The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Meeting 2

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Meeting 2 Pages 56-137


Summary of Reading:
In the next few chapters the author takes us through parts of her journey in finding out about Henrietta’s story. Skloot goes in depth about how HeLa cells revolutionized the medical world; she describes how the cells were used in labs and in research. Skloot also gives the reader a closer view into Henrietta’s life before her death and the years after.

Major Claim Quote:
“HeLa cells grew much faster than normal cells, and therefore produced results faster. HeLa was a workhorse: it was hardy, it was inexpensive, and it was everywhere” (Skloot 97)

Response:
This claim sets the foundation for why HeLa cells became a medical breakthrough. It was because HeLa cells were cancerous, that they were able to grow them efficiently and hardy. The cells lead to reasons behind the discoveries like Down syndrome, one extra chromosome. HeLa cells lead to the development of a standardized culture medium, for cells to grow in. Along with many discoveries, HeLa cells were popularly used to test effects of drugs and probes. Therefore the HeLa cell line made a huge impact in the medical world and still impacts it today. In the quote is states “HeLa cells grew much faster than normal cells…” this was critical to the breakthrough HeLa caused because the cells were easily replenished where quantity was in dire need. When the HeLa cell line boomed, the cold war was escalating there was a large demand for HeLa cells to be exposed to nuclear chemicals. HeLa cells were in high demand many place; therefore this claim is sets up the basic reasoning and knowledge behind the research and demand for caused by HeLa cells.