Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta Lacks, originally named as Loretta, was the daughter of Eliza and Johnny Pleasant. After her mother’s death, Henrietta went to go live with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks, in Clover, Virginia. Tommy was a small tobacco farmer who had already taken in some of his other grandchildren. Additionally, Tommy and other Lacks lived closely together and the small area where they lived had become known as Lacks Town. As a beautiful young girl, Henrietta attracted many boys, including her cousin…

Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story about a poor black woman whose cells were taken from her without her consent, becoming an important tool in science. Through the use of research and storytelling, Skloot tells the story of the life of the woman who unknowingly donated her cells to science, greatly advancing the medical institution, while her family struggled to pay health insurance. Skloot tells the emotional story of the Lacks family, answers questions about…

Medical Ethics and the Abuse of Power In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, we see how medical professionals can abuse their power when treating patients. Henrietta Lacks was an underprivileged, African American woman with cervical cancer. While visiting her doctors for treatment, cancerous cells were taken from her, harvested, and distributed to labs all over the world without her knowledge. She was treated during the 1950s when racism was at its prime, causing her to be…

experiences act as the sacrifice that ultimately aids all people. To have the ability to serve all of humanity is a massive honor; however, that honor does not mean equivocate to ultimate sacrifice. The novel "The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks" By Rebecca Skloot subtly suggests that utilitarianism in medical ethics is necessary, so that everyone may benefit from medical discovery. However, the wounds of the deeply personal side effects, inflicted by utilitarianism, may be more painful than…

The Immortal Live of Henrietta Lacks is a book by Rebecca Skloot is about Henrietta an African American woman who develops cervical cancer as a result of her cancerous cells which will have a major impact in medicine and science. The book is base on the hundreds of interviews Skloot did to Henrietta’s friends and families. Although her cancerous cells did help scientists with the development of treatment. It also raises a hot topic if it was right for them to use them she they have as the family…

During the mid 16th century, discrimination and social partition were known to a part of the common society. The book, The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks, illustrates the life of a lady in that era, where she is strong and intelligent. She is one hero to discover new medicines and information for epidemics, like polio and virology, with her cells. However, her help in medical history is and still remains unnoticed by the majority due to their past history of discrimination and racism in the…

than three, and be specific.) I take great pride in being acknowledged in a recent Nature scientific journal publication entitled “Epigenetic Editing of Ascl1 gene in Neural Stem Cells by Optogenetics,” which stems from my work as a research intern at the Indiana University School of Medicine. I am also proud to have had the opportunity to present my research work as a semi-finalist at the Armed Forces-sponsored Southern California Junior Sciences and Humanities Symposium. Last but not least, I…

order to use them and attempt to grow them in a lab. Taking cells from unexplainable diagnostics without the patient’s consent for research purposes is beneficial for the medical use by future generations, but is immoral. In the story told by Rebecca Skloot, she unravels the deeper aspect of Henrietta’s…

Accomplished journalism scientist, Rebecca Skloot tells the story about Henreitta Lacks, known as HeLa, “a poor black tobacco farmer who’s cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951,” writes Skloot in the prologue of her book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. “I first learned about HeLa cells and the woman behind them in 1988, thirty-seven years after her death, when I was sixteen and sitting in a community college biology class. My instructor, Donald Defler, a gnomish balding man,…

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, is a true story about a woman whose cells life on in many laboratories though she died over 50 years ago. In her mid-thirties, she developed cancer and passed away soon after. The hospital treated her and but in the end the toxicity of the disease growing inside her overcame her body. During an early stage of her cancer, unbeknownst to Henrietta, a sample of her cells were taken and research was conducted on them resulting in many…