“Gene patents are the point of greatest concern in the debate over ownership of human biological materials, and how that ownership might interfere with science. As of 2005—the most recent year figures were available—the U.S. government had issued patents relating… — 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. When this book went to press, their price per vial was $256. The ATCC won’t reveal how much money it brings in from HeLa sales each year, but since HeLa is one of the most popular… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share
“Today an estimated 13 percent of birds are threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. So are 25 percent of mammals and 41 percent of amphibians, in large part because of human activity. Hydropower and road construction imperil China’s giant pandas. The northern bald ibis, once abundant in the Middle East, has been driven almost to extinction… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share
“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 published “HeLa Hit Lists” in Science, listing any contaminated lines he found, along with the names of researchers who’d given him the cells. He didn’t warn researchers when he found that their cells had been contaminated… — Rebecca Skloot Copy Share
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
