Lynn READs
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobaccofarmer, yet her cells–taken without her knowledge–became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years.
Over the summer, all incoming Lynn Freshmen will be reading about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This will be their first introduction to the Dialogues of Learning and their Self and Society classes. Question to think about: Does the great benefit that has come to society through the medical research done on Henrietta Lacks’ cells, justify the disgard for a person’s self determination that was displayed when they took her cells without her knowlege?
Check out what the autho, Rebecca Skloot, has to say about her book:
