WEBVTT - How Do HeLa Cells Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum here. In February of nineteen fifty one, a

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<v Speaker 1>young black woman by the name of Henrietta Lax, thirty

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<v Speaker 1>years old and the mother of five, was diagnosed with

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<v Speaker 1>cervical cancer. Her doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital biopsied the

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<v Speaker 1>tumor and took samples of the cells to use in

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<v Speaker 1>their research. They were amazed to find that, unlike the

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<v Speaker 1>other cells they'd studied, which would die after dividing a

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<v Speaker 1>few times in a test tube, some of Lax cells

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<v Speaker 1>kept growing. This became the world's first cell line, a

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<v Speaker 1>population of cells taken from a person and grown in vitro,

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<v Speaker 1>that is, in labs to be used for scientific research.

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<v Speaker 1>Cell Lines are often named after the people from whom

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<v Speaker 1>they were originally derived, so Henrietta Lax are known as

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<v Speaker 1>HeLa cells. Cell Lines are used in all kinds of ways,

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<v Speaker 1>like studying the effects of diseases and developed medications and vaccines.

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<v Speaker 1>They play an invaluable role in medicine today. LAX's cervical

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<v Speaker 1>cancer was aggressive, it metastasized, and she died later that year.

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<v Speaker 1>In October of nineteen fifty one, but almost seventy five

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<v Speaker 1>years later, her cells, billions upon billions of them, live

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<v Speaker 1>on in laboratories all over the world. It's still one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most, if not the most commonly used cell line,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's known to be extremely resilient. The thing is,

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<v Speaker 1>Lax didn't give permission for her tissue to be used

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<v Speaker 1>for research. She wasn't even informed about it. Neither was

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<v Speaker 1>her family. And while her cells have gone on to

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<v Speaker 1>produce groundbreaking medical research and thereby earn a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>money for biotechnology companies, her family didn't even know for

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five years and didn't see a single cent for

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<v Speaker 1>a lot longer than that. LAX's story isn't just about

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<v Speaker 1>her contribution to medicine. It's about the ethics of biomedical

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<v Speaker 1>research and the practice of informed consent. So today let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about all of that, But let's start at the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning with Lax herself. Henrietta Lax was a young African

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<v Speaker 1>American woman from Virginia who'd grown up in tobacco farming communities. Later,

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<v Speaker 1>she lived with her husband and their children outside of Baltimore, Maryland,

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<v Speaker 1>in the historically black community of Turner Station. There She

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<v Speaker 1>was the center of a home, welcoming of extended family

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<v Speaker 1>and anyone in need. Lax loved to cook, including a

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<v Speaker 1>favorite spaghetti. She liked to dress sharp and favored red

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<v Speaker 1>nail polish. She also loved dancing, including with her kids.

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<v Speaker 1>While pregnant with their fifth child, she felt unknot in

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<v Speaker 1>her abdomen. After childbirth, Lax experienced abnormal bleeding. Her doctor

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<v Speaker 1>discovered a lump on her cervix and sent a sample

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<v Speaker 1>of it to a lab, resulting in her cancer diagnosis.

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<v Speaker 1>The only hospital in the area that would treat black

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<v Speaker 1>patients was Johns Hopkins, so that's where she went for

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<v Speaker 1>radiation treatments. This was a relatively new field and at

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<v Speaker 1>the time involved inserting tubes of radium around the cervix

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<v Speaker 1>and sewing them into place, along with X ray treatments,

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<v Speaker 1>but the cancer still spread. Lax died in the hospital

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<v Speaker 1>at the age of thirty one, just nine months after

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<v Speaker 1>her diagnosis. During her treatments, lax doctor removed some tissue

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<v Speaker 1>samples from her cervical tumor. She'd signed the usual forms

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<v Speaker 1>consenting to treatment for cancer, but wasn't asked for her

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<v Speaker 1>permission to remove the tissue. Samples, nor was she informed

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<v Speaker 1>that it had been done afterward. This was standard procedure

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<v Speaker 1>at the time it was completely legal. The tissue was

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<v Speaker 1>sent to one doctor, George Guy, in the Johns Hopkins

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<v Speaker 1>Tissue Culture laboratory. Doctor Guy had been trying and failing

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<v Speaker 1>to grow human cells in the lab for years, but

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<v Speaker 1>he isolated one of lax cells and got it to divide,

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<v Speaker 1>and it just kept going. He named the line HeLa.

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<v Speaker 1>Its first use was fittingly in cancer research. Normally, all

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<v Speaker 1>of the cells in the human body experience the effects

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<v Speaker 1>of aging over time, known as cellular's essence. Repeated divisions

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<v Speaker 1>cause the cell's DNA to become unstable, meaning that eventually

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<v Speaker 1>the cell is unable to replicate and it dies. This

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<v Speaker 1>is called programmed cell death or apoptosis, and it varies

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<v Speaker 1>depending on the type of cell. Apoptosis can be a

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<v Speaker 1>good thing. It's how fingers and toes are formed in uterobe.

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<v Speaker 1>Human fetuses start out with web dependages that separate thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to programmed cell death. It's also how our immune system

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<v Speaker 1>kills off cells that are infected by viruses. Too much.

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<v Speaker 1>Apoptosis can cause tissue damage and lead to disease, but

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<v Speaker 1>so can too little. For example, if cells grow out

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<v Speaker 1>of control, they can become cancerous. In a laboratory setting,

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<v Speaker 1>apoptosis generally occurs after about fifty cell divisions, but under

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<v Speaker 1>the right conditions, HeLa cells divide indefinitely. Remember that HeLa

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<v Speaker 1>cells were grown from tumor tissue. Cancer cells don't go

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<v Speaker 1>through apoptosis with the regularity that normal cells do, and

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<v Speaker 1>Lack cells were especially hardy. Just as the cancer grew

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<v Speaker 1>and spread quickly throughout Lack's body, HeLa cells grow and

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<v Speaker 1>spread quickly in vitro. Nobody knows quite why doctor Guy

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<v Speaker 1>and Johns Hopkins didn't seek to profit off of the

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<v Speaker 1>HeLa line. They provided samples for free. Now HeLa cells

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<v Speaker 1>are used around the world. There are over sixty thousand

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<v Speaker 1>medical journal articles about them and some eleven thousand patents

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<v Speaker 1>related to their use. There are thousands of other cell lines,

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<v Speaker 1>but HeLa remains popular because it's easy to grow, store,

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<v Speaker 1>and ship. The heartiness and popularity of HeLa cells has

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<v Speaker 1>actually led to a problem contamination. Some recentatures even think

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<v Speaker 1>of the cells as a weed. They're difficult to get

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<v Speaker 1>rid of and can overwhelm other cell lines and ruin research,

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<v Speaker 1>but their resilience is what's made them such an incredible tool.

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<v Speaker 1>The helo cell line has helped found entire fields of study.

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<v Speaker 1>Researchers essentially created the field of virology the study of

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<v Speaker 1>viruses after infecting helo cells with measles or mumps so

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<v Speaker 1>that they could observe how the viruses affected the cells.

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<v Speaker 1>This led to the creation of some of the vaccines

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<v Speaker 1>in use today, and recently, helo cells were used in

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<v Speaker 1>the formulation of COVID nineteen vaccines. Genetic medicine got its

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<v Speaker 1>start in the nineteen fifties when researchers discovered that helo

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<v Speaker 1>cell's chromosomes were visible when treated with this specific stain,

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<v Speaker 1>which led to the discovery of our typical twenty three

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<v Speaker 1>pairs of chromosomes. In the mid nineteen sixties, HeLa cells

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<v Speaker 1>helped researchers begin the process of mapping the human genome.

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<v Speaker 1>Polio has been eradicated in the Western hemisphere thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>Jonas Sulk and the vaccine that he tested using helo cell.

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<v Speaker 1>The line has also been instrumental in studying tuberculosis, HIV,

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<v Speaker 1>and human papillomavirus or HPV, which is usually what causes

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<v Speaker 1>cervical cancer and which eventually resulted in a vaccine. HeLa

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<v Speaker 1>cells were used to improve in vitro fertilization techniques, to

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<v Speaker 1>test medications for cancer in Parkinson's, to observe the effects

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<v Speaker 1>of radiation and toxins, and to test the safety of

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<v Speaker 1>products like cosmetics, tape, and glue. It's estimated that over

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<v Speaker 1>fifty million metric tons of HeLa cells have been grown

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<v Speaker 1>since her unwitting donation. That lack of consent to her

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<v Speaker 1>cells being taken and used for research has become a

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<v Speaker 1>central example in the field of ethics in biomedical research.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't until the early nineteen seventies that Lack's family

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<v Speaker 1>got an inkling of her legacy. Her widowed husband got

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<v Speaker 1>a confusing call from a researcher at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

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<v Speaker 1>He thought they were saying that they needed to test

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<v Speaker 1>their children to find out if they also had cancer.

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<v Speaker 1>The kids submitted to testing, but were never contacted about

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<v Speaker 1>the results. It wasn't done for them, but to better

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<v Speaker 1>understand Henriette's genetics. The first time the family better understood

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<v Speaker 1>the cells continued existence was after an article about the

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<v Speaker 1>HILA line ran in Rolling Stone in nineteen seventy six,

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<v Speaker 1>a doctor Guy and Johns Hopkins didn't profit off of HeLa,

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<v Speaker 1>but related products have been sold since nineteen fifty four.

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<v Speaker 1>For decades, doctors and researchers failed to ask for the

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<v Speaker 1>family's consent before publishing lax medical records and even a

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<v Speaker 1>genome from one group of her cells. Amidst ethical controversy,

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<v Speaker 1>it was taken offline and some rights were then acknowledged

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<v Speaker 1>to the family. In twenty thirteen, they granted permission for

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<v Speaker 1>another genome based on the HILA line to be published.

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<v Speaker 1>Until twenty twenty three. The Lax family received no compensation

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<v Speaker 1>for Henriette's world changing contribution, nor for the breach of

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<v Speaker 1>their privacy. That compensation was the result of a lawsuit

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<v Speaker 1>against biotechnology company thermofish or Scientific Ink. They claimed the

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<v Speaker 1>company had lined their pockets for decades, even after Lack's

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<v Speaker 1>identity was known. They pointed out that the company had

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<v Speaker 1>given millions to their CEO while Black's surviving family was

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<v Speaker 1>unable to afford health insurance. The company wound up settling

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<v Speaker 1>with them for a confidential amount. This story also touches

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<v Speaker 1>on the exploitation of minority groups as test subjects, including

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<v Speaker 1>people who can't afford healthcare, and people of color, and

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<v Speaker 1>in the US, especially the black community. The argument from

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<v Speaker 1>the medical community has long been that once blood or

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<v Speaker 1>tissues are removed from you, they're not really yours anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>They say it would slow or stymy life saving research,

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<v Speaker 1>that it would be far too complicated and costly to

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<v Speaker 1>have to track the identities behind every sample and pay

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<v Speaker 1>if there's some monetary gain. American courts have sided with

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<v Speaker 1>researchers so far, but they've also upheld the necessity of

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<v Speaker 1>patients in fum formed consent. However, one hundred and five

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<v Speaker 1>years after her birth and seventy four years into her

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<v Speaker 1>cell lines existence, Henrietta Lax has finally gotten some recognition. JOHNS.

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<v Speaker 1>Hopkins has named a building for her and established a

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<v Speaker 1>memorial award in her name. She's been commemorated by organizations

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<v Speaker 1>like the Moorhouse College of Medicine, the Smithsonian, and the

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<v Speaker 1>World Health Organization. In twenty ten, a science writer by

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<v Speaker 1>the name of Rebecca Sclute published a best selling book

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<v Speaker 1>called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lax, which HBO made

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<v Speaker 1>into a movie in twenty seventeen, featuring Oprah Winfrey playing

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<v Speaker 1>Henriette's daughter, and in twenty ten, a headstone was finally

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<v Speaker 1>placed at las previously unmarked grave. Sclute also created the

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<v Speaker 1>Henriette Lax Foundation to educate people about Lax and to

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<v Speaker 1>help her family and others like hers with expenses for

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<v Speaker 1>education and health care. Today, a number of laboratories that

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<v Speaker 1>use HeLa Cell's make donations to the foundation. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article how HeLa Sells works on

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<v Speaker 1>how stuffworks dot Com, written by Shanna Freeman. Brain Stuff

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