The Immortal Woman Whose Death Changed the World

[@temseti0]

Simon: "So vigorous were Henrietta Lacks' cells that if even ONE made its way into a cell culture, it would out divide and replace the original cells overnight. Like a virus, HeLa had hopped from laboratory to laboratory and culture to culture - invading and conquering until there was nothing else left" Also Simon (probably): I will adapt this strategy for my KZbin Empire!

[@oldman0995]

A woman worth remembering. Few people realize the contribution her cells have made Thx for sharing her story

[@Pteromandias]

Why don’t we remember the researchers who did the actual work figuring out how it all works? What did she do? Get cancer and die? That’s what we honor these days?

[@randomobserver8168]

@@Pteromandias Well, for most of us whose lives will ultimately have meant nothing to anyone but ourselves and perhaps a few others, there's an irresistible attraction in the idea that one ordinary woman will have, not by her own effort but nonetheless, have made an outsized contribution to the future of humanity. It's a novelty and a very human notion, plus it's just interesting, so I'll give it that much and say it's worthy. But yes, we've gotten addicted to both curious novelty and the search to memorialize ordinary people for odd reasons, and should probably rein it in. I'm willing to consider it better than celebrity worship, though.

[@andreworders7305]

No really. She didn't do anything besides being born. Remember the scientists and researchers.

[@jakehix8132]

Imagine having over 99.99% of the you that ever existed being in labs, most of which was born after you've passed.

[@toddnolastname4485]

A couple of people called Adam and Eve know that feeling.

[@adastra3280]

damn

[@gothix5868]

@@toddnolastname4485 Ya, no.. Please remember that in your fairytale brothers and sisters had to have kids with their mom and dad and with their brothers and sisters. Then you get to Moses who, after GAWD KILLED THE WORLD, had to have sex with HIS KIDS to repopulate the world again. Keep your stupid stories to yourself. You keep your love for your immature narcissistic monster of a fallen gawd to yourself.

[@raptorz1991]

Honestly if it is to help save the lives of countless others? It would be an honor for that to happen.

[@tecumsehcristero]

@@toddnolastname4485 good one

[@theCidisIn]

The book "The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks is an amazingly written book, and it's incredibly moving. That poor poor woman's cancer cells have been saving lives ever since. I definitely recommend the book. I had to read it for English 102, but I read it all before it was due. It's a great book, and as I said, very moving.

[@JosieJOK]

Yes! Highly recommended! It’s on my list of best reads ever; I recommend it to everyone I come in contact with.

[@TheMuseAphelion]

I totally agree. It is a beautiful tribute to her and a deeply moving story.

[@gennik7966]

My english teacher made us read it in 8th grade. One of the few books I was forced to read which I genuinely enjoyed

[@areiaaphrodite]

Didn't Oprah play her in the movie version?

[@mikehunt3688]

That's an incredibly long book title

[@cowsharkdefin6376]

A quick correction about the Tuskegee syphilis experiment: the men were already infected, but they were given placebos instead of proper medical care (they were told they were getting actual medical care) and when it was discovered that penicillin cures it, the doctors never gave it. Either way the net result is over 100 men dying when they didn't have to, but we must always be sure we're totally accurate when exposing this kind of abuse.

[@CTP909]

I've never read that all of them already had it and given the proclivities of white doctors it would not be surprising for them to inject the disease into the black people. Also to only count those hundred men when syphilis is a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease is laughable

[@lisafranklin9089]

The HBO movie Miss Evers' Boys is an EXCELLENT movie about this!!

[@TheRCvie]

I first learned of Hela in the documentary, "The Way of All Flesh", back in the '90s. Still amazed and heartbroken for Henrietta every time I hear her story. Long live Hela.

[@saritajones1570]

Yes. The sense of pride is always replaced by dread. She gave life and these vultures literally stole hers and still haven't given her family their due. Which goes beyond any form of repayment but they damn sure could try better.

[@silvestras88]

The immortal channels of Simon Whistler - they keep on doubling if well fed and incubated.

[@joycejames8461]

They also need a constant supply of stimulating chemicals and freshly laundered shirts.

[@christophermerritt2714]

Good God, we're going to need a TV Guide soon just for his channels alone. They literally never stop adding more, lol. Not a bad one yet, kinda shocking considering how many channels they have.

[@WillPhil290]

This made me laugh... Well done lol

[@shngsam8777]

as long as keep him feed with information

[@y2ksw1]

😄

[@FlyToBeach]

The biographics channel has a biography on her. It is really moving! I figured this would be about her. Rest in peace and thank you Henrietta!

[@benjaminforman8901]

Having been raised by Robert A. Heinlein's scifi stories (he was a "father figure" to me in the 80s), I remember reading a story, I think it was Methuselah's Children. In the medical department on a starship, they had a huge culture of endlessly dividing chicken cells originally from one hen, which they called "Mrs. 'Awkins". I thought that was fascinating. Only decades later did I find out where that idea came from.

[@augustvalek]

Alien archeologists after discovering henrietta's cells all over the planet: apparently this creature was omnipresent, it could have been a planetwide parasite or symbioid

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

Henrietta in the afterlife: "Lol okay xD"

[@adastra3280]

facts lols

[@the_rachel_sam]

“everyone is related to Genghis Khan!” ... later, “oh wait, we might have been wrong.”

[@widowmaker4097]

@@bonefetcherbrimley7740 right lol

[@YouVSMeTV]

Hell yes, Henrietta Lacks. Finally.

[@The_Mimewar]

Right?! Everyone should know her name!

[@chriscostello117]

He also did one on her already at Biographics too awhile ago.. Check it out.

[@christinedeshano2872]

You should see the Biographics video he did on her. This focuses more in her cells than the woman they came from, the Biographics video is about her as a person.

[@ethelredhardrede1838]

So its what I thought it was. Thanks.

[@davidroberts1689]

My hat is off to her.

[@kathryna4136]

Thank you for covering this topic, I've been fascinated ever since I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as a kid. Such a tragic story of the medical community's exploitation of her. One comment though, on the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, the men in the study were not actually infected by the experimenters, they already had it but that info was kept from them and they were kept from accessing treatment when it became treatable with penicillin. I may be misconstruing what you said, but I just wanted to clarify that. It was obviously a horrible extremely unethical study, I am not disagreeing with that.

[@littlemissspacedout534]

we had to read the immortal life of henrietta lacks for summer reading going into freshman year (it's still on my bookshelf) and it amazes me how many people don't know about her even in passing or why more science channels don't cover her more

[@kevinconrad6156]

Well done Simon, you told her story well.

[@NP-zl7dz]

I used Hela cells in uni, they never taught the wider history of it though

[@Bacopa68]

There are a couple other immortal lines, but none as fast growing as Hela. It's an interesting problem. Are a person's cancer cells the property of the person they came from. There's a good case they might be. I think there should be some inclusion in the payouts over time.

[@KraftyKreator]

Of course not, they honestly don’t really care, and they want her personal story to not be well known pertly because the family might actually be able to claim some sort of financial compensation let alone control what happens to all Hela samples. Talk about a medical conundrum.

[@julietfischer5056]

@@Bacopa68 - Legally, no. Once the doctor takes the sample, it no longer belongs to the patient.

[@julietfischer5056]

@@KraftyKreator - Her cells ceased being hers to control once taken. She's not the only person this has happened to. These cases may be causing quite a few arguments and discussions we're not aware of.

[@KraftyKreator]

@@julietfischer5056 Any part of a test that was taken from my body I can request back again, according to the HIPPA regulations. So if we’re talking HIPPA laws those cells are still hers and yes that’s true of other people as well, in my opinion. Now admittedly others will disagree which is why this is a conflict.

[@cassandrakarpinski9416]

first thought upon seeing the title “is this going to be on hela/henrietta lacks” yep

[@blaquemann9398]

Same here, the thumbnail image was a clear red hearing.

[@cassandrakarpinski9416]

@@blaquemann9398 i wouldn't call it a red herring, as not everyone knows about henrietta lacks or the immortal hela cell line that was cultured from her biopsy without her or her family's knowledge or permission, nor do they know how important that cell line has been to medical research

[@adorable_anarchy2]

Yes! I am so amazed not many know of her. I’m alive because of her cells. So thankful to this woman. I am astounded at the lack of gain the family has gotten.

[@juliagoad1539]

Henrietta had a tragic end in life and the way they exploited her and covered up her misuse is, quite frankly, in my book, inexcusable; Thank you for sharing her story.

[@julietfischer5056]

Her cells were taken as part of the routine. They were legally no longer hers once they ended up in the petri dish. She's not the only person whose cells have turned out to be incredibly useful, which opens up a whole new discussion on this matter.

[@Sienisota]

@@julietfischer5056 Please say at least one name of a person whose cells have produced and used as much. A person whose cells made that much money, without the donor or descendants getting nothing and being poor.

[@julietfischer5056]

@@Sienisota - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore_v._Regents_of_the_University_of_California

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Thankyou so much for putting her face and her name to this story. A tapestry of human, the inhuman, and bless her, immortal hope.

[@liviia305]

I have just finished an ELA unit on Henrietta. A tragic and important story. Well done, Team!

[@blaquemann9398]

Thank you for doing this. Her memory should persist as long as her cells. She is one of the most important black women on earth.

[@Textile_Courtesan]

Agreed. She was disenfranchised and her bodily autonomy was abused by the medical community. In medical school they do not show ethical standards of informing their students about who she was and have reduced her to 'HeLa'. She and her family never were notified that they were using her cells for decades for research purposes and never compensated. Her cancer treatment at John Hopkins was shameful and almost non existent. The fact that the medical community had the audacity to track down her living family to collect more cells from them under false pretense in the hopes of recreating her cells is disgraceful. She should be acknowledged in the medical and scientific community and her family are owed retribution and financial compensation.

[@harrietharlow9929]

This is very, very sad. Yes, Mrs. Lack's cells have proven to be a boon to science, but the family was not informed (nor was Mrs. Lacks, so she couldn't consent), thus all profits went to the research institutions. May she rest in honor and peace.

[@EclecticallyEccentric]

Once it leaves your body, it's no longer yours and is the property of the facility that removed it. Either it's used for research or disposed as medical waste.

[@Textile_Courtesan]

@ but what about when they took samples from her living descendants under false pretenses? Shouldn't they have been compensated? They were misled by the scientific community to "donate" and they could of, should of, been compensated for their time. Then there's the mismanagement of Mrs. Lacks health care, her cancer treatment was minimal and negligent, should the family choose to sue for poor treatment I believe that they would have a strong case.

[@mr.johnson3844]

Imagine paying someone to take something away from you and then, after you find out that what has been taken has been used to save millions and millions of lives, your family is like, "Yeah, but where is our money?"

[@BezzyBee03]

Imagine being an exploited slave living in a country that consistently uses you for personal gain and non-consensual experiments and finally finding a breakthrough with one of such experiments. Yes, they’re entitled to compensation.

[@lisafranklin9089]

Imagine being asinine enough to make such an ignorant comment.....I mean were you not listening to the part where they were LITERALLY selling her (cells) for $10 a pop right off the bat? Plus the literal billions of dollars that have been made off if her through the years, along with the fact they never got her consent, I could go on and on.. ..

[@Frank7748124]

Why hasn't Dr. Gay received the Nobel Prize for his work? He and his wife spent years, and a considerable amount of their own money, to test thousands of tissue samples. The book said their apartment was filled with petri dishes. HeLa cells have benefitted every single person reading this. HeLa cells and the questions surrounding them are why you have to sign some extra forms every time you have a surgery. It is also why samples are no longer named after the person who donated them; to prevent these kinds of lawsuits.

[@BezzyBee03]

If Dr Gay gets a Nobel prize, then Henrietta’s family better be well compensated

[@Frank7748124]

@@BezzyBee03 her family was eventually compensated, that was the point of the book.

[@areiaaphrodite]

I knew this was going to be another Henrietta Lacks video. His Biographics video about her was very well done!

[@qwrts]

It’s sad her decedents were denied compensation for so many scientists using her cells.

[@toddnolastname4485]

Why should they? They did nothing. She did nothing, except happen to be dying of a unique cancer. Only the doctors that worked to copy her samples are entitled to any compensation. No one should be getting rich off of her.

[@bamboolaceway]

@@toddnolastname4485 If you owned property that was rich in rare minerals, and a company wanted to mine them, you would be compensated for those minerals. That would be true, even though you 1. did nothing to create the minerals yourself 2. did nothing to create the technology to mine them.

[@user-ur8hl8lr7q]

@@bamboolaceway I think the issue is that the lacks family was compensated with free medical treatment under the condition that any samples may be used for medical research. All of the hela cells today come from these samples taken during her treatment, so in a sense, the family has already been paid for the the hela line of cells.

[@ILikeMyPrivacytbt]

If she was white she would have been expected to get a lawyer to fight for fair compensation. Luckily she was a minority and people take the idea of minorities getting taken advantaged of very seriously. Simon even mentions in 16:57 an institution that gives assistance to people who suffered at the hands of medical science, as long as they are not white. White people have to pay for lawyers to get that kind of help.

[@Pteromandias]

@@ILikeMyPrivacytbt No, if she were white no one would be making her out to be some hero. Do you really have any example to prove your position? I have never heard of anyone but black people being propped up as deserving something for doing nothing.

[@Sunnyandshiny777]

I wish people would stop acting like this was some noble act on Henrietta’a part. She didn’t martyr herself. As thankful as I am for medical advances, we can’t ignore that they came at her expense. She was a woman who was disenfranchised and exploited throughout her life. She got sick. She didn’t set out to save the world. While her legacy is undeniable, we absolutely can’t ignore the brutally racist, classist implications of her story. Thank you for acknowledging that in the video.

[@WorldWearyAngel]

how did they come at her expense? Her treatment wasnt in any way altered or lessened to collect the cells? Sadly she died they used what was merely medical waste at the time. NOW you can say it came at her families financial expense certainly but thats not the same as saying she died because they wanted her medical cells or that her treatment was compromised. In fact the video states that use of the cells was part of how Johns Hopkins operated. I would be far more astounded at some of the other medical malpractice in this video than the fact that medical waste was used to save millions of people.

[@doclewis8927]

Well...THANK YOU, Ms. Lacks! I doubt many people have said that. You were a true poineer and life-saver without ever knowing it.

[@oceanasong4777]

Thank you so much for getting this story out there to the masses. I read the 2010 book and it is utterly fascinating.

[@DavidBeddard]

I had a feeling this was one of Gilles Messier's scripts. The WW2 stuff is entertaining enough but THIS is the level and kind of researched content I'M subscribed for. 👌 Thanks again, Gilles!

[@tylerleggett5088]

Yet another example of how the past was the worst. Fantastic job sharing her incredible story!

[@theguest3389]

I owe this woman a debt. As I'm sure I've benefited from her cells. Her name should be known her contribution to science is huge. To think noone even asked her if they could use her cells. Thank you Henrietta Lacks!!! Take care and have fun!!!😷😎😷

[@mattamiller2002]

I've heard about these cells but never about the human being they came from. Thanks for telling her story.

[@raymondgutierrez5421]

I learned about these cells from a genetics encyclopedia i would read for fun and damn what a horror it would be to have my cells stuck in a lab forever

[@auntmaddie]

Damn! Simon have like 7 channels now? Love you man!

[@Ali-kb8gr]

As soon as I saw the title I KNEW who this was about. It's sad that she is not as well known as she should be.

[@horrisnorris6478]

That 50 million tonne statistic at the end absolutely blew me away. What an incredible story!

[@niravdarmesh5278]

VIEWERS: Supplement this video with the RadioLab episode regarding this case!!! One of the daughters gets to meet her mom('s cells); it is AMAZING!

[@MikeJBeebe]

100% THIS!! Thank you for bringing this to people's attention!

[@gonefishing167]

May I ask - do you just type in Radio lab? What an amazing woman and yet I’ve never heard of her. That’s sad. And wrong! 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@stormfang5941]

Theres also a pair of twins in china somewhere who were intentionally genetically manipulated (and safely) made immune to AIDS (or HIV i cant remember) and the man who did it was arrested. but we arent ready for that conversation.

[@IlluminatiBG]

The latest news reports that the result sequence from CRISPR differs from the intended sequence and it was unauthorized experiment. However, as any other news coming from China, it should be assumed to be neither true, nor false.

[@berryberrykixx]

There are folks in Europe that are naturally immune to HIV/AIDS and because of two of them who donated bone marrow, two people were not only cured of their HIV/AIDS induced leukemia, but also cured of their HIV/AIDS.

[@ralphhooker6019]

I did indeed find it interesting. Thank you and all associated staff. Keep them coming!

[@hoonterofhoonters6588]

This started as a video about how one cancer patient's suffering would save an uncountable number, then turned into a video about abuse of power in medicine.

[@peterandersson3812]

Learned something new and fascinating today: thank you! 👍🏻

[@riggs20]

Thank you for this. I’ve seen and read her story a dozen times, but your documentary explained it best!

[@16jms]

A video about an immortal woman who's death would impact the entire world? But Queen Elisabeth is still alive!

[@Fluke_Starbucker]

Hahahahahahaaa!!!!😂👍

[@mrtrackharrasser]

wouldnt change a thing if she died really xd

[@Shadowwolf-1337]

so is Betty White

[@swrennie]

Pfffffft. PS - Elizabeth...

[@blaquemann9398]

Not a single fuck would be given when she passes except by the people whose lives are so devoid of meaning being royal subjects meant something.

[@rebeccarivera5101]

My first job was in a genetics research lab. I remember my boss at the time telling me who HeLa cells came from with an angry tone in her voice.... now I understand why.

[@river_brook]

@ If an entire industry were to profit off of the cells that killed you, with no compensation to your family for ages and ages, your name barely known by the people proliferating your remains across the world, wouldn't you be slightly miffed about the callousness of it all? Don't give me the whole "I'd be dead anyways" schtick either, we don't go graverobbing without people's consent for a reason.

[@I.am.Sarah.]

@ I agree that no compensation is due as nothing was done to hurt her or her family but I do think that companies that profit from her cells should morally help her family as they were so poor and struggling.

[@I.am.Sarah.]

@ Are they doing it for free or do they get a small profit? Then I agree with you. When they make multi million dollar profits from your discarded cells they should share some with you. Not suggesting anything like 50/50 but more like maybe 1%. Also, your recycling argument is a strawman argument. "Her family didn't do anything to deserve help"? Where did they get the sample from? That's like saying just because an oil company discovered oil on your property they should only pay you the value of your property to drill for that oil, you did nothing to deserve any additional payment.

[@ColbyWanShinobi]

@ Bad analogy. In some states, it's illegal to steal people's trash. It's still private property until it is collected. It is a well know fact that in US history, institutions have never thought twice about stealing from black and indigenous people, be it land or cells. It's not a coincidence or random in any way that these cells came from a Black woman. They would have never done the same thing with cells from a white person without explicit permission from the family and would have most likely worked out some sort of trivial compensation, or at the very least made sure people were well aware of where the cells came from.

@@ColbyWanShinobi are you not aware that your analogy proves your point wrong? How are you all struggling so hard to understand this? It's not difficult. No one snuck into her house and twirled their mustache while hacking her open to steal her organs. In your analogy the trash was already 'collected.' Your assertion is also unfounded and asinine that this 'wouldn't have happened to a white person.' It literally did. Did you miss the part where the cells from her tumor biopsy were just one sample from thousands of similar samples the researchers tested? This thing you are so dead set on believing was some special atrocious circumstance is the most mundane and run if the mill way that medical research operates. You're wanting so badly for there to be something here to fit your narrative and you have no grasp on medical research. This is like you calling glass bottles recycling an atrocity. If biological waste could be useful for a researcher they can apply to have it, because when it's just going to be incinerated along with the rest of the trash and someone can maybe use it to advance medicine why not.

[@jinz0]

He does about a batch of 100 videos each day for all those channels, so I have to see that shirt alot more ... 😂

[@borisos9832]

🤣🤣

[@piarateking8094]

has anyone calculated how many videos are released a week

[@danieljob3184]

Michael Crichton explored this legal 'grey area' in his composite novel NEXT. Check it out where you can.

[@purplepill2024]

What they did to her cells would never fly today. Those scientists would get sued so badly that their grandchildren would be born with a debt.

[@the_rachel_sam]

A lot of medical information we have today unfortunately wasn’t taken consensually or ethically. The Nazi and Japanese experiments during WWII discovered a large amount of medical information, but did so in utterly horrific means. In the 1800’s, people even got into some shady business to receive fresh corpses.

[@karawooton1024]

...it came out a year ago that hospitals around the world are doing experiments with medications on COVID patients without the patients’ knowledge or consent. And it was all done by order of the World Health Organization. www.thecity.nyc/platform/amp/2021/2/8/22269886/nyc-nursing-home-veterans-cuomo-covid-cocktail NYC Nursing Home Gave Dozens of Veterans Experimental COVID ... There are many others about it as well.

[@purplepill2024]

@@karawooton1024, they didn't experiment on Lacks, they commercialized her cells without consent. You can argue that her cells are needed for the betterment of mankind if you sell it at cost, but once you become a corporation profiting from it - the legal protection goes away.

[@Pteromandias]

@@purplepill2024 But it would have been ok for her and her family to profit from it? It would be ok for her and her family to profit from the disease and suffering of other people who would have had to pay them royalties for her cells?

[@purplepill2024]

@@Pteromandias, did you even bother to watch the video? If Microbiological Associates Inc. (7:53), a corporation, can profit from her cells - then her descendants should be able to as well. Only someone as stupid as you would be OK with a corporation profiting from HeLa cells, not the estate of Henrietta Lacks.

[@kayakMike1000]

I think it would be great to meet Simon and have a beer or coffee with him...

[@MrPyromanic1]

i agree but id rather BLAZE with the LEGEND

[@Vee_of_the_Weald]

You’d need to make your way to Prague, which is a fantabulous city full of poetry and history. It would be like 2 presents in one.

[@prometheus1839]

This was one of the most interesting things I've ever heard about

[@seanmackey4251]

Your research is much appreciated

[@johncgibson4720]

Science fiction becomes science reality at it's finest.

[@epowell4211]

Medical researchers, while performing an invaluable service for humanity, are notorious for jealously guarding their research and being interested as much (if not more) in the fame and acclaim they will receive, and frequently see all life other than their own as something lesser and only existing for their use. Unsurprising that they offered not even a word of gratitude to Henrietta Lacks or her family - would they thank a rabbit's mom? she was no more than that to them. That being said, while legally I would consider removed parts/discarded samples as medical waste, open to use in any way by the medical establishment, I also believe that patients should be informed/required to give informed consent prior to procedures that could lead to their body parts/fluids being used in medical experiments, and in the same way that, if someone let you cut in line before them to buy a lottery ticket and you won a million dollars, it would only be decent for you to give them a grand or so, as their action led to your success, researchers should reward the patient.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

The Marvel show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier definitely based part of its version of the character Isaiah Bradley partially on Henrietta Lacks.

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@thaqafi]

You should make a video about "Cluster Headaches". The single most horrifying experience I ever had was watching my cousin have a cluster headache attack, and he's a pretty good boxer who's no stranger to pain. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to actually experience one of those. Just search on KZbin and I bet you can find a video of someone having an attack. It's crazy...

[@Leviathan56]

That shirt is really doing a number on my eyes holy shit

[@Freeknickers24]

*shirt 🤣🤣🔥

[@imjustlookingformywatch]

Oh yeah. Its getting to me too broham

[@n3v3rm0r3]

Why did you point it out now I can't stop looking holy shirt.

[@imouse3246]

Get used to it, as it's a 'regular' for Simon.

[@Tathanic]

if u watch on a big screen its just a shirt but if its small its trippy

[@Greatblue56]

I imagine Simon with a corner manager and a cut man like in boxing working him up between rounds of daily video filming sessions. 🥊🥊🥊

[@smallpox9254]

It's a sad day for journalism when *Rolling Stone* is the only magazine to get a *science* article right.

[@almostinfamous42]

That was very moving, thank you for this

[@hennabri]

another excellent episode. also g6pd is also a condition to guarantee someone to have massive negative reactions to tattoos and henna

[@gonefishing167]

Thank you Simon. How sad that we’ve never heard of these amazing woman. What a legacy to leave for humanity. She should be lauded , not forgotten 🙏🙏🙏🙏🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@markborn5293]

Amazing. Horrifying. But amazing.

[@Merlin012001]

I haven't started the video, but from the title and the preview, we're talking Herietta Lacks here.

[@rnedlo9909]

Thank you. May she be remembered, and thanks to the family.

[@MonochromeWench]

HeLa contamination of other cell lines is still a major problem. interestingly a few of the things thought to be true but called into question after the contamination problem was noticed have now been shown to actually be true. Viruses causing cancer, True, HPV a known culprit and is now known to have caused Henrietta's cancer in the first place. Transmittable cancer also is real but not seen in humans

[@Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access]

This woman couldn't remember what killed the dinosaurs though The queen of England: Pathetic

[@AbrahamLincoln4]

*I'm sure she was present at your birth, 40,000 years ago.*

[@TheDove25]

That is an amazing story. Thank you Simon.

[@DeltaDemon1]

I just saw two days ago an old Law and Order episode about a nearly identical subject AND I JUST read yesterday about ageing and telomerase (probably misspelled that). Coincidence?...Well yes, of course it's probably a coincidence but weird.

[@nataliegiles2554]

Telomeres!

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Ethics vs profits vs science...just another day in the lives of those involved in the medical profession and their patients

[@l.av.h7812]

Ethics and profits just hinders science from it's true potential.

[@patwentland6191]

Incredible.......no words are adequate.

[@austinwagner3231]

I see what you did there with the title, Simon, thank you

[@pepshaven6520]

Same into as Alpha Paw (formerly List 25). Might want to rethink it to remain original and have it linked with you.

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

Its amazing how helpful some folk can be, just too bad she never found out just how helpful she really was.

[@billpilling5725]

Of course theres no cure. Theres no $ in that. The $ is in treating the symptoms.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Jep, I worked with those cells (heavily changed since then already) quite a bit. Never knew about the origin, which I think is terrible. I should have been taught that. One of the many issues I have with science these days (the work I mean, I love science itself).

[@Quickdraw2359]

Hello Simon! I was watching the Fukushima nuclear disaster clean up video, you mentioned that there's ton of contaminated soil. Why can't they just throw all that into a volcano?

[@erikburzinski8248]

I know this one while yes it whould get rid of it if the volcano erupts then we have a radioactive eruption although the radiation whould be over to large of area to do anything it whould cause mass public panic witch is something we whould prefer to avoid.

[@realisrealite5554]

The family should get billions and then get some punitive billions for the pharmaceutical companies stealing the cells.

[@gildardorivasvalles6368]

Wait, wait, wait... Elsie was born in 1938, so in 1963 she would have turned 25, not 15. I mean, you did say the first child was born in 1934, and Elsie FOUR years later. Either someone did their arithmetic incorrectly, or somebody messed up with the script. That said, this is a bittersweet story... 😔

[@seekertosecrets]

11:24 That is something else! I heard about her name and the story, but never to this extent!

[@syluxv2398]

Was part of the inagural class of Henrietta Lacks Bioscience and Health High School.

[@breannetetzlaff9147]

Could you do a video on the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment you spoke about at 10:15

[@amp7980]

I wonder how much the reliance on just this one sample has also held medicine back. By being the one sample to survive like that, doesn't that also mean its unlike other human cells and things we learn from it may not apply to healthy tissue?

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you

[@Darkhuntersrule]

Ah so THIS is where the Law and Order episode Immortal comes from (seson20, episode 21)!

[@kennyhagan5781]

Why does youtube have better info than the public schools?

[@kitcowool]

Money.

[@Theraot]

Incentives.

[@mimsygoodcat3449]

Very sad that her husband and children were not educated on her cells by scientists and thought she was being kept alive somewhere. Also not given money.

[@chomama1628]

Fascinating!

[@secdup2510]

The first documented pharma-bro.

[@Jobe00]

I saw just the title of this and thought of Henrietta Lacks and that HeLa cells would make a great Megaprojects video. Then I watched the video.

[@KyleBoise]

These are just cells that would have otherwise been discarded but instead have become important and utilized to an unknown degree. There shouldn't be any compensation required and no one should have control over something so precious.

[@Digitalhunny]

All the cells were in fact HELA. That is amazing _and_ horrible. What a fantastic video today team! Thank you.💋🤗

[@mangoman9290]

Would her coffin be full of replicated cells that would have died once they had nothing to survive off of?

[@timothyaaron8603]

The cells would continue to feed off of each other until only one starved dead cell was left and a coffin full of cell shit

[@YeeSoest]

"Howdy, pretty lady. My name is Pleasant and that's not the only thing about me..." "Hey, I'm Ms Lacks and I am so that..."

[@Chris-dz6ov]

Never heard of her, I won't forget that haunting story of genetics. Nice one :D

[@RealmRabbit]

Sounds like something out of a sci-fi horror novel... Or kinda like Junji Ito's "Tomie" (wonder if there's any inspiration there)

[@gerardomacias7370]

15:00 if anyone read Tomie before, this sound just like her. Scary.

[@franl155]

If the cells keep dividing and growing all the time ... when are they going to spill out and take over the world?

[@molybdaen11]

They cant until the cells start growing complete humans and learn to cooperate with each other.

[@GuntherRommel]

I smashed that like button as soon as I found out (today) that Simon can't pronounce encephalitis.

[@GrubbJunker]

"Idiocy". I know a few people that have a very serious case of that.