"'Immortal' Cells Of Henrietta Lacks Live On In Labs" from NPR's Talk of the Nation

The HeLa cell line — one of the most revolutionary tools of biomedical research — has played a part in some of the world's most important medical advances, from the polio vaccine to in vitro fertilization. The cell's power lies in its immortality, or ability to be kept alive and grown indefinitely. But few people know that the cells originally belonged to a poor Southern tobacco farmer named Henrietta Lacks who was being treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins University when her doctor reserved samples of her body tissue for his research. Lacks died of cancer 60 years ago, but her cells — taken without her knowledge or consent — are still alive today. Writer Rebecca Skloot spent years researching Lacks and tells her story in The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks.

The full NPR feature story can be found here. The podcast is linked here. See also: Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks from WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show by listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

Rebecca Skloot discusses the life and legacy of Henrietta Lacks, a poor Southern tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. Her book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of the Lacks family, the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the what we are made of.

Listen to the WNYC podcast here, or download the show here.