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While listening to CBC Radio One yesterday (I am now an addict), I heard an astonishing scientific story regarding HeLa cells. The name of the cell comes the name of Henrietta Lacks, a Virginian tobacco farmer whose cells became, and still are, a gift to medical research. An article on the Smithsonian website discusses the importance of her cells when they write:

“Henrietta’s cells were the first immortal human cells ever grown in culture. They were essential to developing the polio vaccine. They went up in the first space missions to see what would happen to cells in zero gravity. Many scientific landmarks since then have used her cells, including cloning, gene mapping and in vitro fertilization.”

What makes the story so interesting are the interactions Henrietta and the Lacks family had with doctors and researchers, both before and after her death and the impact these interactions have had on all of scientific research.  There are misleading doctors, misleading researchers, inmate experimentation, misunderstandings and many other things that come up in the story, which began in the late 1940′s. Rather than rehash the information myself, I recommend checking out a few of the following resources if you are interested in reading more.

Smithsonian – “Henrietta Lacks’ ‘Immortal’ Cells”
Wired – “Henrietta Everlasting: 1950s Cells Still Alive, Helping Science”
Rense – “Immortal HeLa Cells”