The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - Henrietta Lacks was the unwitting source of a strain of research cells called HeLa, that have been used by scientists for more than 50 years. This is a true and wild story about science, cells and what on our bodies that we don't own once it comes off our bodies. Rebecca weaves a tale that is amazing and (I wish) unbelievable. The HeLa cells were taken from Henrietta within a year of her death at 29 years old in 1951. The cells were cancerous, but usable for science, because they multiplied, like no other cells had previously done. In the last 10 - 20 years, medical research corporations have profited from selling the cells, and Henrietta's heirs and family have never seen one penny of that money. This could actually still happen in today's medical climate where an individual would have to fight for the right to make money from cells from his/her body. To me, this is wrong and wrong, and akin to the unreasonable and invasive searches that Americans suffer every day in our airports. It's a privacy issue and a property issue and a boundary issue. Read the book and see what you think. Tuesday, March 1, 2011
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - Henrietta Lacks was the unwitting source of a strain of research cells called HeLa, that have been used by scientists for more than 50 years. This is a true and wild story about science, cells and what on our bodies that we don't own once it comes off our bodies. Rebecca weaves a tale that is amazing and (I wish) unbelievable. The HeLa cells were taken from Henrietta within a year of her death at 29 years old in 1951. The cells were cancerous, but usable for science, because they multiplied, like no other cells had previously done. In the last 10 - 20 years, medical research corporations have profited from selling the cells, and Henrietta's heirs and family have never seen one penny of that money. This could actually still happen in today's medical climate where an individual would have to fight for the right to make money from cells from his/her body. To me, this is wrong and wrong, and akin to the unreasonable and invasive searches that Americans suffer every day in our airports. It's a privacy issue and a property issue and a boundary issue. Read the book and see what you think. 
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