The HeLa cell line is the oldest and most commonly used cancer cell line in the scientific research community. A cancer cell line is an immortal cell line; it continues to divide and is able to avoid cellular senescence, or the phase where cells stop dividing.
These cells are beneficial to research because they allow for a controlled model system to study diseases and cures. In fact, the cure for polio was discovered using HeLa...
The HeLa cell line is the oldest and most commonly used cancer cell line in the scientific research community. A cancer cell line is an immortal cell line; it continues to divide and is able to avoid cellular senescence, or the phase where cells stop dividing.
These cells are beneficial to research because they allow for a controlled model system to study diseases and cures. In fact, the cure for polio was discovered using HeLa cells.
The HeLa cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks (how the cells got their name) without her permission at Johns Hopkins by Dr. George Gey.
The question of what Dr. Gey wanted to accomplish by taking the cells can be answered simply: he was trying to cure cancer and wanted a system to study it. He also wanted to develop cells that do not die. He was always interested in studying cancer and trying to cure it, and a culture of cells that continuously divide and do not die is an ideal model system. As fate would have it, he discovered the cells from Henrietta Lacks divided at a higher rate and continued to divide without dying. He then started a cell line from this and named them HeLa.
To this date, HeLa cells are still used in research. A book has been published about this (see reference) which tackles various issues relating to the life and 'immortality' of Henrietta Lacks.
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