The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Science NetLinks

Purpose

To explore the issue of ethics in medical research and, in particular, the issue of informed consent, in the context of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells.

This lesson uses the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, which is one of the winners of the 2011 SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. SB&F, Science Books & Films, is a project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The ubiquitous cell line HeLa (whose immortality provides the book title) has helped power the explosive growth of cell biology for more than 50 years. But for all that is known about the cells themselves, most people know little if anything about the history and the woman behind these cells. In her book, investigative reporter Skloot explores the mystery behind HeLa cells (pronounced hee la), her obsession with telling the real truth about Henrietta Lacks, and the scientists, doctors, and institutions involved in this fascinating story that revolves around Lacks cervical cancer cells.

Its a story the students wont soon forget, which is exactly what happened to Rebecca Skloot. She first heard about HeLa cells at age 16 while attending a community college biology class. Her professor told the class that HeLa cells were the most famous cells ever, and that they came from an African American woman who died of cervical cancer. That was all he knew, and Skloot immediately wanted to know who the donor was, where she came from, if her family knew her cells were still alive, and what her real name was. (Until Skloots book, Lacks was pretty much anonymous.)

Years went by before Skloot had the resources to pursue this mystery, but once she started uncovering the story, she didnt give up, and a decade of research resulted in this award-winning book.

In this lesson, students will read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and learn what bioethics is and how it has influenced cellular research from the 1950s until now. They will learn what informed consent is and its importance to researchers and patients. They will learn how a major piece of science history has impacted their lives on an individual level. And although they may have heard about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (which took place at the same time and institution as Lacks story), they also will gain a better understanding of the history behind that medical experiment and its influence on current ethics.

Students should begin this lesson with a basic knowledge about what cells are and how they function. If you feel that your students need to review this knowledge, askthem to answer the questions on the Explaining DNA student sheet in the Extracting DNA science lesson. This student sheet also asks students to create a poster explaining DNA to someone unfamiliar with it.

Ideas in this lesson are also related to concepts found in these Common Core State Standards:

Using the HeLa student esheet, students should begin this lesson by reading Henrietta Lacks' Immortal Cells, which is an interview with the author that summarizes the book and the story behind HeLa cells.

Read more:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Science NetLinks