The use of Henrietta Lacks' cells has led to many scientific advances, for example polio treatment, cloning and the human genome project. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. These cells underwent a mutation that made them immortal, meaning they continued to divide from the time of her death in 1951 until 'to today. However, her cells raise an ethical question, because before her death she did not give consent to scientists to use her cells, and after her death they did not tell her family that they were using them. This is an ongoing controversy because these cells have been of great benefit to society, but they are derived from questionable procedures. The reason why Henrietta's cells, the HeLa cells, did not undergo apoptosis is that they were cancer cells that replicated indefinitely and these cells were modified to be even more resistant due to other illnesses from which Mrs. Lacks suffered. There are still many unknowns about the cause. of an immortal cell line, but scientists know that this correlates with a mutation within the cell. In Henrietta's case, the cells taken from her came from a tumor she was suffering from. These cells were placed in vitro and began to divide rapidly and endlessly. The reason the cells divided so quickly was because Henrietta also suffered from HPV and syphilis, which could have made the cells even stronger. The most common question is why did his cells continue to divide after he died? This question still has some gray areas, but scientists have a very good understanding of this subject. When the cells were kept in ideal conditions, they continued to divide because, just like cancer cells, the cellular regulatory system malfunctions and apoptosis does not occur. In ordinary cells,...... middle of paper ......d too.Works CitedAnderson, Jessica Cumberbatch. "Henrietta's family is missing and the federal government reaches an agreement on the use of DNA information." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, August 7, 2013. Web. May 14, 2014. Andrews, Paul D. “Five reasons why Henrietta Lacks is the most important woman in the history of medicine.” » Popular science. Bonnier, and Web. May 14, 2014. Cartwell, Alan. “Immortal HeLa cells.” Immortal HeLa cells. Rense, February 17, 2010. Web. May 15, 2014. Freeman, Shanna. “How HeLa Cells Work.” How things work. HowStuffWorks.com, September 10, 2012. Web. May 15, 2014.Silver, Marc. “A new chapter in the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, August 16, 2013. Web. May 15, 2014. Skloot, Rebecca. “Rebecca Skloot journalist, teacher, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Comments on Rebecca Skloot's FAQ. Being naughty, sd Web. May 15 2014.