First ‘One Book, One Community’ Events Set

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the non-fiction bestseller chosen to be read for this year's "One Book, One Community" project, is the story of HeLa cells, the life of the woman who provided them sixty years ago, and the life they have had in medical research around the world.

To provide an introduction to HeLa cells, the One Book, One Community committee is hosting a public lecture by Ralph Henry, professor of biological sciences and director of the Henry Lab for molecular biology research. The lecture will focus on the nature of HeLa cells, why they are unique and why they have been so important in biomedical research. The lecture will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22 in the Poultry Science Center auditorium, room 211. The lecture is free and the public is welcome.

A second event will begin Friday, Sept. 24 in the lobby area of the Mullins Library: a display of photographs of HeLa cells in their various stages. The images are part of the Biomedical Collections of the Wellcome Trust of London, England. The cells in these color images have been fluoresced to bring out what can be described as their "terrible beauty." The researchers who use these cells are based in England and Scotland. The exhibit will be on display until Friday, Oct. 9. Examples of the images can be seen at the Wellstone website.