The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Sparknotes Literature Guide

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Independent (U.K.) • Times (U.K.) • Publishers Weekly • Library Journal • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, 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.

Created by Harvard students for students everywhere, SparkNotes give you just what you need to succeed in school: Complete Plot Summary and Analysis Key Facts About the Work Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs, and Symbols Explanation of Important Quotations Author's Historical Context Suggested Essay Topics 25-Question Review Quiz The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks features explanations of key themes, motifs, and symbols including: humanity; immortality and legacy; scientific racism; racialized poverty; hela cells; red nail polish. It also includes detailed analysis of these important characters: Deborah Lacks; Henrietta Lacks; Rebecca Skloot; George Gey.

A Conspiracy of Cells presents the first full account of one of medical science's more bizarre and costly mistakes. On October 4, 1951, a young black woman named Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer. That is, most of Henrietta Lacks died. In a laboratory dish at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, a few cells taken from her fatal tumor continued to live--to thrive, in fact. For reasons unknown, her cells, code-named "HeLa," grew more vigorously than any other cells in culture at the time. Long-time science reporter Michael Gold describes in graphic detail how the errant HeLa cells spread, contaminating and overwhelming other cell cultures, sabotaging research projects, and eluding detection until they had managed to infiltrate scientific laboratories worldwide. He tracks the efforts of geneticist Walter Nelson-Rees to alert a sceptical scientific community to the rampant HeLa contamination. And he reconstructs Nelson-Rees's crusade to expose the embarrassing mistakes and bogus conclusions of researchers who unknowingly abetted HeLa's spread.

So much to read, so little time? Get an in-depth summary of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the #1 bestseller about science, race, and medical ethics. For decades, scientists have been using “HeLa” cells in biological research, from developing the polio vaccine and studying the nature of cancer to observing how human biology behaves in outer space. This famous cell line began as a sample taken from a poor African American mother of five named Henrietta Lacks. A cancer patient, Henrietta Lacks went through medical testing but never gave consent for the use of her cells. She died of cervical cancer in 1951, without ever knowing that the samples were intended for extensive medical research. This summary of the #1 New York Times bestseller by Rebecca Skloot tells Henrietta’s story and reveals what happened when her family found out that her cells were being bought and sold in labs around the world. With historical context, character profiles, a timeline of key events, and other features, this summary and analysis of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality study guides for challenging works of literature. This 38-page guide for "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 38 chapters, as well as several more in-depth sections of expert-written literary analysis. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 10 important quotes, discussion topics, and key themes like Scientific Ethics and Informed Consent.

How to Use This Book This book is to be used alongside the bestselling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot for anyone interested in learning about one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more, the HeLa cells. This is also the story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. For students: The study questions are in order and follow Rebecca Skloot s narrative. Answer questions as you read the book. Answers follow each question. For teachers: This is an easy and interesting resource to help your students learn about a specific tool used in medicine, the HeLa cell and how it originated and the impact its discovery had on medicine and the population. Use your own unique teaching style to supplement the Pembroke Notes with engaging activities and links for further investigating. With the new Common Core standards and a push to increased rigor, I have added a Writing Workshop section at the end of my book to help you with writing assignments. For homeschools: Your high school student will love the easy guide to help him/her in her reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Parents, be prepared for active discussions with your teenager while you read along. A Writing Workshop is supplied at the end of the book as a guide."

New Author Ron Lacks, tells a behind the scenes story of what happened in the past 9 years to his family in his new book Henrietta Lacks The Untold Story Ron Lacks is the oldest grandson of Henrietta Lacks. He takes you on the inside of a story that has haunted him for the past 9 years! This book will definitely answer your questions as to how the family is really doing now. From Clover to Baltimore... giving you an inside look at what happen behind closed doors, that ultimately divided a once strong family.