Caption

HeLa cells. Light micrograph (acridine orange stain) of a culture of HeLa cancer cells. The nuclei of the cells are stained yellow while the cytoplasm is orange. HeLa cells are the first human cell line established in 1952 to research cancer. They were obtained from the cervix of Henrietta Lacks (after whom the cells are named) from Baltimore, USA, in 1951, who died of cervical cancer eight months later. HeLa cells thrive unusually well in the laboratory and are used in research worldwide. Professor Anderson (1911-2006) was the first to use acridine orange staining to study cells, bacteria and viruses.