When a young black woman died of cervical cancer in 1951, she and her family didn’t know that the strain of cells she left behind would play a central role in the development of the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization and cancer treatments. Her story is told in the best-seller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. UIS will host its author, Springfield native Rebecca Skloot, for a free book-signing and talk tomorrow night, on Wednesday Nov. 8. Skloot spoke with WUIS Statehouse Bureau Chief Amanda Vinicky. A portion of the interview’s airing on WUIS, but here’s the complete version.
