Chapter 4 Study Guide - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
What happened to the HeLa cells that Mary cultured?
At first, the cells weren't changing at all and Mary wasn't surprised, but two days after Henrietta left the hospital Mary "saw what looked like little white rings of fried egg white around the clots at the bottoms of each tube.". She had still seen no significance to this, seeing as multiple cells had survived for some time in the lab. However, Henrietta's cells were not just surviving, they were growing at an insanely fast rate. Gey still didn't want to get too excited, saying "The cells could die any minute.". But, Henrietta's Cells continued to grow, doubling every twenty-four hours and "Spreading like crabgrass!" (Skloot 40-41)
Based on the descriptions of George Gey, offer three adjectives that best describe his personality.
Based on the descriptions of George Gey, he is "mischievous" and "reckless", yet hardworking. (Skloot 39). Gey would be seen as this type of person because he would eat "twelve ears of corn in one sitting", keep barrels of oysters in his garage so he could eat them whenever he wanted, but he would also come up with many great ideas at a time. This led to Gey's most important invention, roller-tube culturing.
Gey chose to give away samples of HeLa to his colleagues almost immediately. Do you think this was a good decision? Explain your answer.
I believe that Gey choosing to give away samples of HeLa to his colleagues almost immediately was a good idea study-wise. I think this is a good idea because scientific knowledge should be shared, and it keeps one person from having a "monopoly".
Where did the name "HeLa" come from?
Mary named the cells the way she labeled most of the cells they grew, using the first two letters of the patient's first and last name. (Skloot 37).
Once HeLa started growing, was Henrietta informed that her cells were being used in Gey's research?
Once HeLa began to grow, Henrietta was not informed that her cells were being used in Gey's research. Two days after she [Henrietta] was released from Hopkins—and went back to her normal life—Mary began to notice growth in the cells and they started to double quickly. (Skloot 41).
What is the implication of the author's decision to use the term "birth" to describe the initial growth of HeLa cells?
The implication of the author's decision to use the term "birth" to describe the initial growth of HeLa cells was that, along with the cell's growth, it was like the "birth" of a new era. Since they were not able to grow cells successfully until HeLa cells, the discovery was revolutionary. The term "birth" could also have been used to describe the growth of the HeLa cells because they grew and doubled so quickly that there were many cultures being created from the single culture that they started from. (Skloot 41-42).
Summarize the main obstacles Gey and his assistants faced in their effort to grow cells.
The main obstacles that Gey and his assistants faced in their effort to grow cells were that "no one knew exactly what nutrients they needed to survive, or how to supply them," they were trying—without prevailing—to develop the perfect culture medium, and it was challenging to get the ingredients they needed to perform the experiments on the cells. (Skloot 35-36).
Explain how Gey's roller-tube culturing technique works.
The technique involved a large wooden roller drum, a cylinder with holes made specifically for holding special test tubes called roller tubes. The drum turned twenty-four hours a day, only rotating two full turns per hour. However, the rotation was a crucial part of the technique, Gey believing that the culture medium needed to be in constant motion, like blood and fluids in the body. (Skloot 39).
