Today I found out there was once a woman who had immortal cells. These immortal cells have multiplied to the point that if you were to weigh all of them that live today, theyd weigh about 50 million metric tons, which is about as much as 100 Empire State Buildings.
So who was this woman and why are scientists keeping about 50 million metric tons of her cells supplied with fresh nutrients so they can live on? The woman was Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells have been essential in curing polio; gene mapping; learning how cells work; developing drugs to treat cancer, herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinsons disease, AIDS The list goes on and on and on. If it deals with the human body and has been studied by scientists, odds are, they needed and used Henriettas immortal cells somewhere along the way. Her cells were even sent up to space on an unmanned satellite to determine whether or not human tissue could survive in zero gravity.
Go to just about any cell culture lab in the world and youll find billions of Henriettas cells stored there. Whats unique about her cells is that, not only do they never die, in contrast to normal human cells which will die after a few replications, but her cells can also live and replicate just fine outside of the human body, which is also unique among humans. Give her cells the nutrients they need to survive and they will live and replicate along forever, apparently (almost 60 years and counting since the first culture was taken). They can even be frozen for literally decades and later thawed and they will go right on replicating.
Before her cells were discovered and widely cultured, it was nearly impossible for scientists to reliably experiment on cells and get meaningful results. Cell cultures that scientists would try to study would weaken and die very quickly outside the human body. Her cells gave scientists, for the first time, a standard that they could use to test things on. Even better, her cells can survive being shipped in the mail just fine, so scientists across the globe can all use the same standard from which to test against.
Henrietta Lacks herself was an impoverished black woman who died on October 4th, 1951 of cervical cancer at the age of just 31 years old. It was during getting her cancer treated that a doctor at Johns Hopkins took a sample of her tumor without her knowledge or consent and sent it over to a colleague of his, Dr. George Gey; Dr. Gey had been trying for 20 years, unsuccessfully, to grow human tissues from cultures. A lab assistant there, Mary Kubicek, discovered that Henriettas cells, unlike normal human cells, could live and replicate outside the body.
Henrietta died of uremic poisoning, in the segregated hospital ward for blacks, about eight months after being diagnosed with cervical cancer; never knowing that her cells would become one of the most vital tools in modern medicine and would spawn a multi-billion dollar industry where her replicated cells would be bought and sold by the billions.
She was survived by her husband and five children, the surviving members of which still to this day live in poverty (one who is homeless on the streets of Baltimore) and were long ignorant of the importance of Henriettas cells to modern medicine.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:
Bonus Facts:
Expand for References
More:
There Was Once a Woman Who Had Immortal Cells
- Here's What You Should Know About Stem Cell Beauty Products - Who What Wear - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- After Death Dangles Answers to the Only Important Question - The Stream - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Igniting Hope conference aims to end race-based health disparities ... - University at Buffalo - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- 10 Best Horror Anime on Crunchyroll - Screen Rant - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- 10 Flowers That Represent Freedom - AZ Animals - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Demon Slayer: What is Muzan's illness? Explained - Sportskeeda - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Enterprise's Archer Copied Picard's Star Trek: Insurrection Romance - Screen Rant - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- Anemone Flowers: Meaning, Symbolism, and Proper Occasions - AZ Animals - October 29th, 2023 [October 29th, 2023]
- The billion-dollar search for immortality - UnHerd - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Should Medicine Still Bother With Eponyms? - The New York Times - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Immortality: A Love Story - Plugged In - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Harvard morgue scandal: The history of selling body parts - The Boston Globe - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Imbibe yoga in its true spirit on the International Yoga Day - Daily Pioneer - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Everything you need to know about Nick Fury as Secret Invasion arrives - Yahoo Entertainment - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Some Interesting Facts On The Hindu Epic Ramayana - The Movie Blog - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- Will AI Become Our New Gods? - Answers In Genesis - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- There's food growing in The Woodlands. Here's how to forage for it ... - Houston Chronicle - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- One Piece: Op-Op Fruit is the source of Imus immortality - Dexerto - June 24th, 2023 [June 24th, 2023]
- King Charles III's Coronation at the Convergence of Policy ... - JURIST - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- Ancient Greek healing temple in Trikala to be restored - The Greek Herald - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- The long and short of telomere rejuvenation | Opinion - Chemistry World - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- Is there a solution to the puzzle that is cancer? The fundamental ... - Sciencenorway - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- The Week In Russia: Theater Of War - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- No. 788: Hi, Mom were getting ready for your big day with dirty ... - Innovate Long Island - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- Star Trek: Who Is The Oldest Human? - GameRant - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- Sabbaticals: A Gateway to Reimagining Health - Non Profit News - Nonprofit Quarterly - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- Florence Nightingale birth anniversary: The Lady with the Lamp who founded modern nursing during Crimean War - News9 LIVE - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- Defence Secretary oral statement on war in Ukraine - GOV.UK - May 12th, 2023 [May 12th, 2023]
- TOM UTLEY: Mrs U and I are better prepared for the end. But scientists say we might live to 122! - Daily Mail - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Eddie Jones reveals NRL legend Andrew Johns was on the verge of a shock code switch in 2005 - Daily Mail - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- The debauched world of Ozzy Osbourne - biting bats to Sharon finding him in bed with the nanny - Daily Mail - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- 6 Benefits of Reishi Mushroom (Plus Side Effects and Dosage) - Healthline - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Alchemy - Wikipedia - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Emily Dickinson - Poems, Quotes & Death - Biography - December 23rd, 2022 [December 23rd, 2022]
- Alexis Carrel - Wikipedia - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- Medicine MBChB - University Of Worcester - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Republic of Florence - Wikipedia - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Taoist sexual practices - Wikipedia - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Herbal medicine - Wikipedia - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Aubrey de Grey - Wikipedia - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Greek language - Wikipedia - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Gynostemma pentaphyllum - Wikipedia - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- Lingzhi (mushroom) - Wikipedia - October 23rd, 2022 [October 23rd, 2022]
- The Hayflick Limit: Why Every Human Can Live Up to 125 Years - History of Yesterday - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Downtown Lecture Series, now in 10th year, will focus on sexualities - University of Arizona News - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Scent of Wind Review: A Simple Tale of Kindness From Iran Echoes the Countrys Masters - Yahoo Entertainment - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Proxy voting rises when Congress usually flies in and out of town, analysis finds - Oil City Derrick - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Keith Simpson reviews 'Boris Johnson: The Rise and Fall of a Troublemaker at Number 10' - PoliticsHome - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Disney+ Releases Official Trailer for the Original Series Limitless with Chris Hemsworth from National Geographic - Yahoo Finance - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- True Fathers Resist the Holy Father - OnePeterFive - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Targeted-sequence of normal urothelium and tumor of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer | Scientific Reports - Nature.com - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Cheers and Jeers: Thursday - Daily Kos - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- North Korea tells officials that 350,000 people died of diseases this year - Radio Free Asia - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- New York: World War II: Inventive Report An interactive presentation of how, without real danger, the - Game News 24 - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Soma (drink) - Wikipedia - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Lavish Qin Shi Huang Tomb Built for Immortality - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The Four Directions & Medicine Wheel of Native Americans - Gaia - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Kanye, Selena Gomez have bipolar disorder. Why is there a stigma? - USA TODAY - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Forrest Bess Was a Fisherman by Day and Painter of Wild Visions by Night. A New Show Explores His Legacy - artnet News - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- 'Star Wars': 9 Force Powers Used Only by The Jedi - We Got This Covered - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The CIA has invested in wooly mammoth resurrection technology and nobody knows why - Daily Star - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Here's why we age - Hindustan Times - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Blind mystic Baba Vanga's five predictions for 2023 - from end of births to nuclear disaster - Irish Mirror - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- President Biden Says Covid-19 Pandemic is Over in the US - Slashdot - September 20th, 2022 [September 20th, 2022]
- Immortality a possibility? This jellyfish could have the answer - Ohmymag - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- Early Puberty Resulting From Excessive Smartphone Screen Time? Here's What This Study Found - Forbes - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- Godard's assisted suicide - not an option everywhere - SWI swissinfo.ch - SWI swissinfo.ch in English - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- Akudaaya: Tinubu, Abacha and Shettima's Theory of Ruthless Leadership -By Festus Adedayo - Opinion Nigeria - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- On The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, a hard rains a-gonna fall - The A.V. Club - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- The longevity diet: Lots of beans and periodic fasts slow ageing - The New Daily - September 17th, 2022 [September 17th, 2022]
- The Real Effects Aloe Vera Has On Your Body - Health Digest - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Its Time To Rethink the Origins of Pain - Scientific American - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Queen Elizabeth II: Celebrities send well-wishes as world waits for update on health - The Independent - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- The Moon: Earths Eighth Continent to This Jellyfish is Immortal (Planet Earth Report) - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- This president was shot in the back, but the doctors are the ones who killed him - Salon - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- As The Royal Family Deals With Devastating Racism Accusations From Meghan Markle, 96-Year-Old Queen Elizabeth II Now Under Extensive Medical Care as... - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- To quit or not to quit: The hardest question for sporting greats - Deccan Herald - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- OND: Harvest moon, climate refugees, wall wind turbine, JWST and more - Daily Kos - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- 10 Fantasy Shows Like Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power You Should Check Out - /Film - September 11th, 2022 [September 11th, 2022]
- Jared Kushner is keeping fit because he thinks he might live forever - Business Insider - August 27th, 2022 [August 27th, 2022]