<p>In 1951, a young woman from Baltimore died of cancer. Her death changed medical science for ever. Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer whose cancer cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first 'immortal' human tissue grown in culture, HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the effects of the atom bomb; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta herself remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Now Rebecca Skloot takes us on an extraordinary journey in search of Henrietta's story, from the 'coloured' ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live, and struggle with the legacy of her cells. Full of warmth and questing intelligence, astonishing in scope and impossible to put down, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.</p>

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Politics & Social Sciences

REBECCA SKLOOT

Sociology

Crown

PAN MACMILLAN U.K

Picador/Pan Macmillan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by REBECCA SKLOOT. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by REBECCA SKLOOT

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by REBECCA SKLOOT. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks