History Lesson

As part of a summer reading assignment for school, I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.  If you have not heard, this book is about a woman whose cervical cancer cells were harvested and cultured into an immortal cell line known as HeLa.  As the first human cells that could be cultured indefinitely, Henrietta's cells opened up research avenues to numerous medical discoveries and innovations including the polio vaccine, HIV treatments, and breakthroughs in understanding cancer.  However, the  book itself is only partially a recounting of the scientific advances brought about by Henrietta's cells.  Skloot also reports on her investigations into finding out who exactly Henrietta Lacks was, why her cells were taken without informing her family what they would be used for, and her own personal friendship with the Lacks family today.

Skloot has certainly earned my respect as a science writer.  Her explanations are clear and complete.  I was very grateful be reading what I felt was a very fair and balanced work, presenting multiple perspectives on what had happened surrounding Henrietta Lacks and her cells.  The book informs the readers  on the the bioethical issues but refrains from getting preachy or persuading action.  As a reader, I felt I was allowed to appreciate the history and whatever lessons I can learn from it are up to me.

Oh and of course, because a comic book character was referenced  in the book, I had to show who Hela the Marvel character was:

Hela on the cover of Thor #150, art by the one and only Jack Kirby

In the comics, Hela is the daughter of Loki and goddess of death (Skloot and Henrietta's daughter Deborah found this interesting).