“Day wouldn’t have understood the concept of immortal cells or HLA markers coming from anyone, accent or not—he’d only gone to school for four years of his life, and he’d never studied science. The only kind of cell he’d heard… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
Only cells that had been transformed by a virus or a genetic mutation had the potential to become immortal. — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
Good science is all about following the data as it shows up and letting yourself be proven wrong, and letting everything change while you're… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“The American Type Culture Collection—a nonprofit whose funds go mainly toward maintaining and providing pure cultures for science—has been selling HeLa since the sixties.… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“Today an estimated 13 percent of birds are threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. So are 25 percent of mammals… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“an idea hit him, he sat wherever he was—at his desk, kitchen table, a bar, or behind the wheel of his car—gnawing on his… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“When he asked if she was okay, her eyes welled with tears and she said, “Like I’m always telling my brothers, if you gonna… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“Some things you got to release. Gary said. The more you hold them in, the worse you get. When you release them, they got… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
The sort of thinking at the time was, 'Well, we're giving you access to medical care which you wouldn't otherwise be able to get,… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“Nelson-Rees had since been hired by the National Cancer Institute to help stop the contamination problem. He would become known as a vigilante who… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
Often doctors didn't even tell you what was wrong with you. They just treated you, and sent you home. — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
“Ultimately the judge threw Moore’s suit out of court, saying he had no case. Ironically, in his decision, the judge cited the HeLa cell… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
The laws are still very unclear. Cells are still taken from people without consent - a lot of people don't realize it. — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image
But I tell you one thing, I don't want to be immortal if it mean living forever, cause then everybody else just die and… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share Image