Rebecca Skloot (HeLa) to speak at Vanderbilt September 7

Rebecca Skloot, author of bestselling The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Amazon, $14), will be speaking here at Vanderbilt next Tuesday at noon in 208 Light Hall. This is one you don't want to miss. Be sure to get there a few minutes early. When 208 fills up they'll have overflow in 202 with a live webcast. RSVP to jane...@vanderbilt.edu for a free lunch. On a related note, apparently Oprah and Alan Ball (screenwriter, Six Feet Under, True Blood) will be teaming up with HBO to produce a movie based on the book. No doubt this will stir up a much needed dialog about the nature of informed consent in scientific research. If you don't know the story about the origin of HeLa cells, you can get the quick summary on Wikipedia. Better yet, buy the book.