ANSWERS TO "FILL IN THE PLANCK #7: Henrietta Lacks"

OK OK. Let’s review the facts.

About the story and science of Hennie Lacks

She got sick - went to the doc for the answer

Found out she that she had cervical cancer

Docs at John Hops were studying human tissue

But keeping human cells alive was an issue

Until they tried to get the Lacks cells growing

In a Petri dish that was soon over-flowing

But even though the cancerous cells stayed alive

A few months later, Henrietta died

And her cells kept growing like, “Holy smokes!”.

They helped us find a vaccine for polio

Yet her family felt confused when somebody dropped the bomb

On ‘em. They felt betrayed, afraid for their mom

Cuz the cells were taken before the advent

Of ethical laws like informed consent

But the legacy of the Lacks line’ll be long

Like when these kids turned her life into a song

She helped invent the future. Edison.

So you could call her the mother of modern medicine