What are HeLa Cells?
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HeLa (short for Henrietta Lacks) cells were the first immortal cells ever grown in culture. Her cells contained the ability to reproduce anywhere. In fact, they thrived outside the human body. Because Henrietta’s cells were cancerous, they were able to keep growing and growing, while a regular cell would die if it was outside the body for very long. Cells can become cancerous if the cell cycle is disrupted, or if the cell is not under control. One little slip up, and a normal cell can turn into the beginning of a huge problem. Henrietta’s cells reproduce through the process of mitosis, creating more identical copies of the HeLa cell.