In a special First Thursday OMSI Science Pub, award-winning science writer Rebecca Skloot presents the story covered in her new book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry. More than twenty years later, her children found out. Their lives would never be the same.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.
This science pub takes place at the Bagdad Theater (3702 SE Hawthorne) from 7pm until 9pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011. Doors open at 5pm so you have plenty of time to secure your beer, grub, and a seat! The suggested donation is $3.00. Minors with adults are welcome, otherwise this event is 21 and over.
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