Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > April
> April 9,
2004:
Hour Two: Rat Genome / Jonathan Weiner, 'His Brother's Keeper'
In this hour, we'll talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Weiner about one man's mission to save his brother from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive, fatal neurological disease. ALS affects as many as 20,000 Americans, with about 5,000 new cases occurring in the US each year. Though some people are able to battle the disease for years (physicist Stephen Hawking being one notable example), there is currently no cure, and most people with ALS succumb within 5 years after a diagnosis. We'll talk about research into ALS.
Plus, the common lab rat joins the growing list of organisms that have their genome sequenced. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).
Guests:
Richard Gibbs
Director, Human Genome Sequencing
Center
Wofford Cain Professor of Molecular & Human Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
Jonathan Weiner
Author, "His
Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine" (Ecco, 2004)
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Jeffrey Rothstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience
Director of the Robert Packard Center
for ALS Research
Co-Director of the MDA/ALS Clinic
Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland
This segment produced by Karin Vergoth
Archived Audio:
rat genome
listen
in RealAudio format
listen
in Windows Media format
ALS
listen
in RealAudio format
listen
in Windows Media format
streaming audio help
from NPR
Related Links:
Nature
web focus: The rat genome
Baylor
Medicine Rat Sequencing Project Group
National
Human Genome Research Institute - 2004 Release Scientists Compare Rat
Genome
- ALS
Association
- NINDS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Information Page
- ALSTDF :: Home
- Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins
- NINDS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Information Page
Books/Articles Discussed:
"His
Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine"by Jonathan Weiner.
Ecco, 2004.
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