I worked with HeLa cells as a molecular biology student. The ethics weren’t a great look, and I’m happy that today there has to be informed consent for stuff like that.
Without having an immortalized cell line like this genetics would have taken even longer to get going tho, and she’s actually one of the few people whose genes will be preserved for near eternity. Creepy, but it’s closer to actual immortality than any of us will ever be.
I feel boring - only thing I ever had to realize that if you work with solvents with a boiling point close to body temperature and have them in a flask with a glass cork, you shouldn’t hold the flask in your warm hands while waiting - because after a few minutes the glass cork flies off and you have to pay for it 😕