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Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells, taken without her knowledge, became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first immortal human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than 60 years.

If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they'd weigh more than 50 million metric tons - as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings.

HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bombs effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.

Now, Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the Colored ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells; from Henriettas small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia, a land of wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo, to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.

Henrietta's family did not learn of her immortality until more than 20 years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family, past and present, is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a captivating and thought-provoking narrative that delves into the extraordinary story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose cervical cancer cells were taken without her consent and later became the foundation for groundbreaking medical research, revolutionizing the field of medicine.

The book begins by introducing Henrietta Lacks, a poor tobacco farmer living in Baltimore in the 1950s. After being diagnosed with cervical cancer, Henrietta undergoes treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where a sample of her cancerous cells is taken without her knowledge or consent. These cells, later known as HeLa cells, possess remarkable resilience and immortality, allowing them to survive and multiply indefinitely in laboratory culture.

Skloot skillfully interweaves historical research, scientific explanations, and personal narrative to explore the complex ethical and social issues surrounding Henrietta Lacks's story. The author delves into the history of medical research and the exploitation of marginalized communities, highlighting the systemic racism and lack of patient autonomy that characterized the medical establishment at the time.

The book also delves into the scientific significance of HeLa cells, which have become a vital tool in medical research and led to countless discoveries and advancements in fields such as cancer biology, virology, and genetics. Skloot explores the profound impact of HeLa cells on medical research while raising crucial questions about the ethics of using human tissue without proper consent and the importance of recognizing the contributions of individuals whose cells have contributed to scientific progress.

Through Henrietta Lacks's story, Skloot sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of marginalized individuals to scientific research and the urgent need for informed consent, transparency, and equity in medical practices. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of acknowledging the human stories behind scientific discoveries and the need for ethical considerations in medical research.