HeLa Cell Line Genome Data To Be Published

ananyo writes "Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, has brokered a deal with the family of Henrietta Lacks to release the genetic sequence of the HeLa cell line to researchers. The HeLa cell line was established in 1951 from a biopsy of a cervical tumour taken from Henrietta Lacks, a working-class African-American woman living near Baltimore. The cells were taken without the knowledge or permission of her or her family, and they became the first human cells to grow well in a lab. They contributed to the development of a polio vaccine, the discovery of human telomerase and countless other advances. Controversy erupted earlier this year after researchers published the sequence without the permission of the Lacks family. In a Q&A with the journal Nature, Collins explains how the deal was reached."

Many People Miss The Central Lesson of HeLa

[Jane Q. Public]

... and that is:

The line of cells that was used for decades to develop drugs and treatments, and do other research, were not "normal" human cells at all, but cancer cells.

It wasn't until relatively recently that some scientists pointed out that maybe they weren't such a suitable medium for a lot of the research that had been done in the past.

I use them

[Sir Holo]

I learned about the HeLa cell line recently, because I've begun working with them. In the field, they are a sort of de-facto standard. It's amazing that the culture of her tumor has lived this long –– far longer than it took to kill its host –– in fact for decades more. Henrietta Lacks deserves respect and remembrance for her unwitting gift to humankind, which arose from her own personal tragedy.

Fun fact: There are cancers that one can "catch" from another infected individual. If you are a Tasmanian devil, Syrian hamster, or sexually promiscuous dog, that is.

See the Wiki or Harper's mag for details. http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/contagious-cancer/ [harpers.org] –– Don't like pay-walls? Go to your local library!