MicrobeWorld

Shortly after I wrote about my years of experience with HeLa cells, I was contacted by author Rebecca Skloot. One of her many questions was how I knew that I had produced 800 billion HeLa cells in my laboratory over 26 years. I learned that she was writing a book about Henrietta Lacks, whose tumor was the source of HeLa cells in 1951. Subsequently I had the privilege of reading an early draft of her book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which will be published next month.