Rebecca Skloot, in a true detective fashion, uncovers one of the most amazing scientific  discoveries of our time, at the same time, investigating the life of the family linked to it.

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who died in 1951 of cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.  That’s where the story begins.  Henrietta’s cervical cells, taken without her permission, are reproduced at the hospital lab, the first human cells to be reproduced.  They are taken around the world, becoming the corner stone of virology and then biotechnology, benefiting practically anyone who’s ever taken a pill stronger than aspirin.

Rebecca Skloot introduces us to the latest 100 years of discoveries, produced by these cells, as well as the life of the Lacks family, since the death of her mother, and how they were oblivious to her fame.

By PetroMarine Energy Services LTD