Have you heard of HeLa cells? Poll

[fedup1982]

Amazing, I was incredibly surprised to hear about them. I don't know why HeLa cells aren't taught in every school around the world. A god cell, courtesy of Henrietta Lacks, her cells, 75+ years after her death, have been used for innumerable research projects due to their unique properties. They even nearly caused a war!

 

[SomewhereAlongThe]

What's so unique about them? What makes them stand out as a cell?

 

[fedup1982]

What's so unique about them? What makes them stand out as a cell?

Samples were taken at her time of death in 1951 and they found that unlike for most people's cells, they kept replicating even after her death. As far as anyone knows, it is unique to her. No other persons cells in all of human history have been found to do this, and live cultures of her cells exist to this day. They've even been taken to space, making her the most travelled woman in human history.

Tragically there have been objections, since she was a black woman in the 1950s and therefore the cells were taken without prior permission from her or any of her family. She essentially had few rights back in those days.

If it weren't for her cells furthering research in many areas, countless people would have died from various diseases all the way from Polio to HIV to COVID

 

[StoneCellaiver]

Never knew about this, can't find any information on the war, but this is interesting

They've even been taken to space, making her the most travelled woman in human history.

Immortalized cell lines sound a bit horrifying and insane to me in general

 

[fedup1982]

Never knew about this, can't find any information on the war, but this is interesting

Immortalized cell lines sound a bit horrifying and insane to me in general

IIRC someone in the USA shipped something to Russia, HeLa cells were in there, and it cloned itself out of control, destroying some portion of their research and accusations were made that it was done on purpose. USA threw their hands up saying "sorry, we didn't mean to, her cells are crazy and grow out of control sometimes". Sorry I'd post better info but my gf is asleep ATM. I know it was Russia and I'm guessing the other party was USA

 

[darksouls]

the negative thing about it is that a lot of animals are used for this research

 

[Nightfoot]

Never heard of them but what I've read about them here is very interesting.

 

[tooBadTooLate]

I've heard about it. I wonder what have they found out in the cells that they have put to use in oncology, practical or research.

 

[Hvergelmir]

No other persons cells in all of human history have been found to do this

While HeLa was the first, there are more "immortalized cell lines" . Immortalized means that proliferate indefinitely, due to a mutation. They tend to stem from cancers.
Besides HeLa, there's Jurkat, MFC-7, A549, and many more, used in research.

 

[fedup1982]

While HeLa was the first, there are more "immortalized cell lines" . Immortalized means that proliferate indefinitely, due to a mutation. They tend to stem from cancers.
Besides HeLa, there's Jurkat, MFC-7, A549, and many more, used in research.

Interesting, I didn't know that!