...In 1952 HeLa cells became the first living cells shipped through the postal mail. The Tuskegee Institution opened the first HeLa factory that same year. They were a nonprofit organization that supplied cells to laboratories and researchers. Later on the company Microbiology Associates began selling HeLa cells for profit. HeLa cells have been used to conduct thousands of researches and medical discoveries. It is estimated that there has been more than 60,000 studies published using HeLa cells. In 1952, HeLa cells were used to help develop a polio vaccine. These cells were also used to test a variety of other vaccines, which have since saved millions of lives. In 1965, HeLa cells became the first cells ever...
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... HeLa Sravani Venkatayogi(G01056367) Henrietta Lacks is an African-American lady from Virginia. In 1951 Mrs. Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. HeLa cells were derived from Mrs. Lacks cancerous cells. The tumor cells were unusually aggressive. They spread throughout her body, and she died at the age of 31. The doctor who treated her took the biopsy sample and sent it to Dr. Gey who was a researcher at Johns Hopkins. They cultivated the biopsy sample of Mrs. Lacks cancerous tissue in Laboratory without her knowledge. This was the first time scientists have observed cells which showed extensive growth, and they were immortal....
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...a sample of her cancer cells, the cells from her cervix were later on named HeLa cells, and these cells helped pave the way to numerous experiments and research all over the world. Even though HeLa brought along many achievements with its discovery, it also brought disappointments to some researchers, and pain for her family. You see, she nor her family consented to her cells being sampled, or the amounts of experiments and research that occurred after. Her family was never aware that such actions even took place. Even so, on February 1st, 1951, the day Henrietta Lacks walked in to John Hopkins Hospital, was the day we started looking at cell research a lot differently. Ethical Principles On August 1st, 1920, Henrietta Lacks, a black woman from Virginia, was born. When she was just 21 years old, she moved to Baltimore, Maryland. February 1st, 1951; Henrietta entered the John Hopkins Hospital to see a gynecologist, complaining of irregular bleeding. It was then that Dr. Howard Jones discovered a purple lesion on her cervix. As per routine a sampling of the lesion, which was purple and bled easily when touched, was collected and taken to Dr. George Otto Gey. Mary Kubicek, laboratory assistant of Dr. Grey, then cultivated the sample; it was that very moment when science would be changed forever (Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2012). When Henrietta Lacks’ tissue sample was cultivated, the cells did what no other cells before them had done in...
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...Every so often, a breakthrough scientific discovery is uncovered that completely changes the way we view the world. Typically, at the slightest hint of revolutionary data, the media immediately broadcasts the forthcoming of a brand new wave of science that keeps everyone on the edge of their seat. There is one story, however, that did indeed change the world of science but took decades to surface. This intricate story is described in the award-winning book, “The Immortal of Henrietta Lacks”. Published just three years ago, Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman, who became the source of the first line of immortal cells. Henrietta was born Loretta Pleasant in Roanoke, Virginia in 1920. Henrietta lived a typical life for a poor African American of that time - growing up on her family's tobacco farm until her mother’s death. By 1950, Henrietta had married her first cousin, David “Day” Lacks, birthed five children, and relocated to the Baltimore, Maryland area. In January of 1951, Henrietta went to the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining of a “knot” in her lower abdomen. It was found that the knot feeling was due a dangerous and growing tumor in her cervix. After a formal diagnosis of cervical cancer, samples of Henrietta’s cervix were removed unbeknownst to her. The biopsy samples were given to Dr. George Gey, a tissue culture specialist. He was working on creating an immortal cell line to be used for human medical research...
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...HeLa cells are being used to test a wide variety of scientific questions, including the effect of space on human cells. Scientists using cells were finding weird reactions. For example, George Hyatt created cancer on a subject because HeLa cancer cells had contaminated his cell cultures. It was thought that the contamination was due to disorganization and “cell sex”, but it was later by Stanley Gartler that HeLa cells could float on dust particles. Gartler discovered that all cell cultures had genetic markers of HeLa cells. All the past cell-related discoveries were due to HeLa cells without the researchers even knowing. Henrietta’s children did not grow up very well. Her daughter Deborah had a baby at sixteen, and eventually married the baby’s abusive, violent father. Joe, Henrietta’s son, went to jail for fifteen years for stabbing someone to death. All of this misfortune explains why the Lacks family is so distant to Rebecca Skloot. When Skloot visits the Lacks family, she realizes that they don’t really understand what HeLa cells are or have done. They then discuss much f the mistrust between...
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...discovered, and was treated with radiation therapy, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Mrs. Lacks died on October 4, 1951, at the age of 31. During the course of her treatment for cervical cancer, a section of the tumor was removed and sent to the pathology lab. While being treated with radiation, two more samples (one of healthy tissue, and one of cancerous tissue) were also removed without Henrietta’s consent or knowledge. These cell samples were given to Dr. George Otto Gey, a scientific researcher who had spent years trying to figure out how to keep cells alive outside the human body. In Henrietta’s cells, he found his answer. The cell line grown from Henrietta Lack’s sample, now known simply as HeLa, has been utilized in research and medical labs throughout the world since the 1950s. The controversy The case of Henrietta Lacks is unique, in that it serves both as a cautionary tale and a success story. Both the demographics of the case and the mindset during the time in which this occurred led to the lack of proper ethics concerning the gathering of cells from this woman. In the 1950s, the sanctity of the person was not honored, and experimentation was deemed acceptable, whether with or...
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...journey of discovery that the author, Rebecca Skloot, embarked upon in search of the truth behind HeLa (the cells of Henrietta Lacks). The narrative perspective of the work differs between both plot lines: the sections from the author’s point of view are spoken in first person, while the parts pertaining to Henrietta and her family have a third-person omniscient perspective. Beginning at Ch 29: A Village of Henriettas, the two plot lines of the novel converge, bringing together Rebecca Skloot and Henrietta’s devoted daughter, Deborah, as the two passionately collaborate to uncover the emotional shocking truth behind the mystery of HeLa. Book Context: Ch. 1-10 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks reveals the true story of the woman from the 1940-50s who was behind the miracle HeLa cells; these cells were the first to permanently survive outside the human body and they are still alive today in laboratories across the globe. Furthermore, these HeLa cells...
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...extremely aggressive case of cervical cancer and the cells taken from her tumor were found to be able to grow on long after her death, providing an amazing test subject for scientists and researchers everywhere. These cells, called HeLa, helped develop a polio vaccine and have helped scientists to learn about and treat vast amounts of other illnesses. But despite this triumph for the medical field, throughout the book, Henrietta’s descendants continue to be cloaked in poverty. Henrietta’s body made these researchers millions and her family continued to live in poverty despite their mother’s amazing contribution to science. Skloot creates this theme of poverty throughout the book by really immersing herself into the lives of Henrietta’s children and telling their stories throughout the book as well. She emphasizes the contrast between the success and wealth of the developers of HeLa with the poverty of the family of the...
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...extracted cells? The issue of defining who has legal ownership of cells and extracted genetic information has arisen since scientists began extracting cells for medical research. Since there has been interest in conducting in vitro studies, the issue of how cells will be obtained for these studies have been of utmost concern. With that comes the legislative issue of declaring who has legal possession of these cells. The most notable case is that of the HeLa cell line created from the genome of the tumor cells found in Henrietta Lacks in the 1950s. Henrietta Lacks was the unwitting donor of the cells that found significant new information and treatment of cervical cancer. She did not have...
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...Melissa Dattilo Mr. Schussler First-Year Foundations 5 December 2011 Henrietta Lacks Reflection Henrietta Lacks is a mother, wife, and scientific discovery. Henrietta began her life as a normal human, growing up on tobacco farms. In 1951, her life changed forever due to the fact that she acquired cancer. Henrietta had a total of six children, in which five of them were born before the discovery of her cancer. Henrietta’s cancer proved to be quite significant in the scientific field. Her cells were taken from her body before and after her death without the consent of herself or her husband, Day. Rebecca Skloot wrote the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to tell the story of Henrietta’s cells and her family. Her cells, called HeLa cells, changed many aspects of science. Henrietta’s cells, her family’s consent, and the fact that the cells produced amazing results in science and the results and profits were kept from the Lack’s family has been debated over many years. Henrietta Lacks is an African American and was treated differently in the hospital of Johns Hopkins gynecology clinic. Henrietta’s treatment would have differed if she was white skinned. The doctors would have taken her illness more seriously if she contained white skin. Her cells would have most likely still been taken without consent but she might have been able to live longer if she was treated with better care. Being of different race in the 1950s included different treatments in the hospital. TeLinde...
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...related to the chapters below, or #2 you can develop your own project to show your understanding of the books concepts. You do this all the time in English class, now you can create your own project to present the many issues in the story of Hela cells. There are several questions to be answered below. Make sure you develop answers to each of the questions using complete sentences. DO NOT simply say “Ch 1 Q 1 No” I should not have to refer back to the question each time you answer a question to see what the question was…. incorporate the question into the answer and elaborate upon your answer when necessary. Prologue: The Woman in the Photograph 1. The author uses several similes to describe cells. What simile does she use to describe the way a cell looks? What simile does she use to explain the functions of the different parts of a cell? What do these similes suggest about biology? 2. What is mitosis? What beneficial biological processes involve mitosis? 3. What simile does Donald Defler use to describe mitosis? 4. What happens when there is a mistake during the process of mitosis? 5. According to Defler, how important was the discovery of HeLa cells? 6. As a high school student, Skloot began researching HeLa cells to find out more about Henrietta Lacks. Examine pages 5 & 6 and write down each step that Skloot took to begin her research. Chapter One: The Exam 1. Why does Sadie think Henrietta hesitated before seeing a doctor? 2. What...
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...to make a longer drive to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Once there, Lacks received many tests and examinations, doctors knew something wasn’t right. Doctors contacted Henrietta with the results of her tests, which showed that she did have stage 1 of cervical cancer. The tumor began to grow rapidly, nothing like the doctors had ever seen. Dr. TeLinde decided he wanted to do his own work in the lab to figure out what they were seeing. To do this, he removed and tested Henrietta’s cells in the lab without her knowledge. After many failed attempts of trying to grow human cells in the lab, they were surprised to see that Henrietta Lacks’ cells were able to thrive and divide in the lab. They had become so frustrated with all the other failed attempts, but that quickly changed when they noticed that Henrietta’s cells had doubled in size in 24 hours. Doctors could not believe what was happening and wanted others to see what he had found, and had problem with sharing the cells with them ALL. Everyone wanted to see these cells and what they were capable...
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...Cancer cells are cells that no one wants to have. Cancer cells occur when one cell decides that it’s going to grow uncontrollably and does not die. Typically, in a cell cycle the cells go through the stages of mitosis: interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. In a cancer cells case, that cell disgards the cell cycle and continues to multiply. This was the case for Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman from Baltimore, Maryland whose cells did wonders for the field of medicine. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951 at John Hopkins University Hospital. Her cells were taken during the biopsy and were discovered to be immortal. HeLa cells have been used in many of our vaccinations and scientific...
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...scientific heroin due to the great things accomplished b her cells alone...
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...of five who died of cervical cancer at thirty-one. Lacks spent most of her last year being treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. George Gey was the Lead scientist of tissue culture at Johns Hopkins, and his goal was to successfully grow a line of immortal cells that could continue to live outside the body. In 1951, shortly after Henrietta’s death, Gey realized Lack’s cells were what he was looking for and could help him in his research. He then ordered for additional cells to be removed from Henrietta’s tumor, which he then grew and distributed without the consent of Lacks or her family. This was very inappropriate and disrespectful. Rebecca Skloot author of the book: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” describes these actions and treatment of the...
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