Henrietta Everlasting: 1950s Cells Still Alive, Helping Science

[The Straight Story]

Henrietta Everlasting: 1950s Cells Still Alive, Helping Science

In 1951, an African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks went to Johns Hopkins Hospital to be treated for cervical cancer. Unbeknownst to her, cells from her biopsy were made available to biological researchers.

Lacks died later that year, but her cell line — known as HeLa — lives on. A new book by Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, examines the extraordinary impact of HeLa on science and the effects of that unchosen legacy on Lacks’ family. Here’s a look at a most eventful afterlife.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/01/st_henrietta


Amazing chart at link showing some of the work her cells have been used in.

There is also this:

10 Popular Cell Lines for Research

HeLa isn’t the only cell line in use today. Thousands have found their way into labs worldwide. Here are some commonly used lines and the number of scientific papers they appear in.

[endless october]

1. i have worked with 3T3 quite a bit.

Sol8 and C2C12 as well.