ipl-logo

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

1263 Words6 Pages

TIC673 HeLa Assignment 2018

In one of the best seller novel, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” the author Rebecca Skloot describes about the first human immortal cells that lived in laboratory culture and about the story of black, 31-year-old woman from whom these cells were obtained. The cells which not only proved to be most important in the field of medicine but also brought medical revolution were obtained from her without her or her family’s knowledge leading to the most debatable ethical issues. The following essay would describe the cell’s contribution to science, how they were obtained and some of the ethical issues violated.

Henrietta’s cells did much good for the society. One of the biggest contribution was the polio vaccine. …show more content…

By using these cells, scientists succeed to prove Salk vaccine as effective which later helped to prevent the disease of polio. This is the reason why Skloot stated “Soon the New York Times would run pictures of black woman hunched over microscopes examining cells and black hands holding vials of HeLa”. (Skloot, 2010, p. 96) Also, HeLa cells proved to be more useful than normal cells in study of different viruses because they divided really fast. For that the author stated in the book, “HeLa was a workhorse: it was hardy, it was inexpensive, and it was everywhere”. (Skloot, 2010, p. 97) They helped to study viruses of herpes, mumps, measles, equine encephalitis and many more in very less cost. Scientists also made advances by freezing the cells without changing or harming them. Also, they created first human cell clones whose technology later helped in cloning whole organisms, stem cell isolation and in-vitro fertilization. Due to HeLa cells scientists could do gene mapping and also identify chromosomal disorders like Down syndrome, Turner syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome. The HeLa cells were sold massively and earned big profits because of the increased demand. HeLa cells

Show More
Related

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

244 Words | 1 Pages

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a novel written by Rebecca Skloot, a science reporter, depicting the lives of Henrietta Lacks’s family and their connection between them and Henrietta’s famous cancer cells “HeLa Cells”. Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951 and was treated with radium and radiation therapy. During her treatment process, the tumor and other cancerous tissue that was removed from her body was sent George Gey's lab at Hopkins to be grown in test tubes all without Lacks’s consent or knowledge. The cells were successfully able to divide and give the scientific community a good supply of human cancer cells to experiment on. The Lacks’s family was never informed about the cells even when there were amazing

Read More

Henrietta Lacks Research Papers

561 Words | 3 Pages

This was something new to them and it hadn’t been seen before. The reason for being a discovery is that before the cells that had been cultured from other cells would only survive for a few days. However, with Henrietta’s cells they were able to isolate one specific cell, multiply it and start the HeLa cell line (Henrietta Lacks Biography (1920–1951)). They named them HeLa after her first two letters of her first name and the first two letters of her last name. These cells were the first human cells grown in a lab, and were used to conduct many experiments.

Read More

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

1695 Words | 7 Pages

What could not have possibly been imagined was how this could ultimately affect the family of Henrietta Lacks. HeLa cells were unlike any other cells. They grew in mass quantities, and continued to multiply and grow in culture whereas other human cells stopped. This eventually lead to interest in the Lacks family and their genetics. Some family members were afraid for their medical health and what would happen to their genetic material if they went to the doctor.

Read More

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

1809 Words | 8 Pages

The HeLa cells not only survived, they grew intensely and kept right on growing as much as their given space would allow. It seemed like the cells would never stop growing, thus came the label of the immortal cells (Skloot, 2010). HeLa cells became a very important part of scientific research, and Henrietta’s name became well-known among Gey’s colleagues. On November 2, 1953, the real name behind the HeLa cells was leaked by the press, but they got it wrong, Henrietta Lakes was reported as the source of the cells in the Minneapolis Star. Gey and Dr. TeLinde, the cervical cancer specialist at John Hopkins, decided to allow their story about Henrietta to be told in a more accurate account, but they wanted to withhold her name.

Read More

Henrietta Lacks Pros And Cons

1178 Words | 5 Pages

The polio vaccine, the revolutionary steps regarding cancer research, and even obtaining the ability to put a man on the moon, were some of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. All these achievements were thanks to HeLa cells. Cancerous cells from Helen Lane. Or so that is all we knew of the origins of the cells before the early 70’s. The massive debate and controversy over Henrietta Lacks cells, their ownership, and their rights added more conflict and more worries to the mountain of distress and tensions during the Cold War.

Read More

Why Is Henrietta Lacks Important

1033 Words | 5 Pages

Without these cells we would not have been able to successfully or humanly learn many of the things that we know now. These cells helped teach us about diseases, how to cure/treat them, and humans as a whole. These cells provided the human genetic material we needed in order to make discoveries without harming or testing on people. Although the way these cells were cultured in the beginning was very inhumane they stopped many more dangerous or inhumane acts from being committed in the name of research. HeLa cells were the base of many discoveries that shaped our modern science and

Read More

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

520 Words | 3 Pages

Henrietta’s cells became the first to manage to live outside of the body in a culture created by Margaret, and these cells are still growing to this day. They have been packaged, shipped and sold countless times. The HeLa cells have made the biggest contribution to human kind in regards of medical research on cancer, polio, and many more viruses. There is a report of the insane experiments done to these cells, and since they are not a person, ethical limitations are nonexistent. HeLa opened the gates to

Read More

The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

585 Words | 3 Pages

As soon as Gey realized what he had discovered he ordered a large factory to be built to mass produce HeLa cells, its main purpose was to discover a cure for Polio (Skloot, Pg. 93), but not only did it provide aid in the medical world, but companies such as cosmetic corporations could test the effects of their makeup and other cosmetics on cell health (Skloot, Pg. 102). The possibilities of research with HeLa cell were endless, anything from the research on atomic radiations effect on cells and how to reverse the damage, to the discovery of cells being able to live on after the extraction of their nucleus, and even the vast amount of studies of chemotherapy drugs, hormones, vitamins, and environmental stress proved the importance of HeLa cells in modern research (Skloot, Pg. 102). For the first time ever, scientists were able to properly identify the correct number of chromosomes and map them out, this further lead to the ability of being able to diagnose diseases where individuals had an excess or lack of chromosomes such as Trisomy 21 or Klinefelter syndrome (Skloot, Pg. 100). The science world had finally found a way to overcome the expense and strenuous procedures to obtain cell subjects, scientist could test the effect of gravity, the pressure of deep sea diving by spinning the cells in a centrifuge (Skloot,

Read More

Was The Unconsented Research On Henrietta Lacks Lawful?

1397 Words | 6 Pages

Who make the decisions concerning HeLa cells? Lastly and arguably the most important, How does this affect future medical procedure and discoveries concerning human

Read More

Thesis For The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

1514 Words | 7 Pages

Hutchins, Grover M.; Lucey, Brendan P.; Nelson-Rees, Walter A. “Henrietta Lacks, HeLa Cells, and Cell Culture Contamination” 1 September, 2009 https://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/133/9/1463/460899/Henrietta-Lacks-HeLa-Cells-and-Cell-Culture This source gives interesting information about HeLa cells, and how they contaminated nearly every cell line in the ATCC (American Type Culture Control). The ATCC keeps original samples in a sterile environment, and for many years, HeLa cells had been contaminating their samples without anyone

Read More

Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

215 Words | 1 Pages

During the twentieth century, the word had known many unprecedented inventions and discoveries that had radically shaped our way of life. The field of discovery that touched human’s life the most, was the medical field. One of the most important achievements in science that opened the doors to many other scientific discoveries was the seccefull culture of the first human cells in laboratory. Those cells were named HeLa. HeLa cells were taken from the cervical of a black woman in Charles Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, where she went to trait cancer.

Read More

Henrietta Lacks Book Report

2855 Words | 12 Pages

They didn’t grow the HeLa cells for a good cause. I think that it was good that journalists wanted to find out the real woman behind HeLa cells and wanting to contacting the family. The public and Henrietta’s family should have the right to know that Henrietta is the woman whose cells have changed the world. When Henrietta had passed away, her children were sent away to live with Ethel and Galen. Joe received such great abuse from Ethel.

Read More

Henrietta Lacks Benefits

1249 Words | 5 Pages

Without HeLa cells, half of the human race would have been extinct and scientists research would not be as advanced as it is today. HeLa cells have caused science to be impacted by being able to retain information through research and expand their philosophy on science. The scientific information presented is important to everyday comprehension which benefits the health of the human race. Imagine living in a world where HeLa cells are

Read More

Essay On Henrietta Lacks

867 Words | 4 Pages

HeLa cells were a big impact on scientific research and currently still are, the use of HeLa cells should be promoted because of the good they have done. Henrietta Lacks was an African American southerner, she went about her daily life just like any other woman would but one day she began feeling pain in her lower stomach and could not bare it. After making a trip to the doctors she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, her cancer was treated multiple times with radiation but would not stop worsening. Eventually, the doctors gave Henrietta a “consent” form and then let her pass. Years on Henrietta’s daughter decided that the consent form she signed was not right because her mother did not actually know what was happening and the doctors sold

Read More

Henrietta Lacks Thesis

1020 Words | 5 Pages

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.

Read More

More about The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot

Related Topics

Open Document