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Medical research: Cell division

In 1962, Leonard Hayflick created a cell strain from an aborted fetus. More than 50 years later, WI-38 remains a crucial, but controversial, source of cells.

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Related video

California boundLeonard Hayflick talks about his decision to take ampoules of WI-38 cells from the Wistar Institute to Stanford University. Courtesy: Web of Stories

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Biobanks: Validate gene findings before telling donors 2012-Apr-25

Incidental benefits 2012-Mar-21

Hayflick, his limit, and cellular ageing 2000-Oct-01

Related external links

Science poll results on whether redundant tissue donors should be paid

Science policy forum on tissue donor compensation

Hayflick’s letter to Science

ATCC catalogue entry for WI-38

Article by Rebecca Skloot on the publication of the HeLa genome

Recordings made by Hayflick for Web of Stories

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Wadman, M. Medical research: Cell division. Nature 498, 422–426 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/498422a

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