Rebecca Skloot

The laws are still very unclear. Cells are still taken from people without consent - a lot of people don't realize it.

Black patients were treated much later in their disease process. They were often not given the same kind of pain management that white patients would have gotten and they died more often of diseases.

The sort of thinking at the time was, 'Well, we're giving you access to medical care which you wouldn't otherwise be able to get, so your payment is that we get to use you in research.'

I laugh at absurdity hardest, then stories, then observations, then bearded men on roller skates.

Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. It's just a cycle.

I don't like to get in front of people.