HeLa cell

American  

[hel-uh] / ˈhɛl ə /

Or Hela cell,

noun

Biology.

1. a vigorous strain of laboratory-cultured cells descended from a human cervical cancer, used widely in research.

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Etymology

Origin of HeLa cell

After He(nrietta) La(cks) , a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, from whom the tissue was taken in 1951 prior to her death

Example Sentences

They were known as the HeLa cell line, and they had been used to develop the polio vaccine, treatments for H.I.V. and other landmark medical advances.

From New York Times • Oct. 20, 2023

While acknowledging an ethical responsibility, it said the medical system “has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line.”

From Washington Times • Aug. 1, 2023

Johns Hopkins Medicine has said that it “has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 13, 2021

The suit asks the company to transfer “millions of dollars” in profits from the HeLa cell line to her estate.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 6, 2021

And they were strong: if just one HeLa cell landed in a culture dish, it took over, consuming all the media and filling all the space.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot