Henrietta Lacks

"HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks" has finally been published. It has been slightly delayed but nonetheless the book on Henrietta Lacks and her amazing cells is finally out and is available on all Amazon stores. When Rebecca Skloot wrote her book "The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks" no one knew that her book will take the scientific world with storm. Her book has been the best seller and rightly so, it has highlighted to the world about untold prejudices black people had to suffer in the United States. Read more about Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells in the new book "HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks".

HeLa Cells of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot showed early hints of her future vocation when confronted by a scientific mystery with an intriguing backstory at a community college in Portland, Ore. The then-16-year-old was taking a basic biology class and was told about the so-called HeLa cells, which had been alive since 1951 and been mysteriously growing in laboratories around the world. They've been used to uncover secrets of cancer, help develop a polio vaccine and even blasted off into space.

The future science writer was intrigued. Her science side was interested in the medical mystery behind why the cells continued to live for 60 years after the host died of cancer. Her writer side was interested in Henrietta Lacks, the poor southern tobacco farmer who had the cells taken from her without her permission in 1951. Her story was sad, topical and infuriating. Henrietta's tissues have generated billions, but she was buried in an unmarked grave in the tiny town of Clover, Va. Her descendants dants have often been unable to get access to health care in the U.S. Read more