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Immortal Human Cells
George Gey became the first scientist to successfully culture immortal human cells that were extracted from the cervix of Henrietta Lacks; the immortal cells were known as HeLa cells within the science field. -
Henrietta's Autopsy
After Henrietta's death, more cell samples were extracted from her body. Gey and his assistants, those who performed his autopsy, extracted these cells without any form of consent from the family. -
Henrietta's Death
Henrietta Lacks dies of an aggressive strain of cervical cancer. Although Henrietta died on this day, her cells did now, which allowed for numerous advancements within medicine and science. -
Mailing Cells
The newly developed and discovered HeLa cells were the first cells to successfully be transported by postal mail. Prior to this breakthrough, cells typically died when being postally delivered, in which the transportation process of cells was complex and tricky. This was a major breakthrough for the development of science. -
HeLa Factory
The first "HeLa Cell Factory" was opened by the Tuskegee Institution. This factory acted as a nonprofit, supplying researchers and laboratories with HeLa cells for scientific and research means for further advancements and developments. -
Polio Vaccine
HeLa cells aided the development and production of the polio vaccine. Due to the experimentations that the HeLa cells allowed, the vaccine was capable of being developed. This was a huge breakthrough for both scientific and medical advancements. -
Cell Cloning
HeLa cells became the first cells to ever be successfully cloned and duplicated. This was the first time this has ever been done with human cells. -
HeLa Cold War Experiments
During the Cold War experiments, HeLa cells were exposed to large amounts of radiation, as scientists wanted to discover how nuclear weapons destroyed or killed human cells. Another experiment included HeLa cells being placed in centrifuges, which would help to determine how cells function, perform, and work when under pressure. -
Southam Scandal
Chester Southam begins his experiments that exclude the consent of patients. Southam injected patients with HeLa cells in an attempt to determine whether or not HeLa cells could cause cancer. This caused a big controversy as Southam performed the experiments without the consent of his patients. -
HeLa in Space
HeLa cells were the first immortal cells that were capable of traveling to space and surviving. With this, scientists were able to discover and conclude that cells grow faster in space as opposed to Earth. -
Henrietta's Family
Henrietta's family discovers that her cells are still alive and duplicating. Samples of Henrietta's children's cells are then taken by researchers at Johns Hopkins in hopes of furthering HeLa cell research. These samples were taken without their informed consent. -
HeLa in Mouse Cells
Scientists fused HeLa cells with mouse cells, and the first animal-human hybrid cells were created. This allowed advancements in mapping genes with specific chromosomes. -
HeLa Bomb
Stanly Gartler states that the HeLa cells have contaminated many cell lines. -
George Gey's Death
George Gey, Henrietta's doctor and a significant scientist, dies of pancreatic cancer in Baltimore, Maryland. -
HPV-18 & HeLa Cell
A German scientist conducted experiments to determine if HPV-18 actually did cause cervical cancer. Through his experimentations, he discovered how the HPV virus inserted itself into DNA. -
HeLa & T4/CD4 Gene
The use of HeLa cells helps aid in the discovery of the T4/CD4 gene, along with the receptors that are needed for HIV to enter a cell.