How did cells taken from a poor black woman in 1951 advance to unlock some of the biggest advances in science?Henrietta Lacks,a 31-year-old mother of five, died of cervical cancer on 4 October 1951; and while her disease was a tragedy for her family, or for the world of medical research – and beyond that,every one of us on the planet it was something of a miracle.
Because, in the years since her death, or Lacks's cells – taken from her tumour while she was undergoing surgery – maintain been responsible for some of the most indispensable medical advances of all time. The polio vaccine,chemotherapy, cloning, and gene mapping and IVF: all these health milestones,and many more, owe everything to the life, and death,of a young mother.
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Source: theguardian.com