In 1951, a biopsy was performed on Henrietta Lacks as part of her treatment for cervical cancer. Henrietta died a few months later, but cells collected during the biopsy are being used for research study today.

Click on the image for a closer look.

Wired put together this graphic tracing the history of the HeLa cell line—Henrietta’s cells- to show how it has nudged along biological research through the years. The cell line is known as an “immortal line” due to its ability to survive and proliferate indefinitely, and this is exactly why it is so significant for research. I only wish this woman could’ve known that part of her would live on to make a such a difference. [Wired and Wikipedia]

News came today that Sony offered (500) Days of Summer director, Marc Webb, to direct the next three Spider-Man movies. As we all know, the franchise will get a reboot after Sam Raimi left the franchise recently after disagreements with Sony on the story of the next movie. The new rebooted movie will take a closer look at Peter Parker’s personal life while the setting will see him back in high school.

Written by James Vanderbilt, Webb will work closely with producers Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin in developing the project, which will begin production later this year.

Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, said, “At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life. We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure. We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.”

Sony’s appeal in Webb is also financial as he’s much cheaper than the old Spider-Man crew. The deal just now being sewn up calls for Webb to be paid roughly $10 million for the first film, with substantial bonuses built in if the picture reaches certain box-office milestones. This is a big savings from how his predecessor Sam Raimi was compensated. Unlike the now-departed Raimi, Webb won’t be getting paid a percentage of the films’ grosses. Compare that to Spider-Man 4, for which Raimi and star Tobey Maguire were expected to claim more than 25 percent of the gross.

Marc Webb’s most recent movie, (500) Days of Summer was a critical and commercial success. The film’s reception in the American press was overwhelmingly positive. During it’s opening weekend in the US, the film grossed twenty seven times its original budget cost. Talks of bringing “(500) Days” star Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Peter Parker have already starting making the rounds on the internet.

The fourth installment is set for a summer 2012 release.