The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -- A poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951 and now called HeLa cells—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.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -- A poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951 and now called HeLa cells—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.