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HeLa cells are important not only because of the vast medical and scientific advances but also because of the mistakes and errors caused by them which helped to further develop the scientific standards of research. She traces the history of the Hela cells, and the history of medical research, as well as evaluates how the mistakes and errors made along the way contributed to the betterment of research standards within the community.

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Even though HeLa cells advanced science in many ways, the damage they caused overshadows the positive aspects of HeLa. It can be argued that the advancements made by HeLa could have been achieved with less damage in different ways.

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"'I'm putting a new sample in your cubicle,' he told her. Mary pretended not to notice. Not again, she thought, and kept eating her sandwich. It can wait till I'm done. Mary knew she shouldn't wait - every moment those cells sat in the dish made it more likely they'd die. But she was tired of cell culture, tired of meticulously cutting away dead tissue like gristle from a steak, tired of having cells die after hours of work. Why bother? she thought." (Pg. 35 Paras. 1-4))

Rebecca Skloot demonstrated the importance of this moment, the moment in which HeLa cells became the first cells to survive and thrive in culture, by providing an example of the attitude surrounding cell culture at the time. Mary Kubicek, a qualified lab assistant who was well aware of the significance and importance successful cell culture could be, was clearly unmotivated to continue her work due to the innumerable failures she had endured. This moment in time was cleverly included to explain the importance of HeLa's survival, and just how groundbreaking this occasion truly was. The comparison between HeLa cells and other samples only further demonstrated the difference between these cells and those collected in the past and foreshadows the future breakthroughs these cells will lead to.

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"They could grow floating in a culture medium that was constantly stirred by a magnetic device, an important technique Gey developed, now called growing in suspension. This meant that the HeLa cells weren't limited by space in the same way other cells were; they could simply divide until they ran out of medium." (Pg. 94 Para. 4)

At this point in time the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was looking for a way to test their polio vaccine without using monkey's, who were simply too expensive. The revelation that HeLa cells could grow in suspension and could divide and survive as long as they were provided a medium was another massive step forward for the scientific community. This revelation allowed for the standardization of the field of tissue cultures and most scientists working with similar mediums as well. This point in time clearly juxtaposes the beginning of cell culture that was explained with various examples of a multitude of failed methods and samples.

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"In 1965 two British scientists, Henry Harris and John Watkins, took cell sex and important step further. They fused HeLa cells with mouse cells and created the first human-animal hybrids - cells that contained equal amounts of DNA from Henrietta and a mouse. By doing this, they helped make it possible to study what genes do, and how they work." (Pg. 141 Para. 3)

This experiment was a huge step forward in the scientific community. This was the first ever human-animal hybrid and it helped expand scientists knowledge on genes. However, the media spread propaganda and incited terror amongst those who read about such hybrids. The world was so misinformed because of how long they were kept in the dark that they thought that human like rats would be seen walking around in the normal world.

Skloot evaluates how even though this was a huge scientific breakthrough, the miscommunication and misinforming of the general public regarding these HeLa experiments led to many issues and fear. This later helped set standards on not keeping the people in the dark about scientific breakthroughs, and also evaluating how it changed the scientific community to put more effort into informing the public in a way they can understand.

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"Still many scientists refused to believe HeLa contamination was real. After the conference where Gartler dropped what became knows as 'the HeLa bomb,' most researchers kept right on working with the cells he'd said were contaminated." (Pgs. 156-157 Para. 6)

Geneticist Stanley Gartler told the Conference on Tissue and Organ Culture that he had found out that all of their cell cultures had been contaminated by HeLa. Many scientists remained skeptical and most just outright denied his claim. Many scientists ignored this new information and continued on with their research.

Skloot evaluates how to the scientists at that moment, this error was extremely devastating. However, it advanced scientific standards and forced scientists to develop genetic tests and other measures to ensure the sanitation and identity of the cells. It wasn't until Stevenson and a few other scientists created these genetic tests to figure out which cultures actually contained HeLa when the other scientists finally had to admit that their samples were contaminated. These tests also finally connected the lackses to the cells.

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"Today, no scientist would dream of publishing a person's name with any of their genetic information, because we know how much can be deduced from DNA, including the risks of developing certain diseases." (Pg. 197 Para. 5)

Skloot evaluates how even though revealing  Henrietta's identity with the genetic info was a mistake and a breach of privacy, it led to the discussion and evolution of genetic testing to be anonymous since it was revealed how much personal information would be revealed.

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"In 1948 a German virologist named Harald zur Hausen discovered a new strain of a sexually transmitted virus called Human Papilloma Virus 18 (HPV-18). He believed it and HPV-16, which he discovered a year earlier, caused cervical cancer. HeLa cells in his lab tested positive for the HPV-18 strain..." (Pg. 212 Para. 1)

This discovery was monumental and another clear example of the importance of HeLa. Skloot is able to illustrate once more, how vital HeLa was to the scientific community and the advances it lead to. This information was just one more way Skloot was able to point out the significance of HeLa and further demonstrates its importance.