Topic summary
HeLa cells
Extracted from the Wikipedia article HeLa.
Polio eradication
HeLa cells were used by Jonas Salk to test the first polio vaccine in the 1950s. They were observed to be easily infected by the poliomyelitis virus, causing infected cells to die. This made HeLa cells highly desirable for polio vaccine testing, since results could be easily obtained. A large volume of HeLa cells were needed for the testing of Salk's polio vaccine, prompting the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) to find a facility capable of mass-producing HeLa cells. In the spring of 1953, a cell culture factory was established at Tuskegee University to supply Salk and other labs with HeLa cells. Less than a year later, Salk's vaccine was ready for human trials.