Henrietta Lacks Estate Sues Thermo Fisher over HeLa Cell Line
Henrietta Lacks Estate Sues Thermo Fisher over HeLa Cell Line
Attorneys for the family seek compensation for the company’s sale of cells cloned from tissue removed without consent by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital 70 years ago.
Attorneys for the family seek compensation for the company’s sale of cells cloned from tissue removed without consent by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital 70 years ago.
HeLa cells
Image of the Day: Wrench in the Works
Carolyn Wilke | Mar 26, 2019 | 1 min read
In cell division, a protein called spastin appears to help tear down a bridge between daughter cells.
HeLa Cells from Different Labs Vary in Genetics, Phenotype
Katarina Zimmer | Feb 26, 2019 | 4 min read
This could account for some reproducibility problems in cell line research, according to the authors of a comprehensive analysis of HeLa variants.
Scientists Raise Concerns About Revisions to Human Research Regulations
Katarina Zimmer | Feb 19, 2019 | 6 min read
Authors of a new paper take issue with revisions to regulations on biospecimen research enacted last month, and argue that cell lines should be treated differently from other biospecimens.
Image of the Day: First Contact
Catherine Offord | Oct 11, 2018 | 1 min read
Cryo-electron tomography reveals how Salmonella sets up physical interactions with host cells.
Image of the Day: Henrietta Lacks
The Scientist | May 12, 2018 | 1 min read
A painting of the woman who was the source of HeLa cells will be on view at the National Portrait Gallery beginning May 15.
Papers Based on Misidentified Cell Lines Top 32,000
Kerry Grens | Oct 16, 2017 | 1 min read
An analysis of contaminated literature finds that tens of thousands of papers used cell lines of questionable origins—and these were in turn cited by hundreds of thousands of other papers.
Henrietta Lacks’s Family Seeks Compensation
Kerry Grens | Feb 15, 2017 | 1 min read
Family members of Lacks, the donor behind the widely used HeLa cell line, are planning to sue Johns Hopkins University.
Oprah to Star in Henrietta Lacks Movie
Tanya Lewis | May 3, 2016 | 1 min read
She will also be an executive producer on the HBO Films project, which is based on a 2010 book about the life of Henrietta Lacks.
Scientists Skip Cell Line Validation
Kerry Grens | Oct 12, 2015 | 1 min read
Despite known problems with contamination and mislabeled cell lines, most researchers continue to operate without authenticating cells’ identity.
Seeded by Weeds
K. John Morrow Jr. | May 1, 2015 | 4 min read
More than 50 years after cross-contamination of cultured cell lines was recognized, the problem continues to plague the scientific community.
Caught on Camera
The Scientist | May 1, 2014 | 1 min read
Selected Images of the Day from www.the-scientist.com
Governing Science
Abby Olena, PhD | Dec 30, 2013 | 5 min read
How the US government impacted life science research in 2013
Consent at Last
Erin Weeks | Sep 18, 2013 | 1 min read
A working group including members of the Lacks family approves the first projects to use the HeLa genome.
Week in Review: August 5–9
Jef Akst | Aug 9, 2013 | 5 min read
Flu researchers propose H7N9 studies; NIH makes deal to share HeLa genome; herbal “remedies” can cause cancer; scientists record grid cell activity in humans
Q&A: NIH Brokers HeLa Genome Deal
Bob Grant | Aug 6, 2013 | 6 min read
Officials at the government agency hammer out an agreement with the Lacks family to provide restricted access to genomes of their relative’s unwittingly donated cells.
Privacy and the HeLa Genome
Kate Yandell | Mar 26, 2013 | 2 min read
European scientists have taken down the HeLa genome after publishing it without the consent of Henrietta Lacks’s family.