as a tribute to his

Every person and thing in this world is affected by Henrietta Lacks’s cells called HeLa cells. All of the cells originated from Henrietta’s cervix where a cell biologist named Gey took a sample of Henrietta's tumor without her consent. When Gey’s assistant, Mary Kubicek, is given the cells, she believes them to be just like any other cells and doesn't wish to go into deeper examination. Once she comes back to her cubicle the next day to see that the cells have multiplied in great amounts, she is astonished. These cells are used for anything and everything such as curing diseases and creating vaccines. Not only are they used for diseases and vaccines, but they are also used for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The cells are used to test the safety

It is safe to say that without the discovery of HeLa cells in 1951, today's world would be vastly different. HeLa cells have left a greater mark on the world than ever dreamed possible. These "immortal" cells were vital to the development of the polio vaccine, cloning, uncovering microscopic secrets of viruses and cancer, in vitro fertilization and gene mapping. They have been everywhere: labs, animals, people, even the moon. They assisted with the development of the atom bomb and were sent into space, being used to study the effects of these unknown environments on human cells. HeLa cells have touched the lives of everyone, yet the majority of people have never heard the name Henrietta Lacks, the woman from which these cells were removed. In "The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks," the author Rebecca Skloot escorts us on a remarkable journey through her quest to uncover Henrietta's life story. Henrietta Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer Clover, Virginia, working the land just as her slave ancestors did and struggling to keep her children fed and safe. After moving to East Baltimore in hopes of a better life, marriage struggles with her husband and cousin David "Day," and four children, she began to have extensive pain in her abdomen, as she described, "A knot in my womb." This pain arrived shortly after the birth of her daughter Deborah, and she thought it had something to do with the pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease Day had brought home. Like many black women with

The impact of HeLa cells in our society is massive. In the 1950’s the used of HeLa cells in multiple research discoveries help scientist in the virology field. HeLa cell’s researches contributed to the developed of the poliovirus vaccine that have eradicated polio from most countries in the world. HeLa cells were used to grow single cells in culture and circulated to other scientist so they can have the opportunity as well to advance in science. With HeLa cells they learned how to freeze the cells without impact on them, cells freezing process is use in many ways like frozen food, sperm donors for males with fertilization problems who might choose this option as an alternative to have a family, even women nowadays have the chance to freeze their eggs if they want to have babies later on life without worry about age. HeLa cells have being used for researches in human genetics, consequently the discovery that humans have 46 chromosomes and not 48 like they believed at that time, the impact of this discovery was huge, because now they are different tests to evaluate how likely is a couple to have

The discovery of HeLa cells is said to have “revolutionized medical research” (Biography.com Editors). Since the discovery of the cell line, the study of disease and studying human sensitivity has become much more efficient (Biography.com Editors). Now, scientists have a more in-depth idea of the diseases like cancer, HIV, Aides, and tumor prevention medicines (BigPicture). Before these special cells were discovered, cancer researchers would have to spend most of their time keeping cells alive, rather than studying the cells, and many people would die from non-curable diseases (Popular

I am writing this letter to you to help you understand the importance of including HeLa cells in your biology book. First of all, some teachers may know her real name and that she is African American but nothing else. However, there is a very interesting story behind HeLa cells that have made a difference in our lives, and our parent’s lives. It was originally developed for cancer research but it has also been sent to outer space to see if the cells could live there,

Henrietta had a biopsy done of her cervical cancer when she went to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the few facilities that would treat African Americans at that time. The doctor, Dr. TeLinde, took two samples, one cancerous and one normal to compare the two. His colleague Dr. Gey was a recognized tissue culture researcher who asked for samples of cervical cancer to study, one of the samples randomly given was Henrietta’s. She was treated for her cancer but it wasn’t enough, and the cancer eventually spread through her body and she died. Her cells, that Dr. Gey was given, showed the amazing ability to regenerate her telomeres, sequences of repeating DNA that are shortened each time a cell divides acting as a biological clock. Her cells appeared to be immortal and were easily grown again and again in laboratory conditions in vitro. He gave some of these cells to many other researchers because he saw their usefulness in their respective fields. Anything from how viruses replicate to what a drug does to them would benefit from HeLa cells. Biotech companies made a HeLa (the given name of the cells, Henrietta Lacks) factory to mass produce these cells for profit. They began shipping the cells to anyone that wanted to purchase them: other researchers, drug companies and even cosmetic companies that could test them on human cells versus animals. This was a major advancement for the community and