The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
The book is based on the real story of Henrietta Lacks, who unknowingly became an object of medical experiment. The experiment described in Skloot’s book was made on secretly removed a dime-sized slice of Lacks' tumor that was sent to a hospital laboratory, where a physician for years had been trying to grow new human cells outside the body. Although the source is academic, since it combines medicine research, scientific approaches, biography, and social critique, the target audience is very broad, because it is written in the belles-lettres style, involves elements of detective thriller. The book may be of inquiry for medical students, since it describes medical research, for sociologists, since it raises social problem of tissue rights and is filled with social critique, as well as for broader audience that would appreciate belles-lettres style. Skloot, Rebecca. "Cells that save lives are a mother’s legacy." New York Times 10 (2001): A15.
The article provides sociological perspective on the problem of preserving tissue rights on the example of well-known incident of illegal removal of Henrietta Lacks’ cells, which currently save lives of people suffering from cancer. The issue is addressed primarily from the point of view of bioethics in the context of important biomedical decisions. The target audience is the readers of New York Times, which is an upscale group of readers, most of whom are likely to have postgraduate degree. The article is primarily of inquiry for sociologists since it focuses on social critique of the issue. Skloot, Rebecca. "Taking the least of you: the tissue-industrial complex." New York Times 16 (2006).The article describes how human tissue can be useful in medical researches and focuses on the sociological problem of tissue sell in the context of continuous tissue right debates that started in 1976. The author provides bioethical perspective on the question who is supposed to own the blood and tissue samples people give and how this procedure should be performed. The target audience is as well the readers of New York Times. The article is of inquiry of medical students, since it touches upon the issue on medical ethics, and of sociologist since it covers an important social problem.
Skloot, Rebecca, and Bahni Turpin. The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers, …
