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1. In 2010, author Rebecca Skloot published The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the story of a Black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. The book, an immediate bestseller, examines the roles of race, class, gender, and ethics in medical research and considers the Implications, both positive and negative, of Henrietta Lacks's remarkable but inadvertent role in some of the most significant medical advances of the twentieth century. 2. In 1951, Lacks, a 30-year-old wife and mother of five, went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for treatment of cervical cancer. She was unable to pay for treatment and stayed in a segregated ward. During a procedure to place radium on her tumor, Lacks's doctor cut a sliver from the tumor, placed it in a petri dish, and handed it off to the lab assistant of George Gey, a Johns Hopkins cancer researcher. Sadly, cervical cancer is a particularly pernicious disease, and Henrietta succumbed in October 1951 after a brief but terribly painful struggle, leaving behind her young children. 3. George Gey had been trying unsuccessfully to grow human cells in culture-until Henrietta's cells arrived, Labeled HeLa, Henrietta's cancer cells doubled in culture within 24 hours - and they never stopped. Hela cells multiplied so rapidly and persistently, Gey eventually began giving them away to other researchers, According to Skloot, HeLa became the "workhorse" of research labs everywhere. They were used to test the polio vaccine and in the development of HIV medications and cancer treatments. HeLa cells were central to the development ofthe HPV vaccine and were some of the first human cells sent into space to determine how zero gravity affected human cellular activity.

Which sentence from the passage expresses its main idea?

Rationale

The book, an immediate bestseller, examines the roles of race, class, gender, and ethics in medical research and considers the implications, both positive and negative, of Henrietta Lacks's remarkable but inadvertent role in some of the most significant medical advances of the twentieth century.

This sentence captures the essence of the passage by highlighting the central themes and the significance of Henrietta Lacks's story within the context of medical research and ethical considerations. A) This choice accurately reflects the main idea of the passage, emphasizing the multifaceted examination of Henrietta Lacks's impact on medical research and the ethical implications arising from her story. It encapsulates the narrative's focus on race, class, and gender, making it the best summary of the text. B) While this sentence discusses the tragic fate of Henrietta Lacks due to cervical cancer, it does not convey the broader themes of race, ethics, or her role in medical advances. It focuses solely on her personal struggle, which is not the central idea of the passage. C) This statement refers to the commercialization of HeLa cells, which is a part of the narrative but does not encompass the main themes of the book. It lacks the broader context of race, class, and ethics that the passage emphasizes, making it a narrower focus. D) Although this sentence touches on important bioethical issues related to the Lacks family, it does not capture the comprehensive examination of Henrietta Lacks's contributions to medical research or the significance of her story as presented in the passage. It represents only a fragment of the larger discussion. Conclusion The primary focus of the passage is on the intersection of race, class, gender, and ethics surrounding Henrietta Lacks's contribution to medicine through her HeLa cells. Choice A effectively encapsulates these themes and the implications of her story, while the other choices either narrow the focus to personal tragedy, commercialization, or ethical debates without addressing the broader narrative. Thus, A stands out as the most representative of the passage's main idea.

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