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The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks

Summary: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer, 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 sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer and viruses; helped lead to in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks is buried in an unmarked grave. Her family did not learn of her "immortality" until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. The story of the Lacks family 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--From publisher description.

Record details

  • ISBN: 1400052173
  • ISBN: 9781400052172
  • Physical Description: x, 369 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
    print
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Crown Publishers, [2010]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Study Program Information Note:
Accelerated Reader UG 8.0 18 18 151442
Subject: Medical ethics
Cell culture
Cancer Research
HeLa cells
Human experimentation in medicine United States History
African American women History
Cancer Patients Virginia Biography
Lacks, Henrietta 1920-1951 Health

Available copies

  • 91 of 96 copies available at SPARK Libraries. (Show)
  • 2 of 2 copies available at North Wales Area.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 96 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
North Wales Area Library 92 Lacks (Text) 35410000362061 NWAL Biography Available -
North Wales Area Library 92 Lacks BC (Text) 35410000794792 NWAL Book Club Available -

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