Discuss the History and Philosophy oh how the First Immortal Cell Line Term Paper

Discuss the History and Philosophy oh how the First Immortal Cell Line was Created from Cervical Cancel Cell - Term Paper Example Henrietta’s cells were the first ever immortal human cells which later proved to be essential in the development of polio vaccinations. They went up in the first ever spaceship sent out of the earth’s atmosphere to determine what happened when human tissue was exposed to zero gravity. Her cells live on, and since 1951 her cells have been used for in vitro fertilization, gene mapping and cloning. Henrietta’s cells, when first put in a petri dish produced a new generation every twenty four hours. HeLa cells, as Lacks cells have come to be known were initially a part of the research into the genes that are cancer causing and the ones that can suppress it. They have so far been used in development drugs for the treatment of leukemia, herpes, hemophilia, influenza and Parkinson’s disease. They have also provided the basis to study and learn more about sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s), lactose digestion, the bacteria that causes appendicitis, human l ongevity, mosquito mating, along with the negative cellular effects of working in sewers. Scientists have studied her cells for her DNA and chromosomes in such detail that they are now familiar with every niche and corner of the spiral that keeps replicating to keep the cells alive.(Skloot, R. 2010 )A high school biology teacher quoted that HeLa’s cell were the most important thing to happen to medical science in the past century. The interesting facts about Henrietta Lacks cells are not widely known but it was discovered that her chromosomes were incompatible with humans. Does this mean that the cells belong to a whole different species? Also, how do HeLa cells replicate and contaminate other cells in laboratory, almost like how weeds in the garden push their way through plants. No other human cells have so far ever been able to behave in this way. The ecological niche of those cells in not just limited to the human body but they have survived for many years outside showing us their ability to expand beyond human cultivation. Carcinoma in situ describes an abnormal growth of cells. Abnormal growth occurs when the stop button in cell growth is broken down and mitosis occurs repeatedly. Since it all started with cancer cells of a woman, we should take a look at the disease that caused scientists to spend so much effort on research. Uncontrolled growth of abnormal body cell is known as malignant cells are known as cancer. Cells in our body form tissues, which later on come together to build organs, so cells are known as the building blocks of life. Even the smallest living microbes have cells. ("History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian Magazine." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2012). The cells in the body have a life cycle, they die and new cells are made in order to replace the previous dead cells until death. Cancer occurs when normal healthy cells suddenly start reprodu cing without stopping. Sometimes the shape of the cells also starts to change, for example in leukemia, also known as blood cancer, the shape of the red blood cells changes from concave to lunar thus making it inefficient to carry out respiration. This is exactly what happened to Lacks. Her cells in the cervical started reproducing at a very fast rate. This is how doctors were able to do research on them. Definition: ‘