In 1951 a tiny piece of tumour was taken, without knowledge or consent, from Henrietta Lacks. The extraordinarily malignant cancer killed her, but in the lab the cells, known as HeLa, continued to live and divide, becoming the first ever functionally immortal human cell line. HeLa was used for numerous scientific advances and her cells are traded around the world for serious money; it is estimated they collectively weigh more than 50 million tons... (1/2) @bookstodon #Bookstodon #RebeccaSkloot