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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What year was it when a group of researchers at the National Institutes of Health had proven the possibility of immortal cells using mouse cells?

2. Who was Henrietta's grandfather that raised her after her mother died?

3. In what year did the term "informed consent" first appear in court documents regarding the case of patient Martin Salgo?

4. On what date did Henrietta Lacks die?

5. Who was the director of medicine at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital in Brooklyn in 1963?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where did the name "Helen Lane" arise? How did the Lacks family feel about "Helen Lane"?

2. What were Mary Kubicek's impressions of HeLa cells when she first began observing them? What were George Gey's impressions of the cells?

3. What illness was contracted within the Lacks family after Henrietta's death? How were they affected by this illness?

4. How do you think Henrietta Lacks's life would have been different if her mother had not died when Henrietta was still a child? Why?

5. What did George Gey do with the HeLa cells that he obtained and cultured at his labs? What were Gey's objectives?

6. How does the author describe the actions of Ethel and Galen in the narrative? What relationship did Ethel and Galen have to the Lackses?

7. What diagnosis did the doctors from Johns Hopkins reach regarding Henrietta's condition after her first visit? What treatment was available at this time for her condition?

8. How does the author describe Courtney Speed in the narrative? What business(es) did Ms. Speed run at the time the author first met her?

9. How were tissue samples obtained following Henrietta Lacks's death? Why were they obtained?

10. Why were HeLa cells useful in the study of virology and research into diseases? Was the malignant nature of the cells a factor?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the impact of the Nuremberg Trials on medicine, science, and research. What regulations and standards arose as a result of the Nuremberg Trials?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the case of John Moore. What was the final outcome of Moore's lawsuit against UCLA and Dr. Golde? What precedents were set by this case? How does Moore's case relate to the Lackses'?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the impacts of HeLa cells on Deborah Lacks. What misinformation caused Deborah to become paranoid when working with author Rebecca Skloot? Were Deborah's fears justified? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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