April 9, 2004, Hour Two: Rat Genome / Jonathan Weiner, 'His Brother's Keeper'

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 discuss science on our Science Friday Blog (

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

ALS Association
NINDS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Information Page
ALSTDF :: Home
Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins

Books/Articles Discussed:
"His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine"by Jonathan Weiner. Ecco, 2004.

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)