The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

[f0rTyLeGz]

Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio.

http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/1400052173

The author Rebecca Skloot was on "Talk of the Nation" an NPR radio show today. I thought it was a fascinating discussion... the radio broadcast will be online in a few hours... here is the NPR link: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/132030...ive-on-in-labs

[Peasie]

Re: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

A friend of mine read this book and was blown away by the story and the writing.



I'm going to listen Thanks!

[DC]

Re: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Sounds like an interesting read. I am reading some of the book reviews, and sounds like the author left no stone unturned. Sounds scientific as well as personal, inspirational, and revealing of society's ills. I'll check it out..tonks

[rudemonk]

Re: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: f0rTyLeGz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio.

http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/1400052173

The author Rebecca Skloot was on &quot;Talk of the Nation&quot; an NPR radio show today. I thought it was a fascinating discussion... the radio broadcast will be online in a few hours... here is the NPR link: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/132030...ive-on-in-labs

</div></div>

thanks for that link 40.