The Price Of Not Being Cancer

The title of the oldest human being in recorded history currently belongs to Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122. This record remained uncontested for quite a while, with the runner-up, Kane Tanaka, being 3 full years younger. Soon, however, Jeanne Calment’s record will become somewhat more controversial (even more than it already is). Henrietta Lacks’s cervical cancer cells (HeLa), taken in 1951 when she was 31, are still dividing in labs worldwide; in 2043, this cell line will have “lived” for 122 years, matching Calment’s record, with no signs of stopping. Guinness World Records will probably have to