Chasing Pages Book Club at Cherrydale - "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"
Meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month.
Free during the day? Join us for the Cherrydale Branch Library's new afternoon book club, Chasing Pages. Coffee and tea will be provided.
February's title is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot:
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine. The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, they are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown.
Book Club copies are available at the Cherrydale service desk.
Newcomers are always welcome. For more information, contact Ruth at 703-228-6330.
- Date:
- Wednesday, February 22, 2017
- Time:
- 2:00pm - 3:00pm
- Location:
- Loft
- Library:
- Cherrydale Library
- Categories:
- Age: Adults 18+ Only Book Club
- Calendar:
- zz Book Clubs