A book about Henrietta came out fairly recently...
I interviewed the author, Rebecca Skloot, a few weeks back...
And posted a link to the interview here. it's a fascinating story, and an excellent book.
HeLa cells actually became quite a problem, contaminating a number of other cell lines. In order to genetically disentangle them, some researchers needed a sample from her children. They contacted her husband, who had very little education, and explained why.
Sadly, having never heard of cells in a biological context, he thought they were saying "We have your wife in a cell, and have been experimenting on her for 14 years, we now need to test your children for the cancer that killed her."
To this day, despite Henrietta's cells giving rise to countless medical breakthroughs, and making lots of money for various folks,Henrietta's family still can't afford medical insurance.
The book, "the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks" does an excellent job of mixing the science with the human story, and is well worth a read.
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TheAlmightyBeev, Fri 16 Jul 2010, 23:18,
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