ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

Two prongs:

For the general group and those that are interested in CURRENT SCIENCE:

After 15 years of research at the University of Pennsylvania and other 
facilities, a science team led by Fred Kaplan and Eileen Shore have 
identified the gene that causes Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, a 
rare condition affecting bone growth in some 2,500 people worldwide.

FOP is one of the more devastating inheritable diseases know to man. It 
causes a "second skeleton" to grow, eventually completely immobilizing its 
victims.

The discovery of the gene may have substantial benefits for the treatment 
of bone growth injuries and conditions like sports injuries, 
osteoarthritis, and osteoperosis.

More information is available @ www.ifopa.org

I would be happy to provide additional information to any interested 
party: I've been working on an exhibition on the disease. There are some 
REALLY interesting aspects from a science and a human side.


On a personal note:

For those of you who know me off-line (in the physical world), you know I 
have a "different" posture. You may (or may not) know it results from FOP 
I cannot begin to tell you what this discovery means to me personally and 
that, I hope, the research will continue and awareness will grow about the 
importance of these efforts.


Yours,

Steve Eichner
[log in to unmask]

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***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org.
To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]