Henrietta Lacks

Cells from Henrietta Lacks’ (1920–1951) cancerous tumor were cultured by Dr George Gey to create a cell line for medical research.

Life

Henrietta was born on August 18 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. In 1943 she moved to Turner's Station, Maryland not far from Baltimore. She married David Lacks I, and they had four children: Deborah, David, Lawrence, and Zakariyya. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in Baltimore, and was admitted to the Johns Hopkins University hospital. She died on October 4 1951 at the age of thirty-one, and was buried without a tombstone in the cemetery near her parent's farm in Clover, Halifax County, Virginia.

HeLa cell line

The cell line created by Dr Gey is known as the HeLa cell line, and has been used in a large number of medical experiments, contributing greatly to human understanding of disease processes. There is controversy, however, concerning the use without her permission of Lacks' cells for research . Her real name was finally released, giving her recognition as a contributor to medical research.

Devolution

Her case is an excellent example of devolution. A complex multicellular organism has devolved into a simple, self-replicating, single-cell organism. Her case may represent the first documented creation of a new species.

External links

Lacks,Henrietta Lacks,Henrietta

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
lackey
carlos fuentes
social traitor
louis claude daquin
carafano v. metrosplash.com
turlough carolan
abagtha
list of prominent neoists
cev
eurotra
contemporary english version
pentti arajrvi
islam in france
earth summit
river wye, derbyshire
river noe
herrick
river ashop
haven
john dunstable
eddie
edale
baby monster group
river dearne
amatol
clarence henry willcock
bradypodion
calumma
lerwick
chamaeleo
south downs way
furcifer
muldentalkreis
brookesia
rhampholeon
bimonster
agamas
fred nile
hela
ric de montgolfier
brabazon committee
acanthocercus
acanthosaura
amphibolurus