People to Know: Henrietta Lacks

 

Henrietta Lacks and her husband

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer in the 1950s.   The first immortal cells ever grown were used from her tissue sample and were given the identity "HeLa cells".

Her cell were used in many scientific breakthroughs including developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and vitro fertilization. Her cells were even sent to space during the first space missions to test determine possible effects on the human body.

Find out more about Henrietta Lacks at Smithsonianmag.com