The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This is a fascinating novel about a young black woman who's cells changed the world. Her cells were the first that were able to live and grow outside of the body and redefined science to what we know today. HeLa cells have been used to create the polio vaccine; they have been tested on, put into space, used for gene mapping, helped scientists understand cloning, used for cancer research and of course many many other applications. HeLa is bought and sold around the world and can be found in almost every lab today. This novel is both a history of the progress of science and the very real and scary history of the medical field as well as the history of the woman herself and of her family coming to terms with the questions and misunderstandings that came from the discovery and use of her incredible cells.

Rating: Slow Clap It.