Rebecca Skloot

Rebecca L. Skloot /ˈskluːt/ (born September 19, 1972) is a freelance science writer who specializes in science and medicine. Her first book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010), was one of the best-selling new books of 2010, staying on the New York Times Bestseller List for over 2 years, eventually reaching #1 and optioned to be made into a movie by Oprah Winfrey.

Biography

Rebecca was born in Springfield, Illinois. She is the daughter of poet, novelist, and essayist Floyd Skloot and Betsy McCarthy, a professional knitter and pattern book author. Skloot said "in the Pacific Northwest, [her] roots [are] half New York Jew and half Midwestern Protestant." She received her high school diploma from Metropolitan Learning Center in Portland, Oregon. After attending Portland Community College and becoming a Veterinary Technician, she received a BS in biological sciences from Colorado State University, and an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a former vice president of the National Book Critics Circle She has taught creative writing and science journalism at the University of Pittsburgh, New York University, and the University of Memphis. She lives in Chicago, Illinois, with her long-time boyfriend, David Prete, an actor, author, and theater director.

Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks (1 August 1920 – 4 October 1951; sometimes erroneously called Henrietta Lakes, Helen Lane, or Helen Larson) was an African-American woman who was the unwitting source of cells from her cancerous tumor which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create the first known human immortal cell line for medical research. This is now known as the HeLa cell line.

Early life (1920–1934)

Henrietta Lacks was born Loretta Pleasant on August 1, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia to Eliza and Johnny Pleasant. Her family is uncertain how her name changed from Loretta to Henrietta. Her mother Eliza died giving birth to her tenth child in 1924. Henrietta's father felt unable to handle the children after the death of his wife, so he took them all to Clover, Virginia and distributed the children among relatives. Four-year-old Henrietta, nicknamed Hennie, ended up with her grandfather Tommy Lacks in a two-story log cabin that had been the slave quarters of her white great-grandfather's and great-uncles' plantation. She shared a room with her nine-year-old first cousin David "Day" Lacks (1915–2002).

Immortal

Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life.

Immortal or Immortality may also refer to:

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Rebecca

Rebecca (also spelled Rebekah) (Hebrew: רִבְקָה, Modern Rivká, Tiberian Riḇqā ISO 259-3 Ribqa,(AssyrianːܪܲܦܩܵܐːRapqa) from the Hebrew ribhqeh (lit., "connection"), from Semitic root r-b-q, "to tie, couple or join", "to secure", or "to snare") appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. Rebecca and Isaac were one of the four couples believed to be buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs, the other three being Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Leah.

Early life

The news of her birth was told to her uncle Abraham before Akeidat Yitzchak (the Binding of Isaac), the episode in which Abraham was told by God to bring Isaac as a sacrifice on a mountain.

Many years after the Binding of Isaac, Sarah, Abraham's wife, died. After taking care of her burial, Abraham went about finding a wife for his son Isaac, who was already 37 years old. He commanded his servant (whom the Torah commentators identify as Eliezer of Damascus) to journey to his birthplace of Aram Naharaim to select a bride from his own family, rather than engage Isaac to a local Canaanite girl. Abraham sent along expensive jewelry, clothing and dainties as gifts to the bride and her family. If the girl had refused to follow him, Abraham stated that Eliezer would be absolved of his responsibility.

Henrietta

Henrietta may refer to:

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