SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Digest

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Digest
By

Broadcast: Tuesday, July 06, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long. First this week: saying goodbye to a young voice against muscular dystrophy.

VOICE ONE:

Then, a related report on the scientific interest in a small child with big muscles; he has earned the name "Superboy."

VOICE TWO:

And, learn how some American schools are trying to help students control their weight.

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VOICE ONE:

Last week, in the American state of Maryland, more than a thousand people attended the funeral of a local poet. The mourners included former President Jimmy Carter. Oprah Winfrey of television talk-show fame was also there; the poet had appeared on her show.

They all gathered to say goodbye to Mattie Stepanek. He was thirteen years old. In his short life, he wrote five books of poetry. Three became national best sellers. In all, his books have sold more than one million copies.

VOICE TWO:

But Mattie Stepanek also became known for his work to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This group looks for ways to cure forty disorders³. These all weaken the muscles that hold together the bones of the body.

 
Mattie Stepanek
More than one million children are affected⁴ in the United States alone. Mattie Stepanek was one of them. He had a rare form of muscular dystrophy, called autonomic mitochondrial myopathy. This genetic⁶ disorder² made his muscles extremely weak. It attacked his heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and ability to process food.

He died on June twenty-second at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

The same disease that killed Mattie also killed all three of his brothers. His mother, Jeni, has an adult form.

VOICE ONE:

Mattie Stepanek began to write poetry at age three, after one of his brothers died. A small publishing company printed two-hundred copies of his collected poems in two-thousand-one. The book was called "Heartsongs." Before long, people across the country wanted copies.

Mattie made public appearances and was in the media. But he spent a lot of his time in hospitals. He used a wheelchair he named "Slick." And he had to be connected to feeding and breathing devices.

VOICE TWO:

We might think of his life as terribly sad, but Mattie did not appear to. He told people that his purpose in life was to bring peace to the world. And he got to meet another peacemaker, Jimmy Carter. They wrote to each other for three years.

At the funeral last week, the former president called Mattie the "most extraordinary person" he has ever known. A flag of the United Nations covered the boy's coffin⁷.

Mattie Stepanek also recorded his poems. Listen now as he reads from one called "About Things that Matter."

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"A person by my name and being existed With a strong spirit and an eternal mindset To become a peacemaker for all By sharing the things that really matter."

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VOICE ONE:

The same week that Mattie Stepanek died, there was news that might offer some promise for people with muscular dystrophy.

 
Image: New England Journal of Medicine
Medical researchers reported on the case of a healthy but unusual little boy in Germany. At birth, he was not nearly as soft as most newborns. The medical team immediately saw the big muscles on his body. But the doctors and nurses were more concerned about his health. His arms and legs made sudden movements that were not usual for a baby.

The team at Charite University Medical Center in Berlin called on Markus Schuelke, a brain specialist who works with children. Doctor Schuelke examined the baby. But tests did not show anything wrong with the baby's brain.

The boy appeared perfectly⁸ healthy. And, within a few months, his legs and arms moved normally. No one could explain the large and well-developed muscles, however.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Schuelke and several other scientists did blood tests on the boy for the next four-and-a-half years. Se-Jin Lee was one of the first researchers whom Doctor Schuelke asked about the case. Doctor Lee teaches molecular⁹ biology and genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Several years ago, he led a study of a protein that limits muscle growth. The protein is called myostatin.

In that study, the researchers created a group of mice with damaged myostatin genes¹⁰. The mice developed two times the muscle mass as a group of mice with normal genes. Other scientists later proved that abnormal myostatin genes produce a kind of extra strong cattle. These cows are called Belgian Blues¹¹.

Scientists involved in the study of myostatin developed a theory. They thought a lack of the protein would affect humans in the same way as other animals. But no scientist could prove it. Until now.

VOICE ONE:

Markus Schuelke, Se-Jin Lee and other doctors reported their findings in the New England Journal of Medicine. They say the boy from Germany is the first human found with such a case.

They say both copies of his myostatin gene⁵, one from his mother and one from his father, are abnormal. As a result the gene does not produce myostatin. And the scientists say the little boy is very strong. At four-and-a-half, he could hold two three-kilogram hand weights with his arms extended out to his sides.

The scientists also tested the boy's mother. She had been a professional athlete. They say she too appeared muscular, but not as much as her son. The report says the doctors did not know who the father was. But several members of the family were reported to be unusually strong.

VOICE TWO:

Researchers at the drug company Wyeth also took part in the study. Wyeth is testing a drug to block myostatin production. The company hopes this might serve as a treatment for one kind of muscular dystrophy.

The doctor will continue to study the so-called "Superboy." They say he is healthy. And they say he seems like other kids his age -- in every way but one.

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VOICE ONE:

We have talked a lot lately about the increasing numbers of overweight people around the world. Today we are going talk just about young people. In the United States, for example, the government says almost one-third are overweight or close to it. That is a national average. A recent study in Arkansas found that forty percent of public school children there are overweight or obese¹² -- severely¹³ overweight.

Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes¹⁴ and other problems.

VOICE TWO:

American health experts say most children these days do not get enough physical activity, either in school or at home. But many schools are trying to do something about the obesity¹⁵ problem.

In the northwest, schools in Spokane, Washington, have a fitness and wellness program for all students. It starts early and continues through high school. The program teaches children to exercise and care for their health.

VOICE ONE:

On the other side of the country, education officials in Virginia are considering several measures to improve student health. One is to offer physical education classes daily to more students. Another is to measure student health, then report the findings to the parents, like in Arkansas.

That southern state has become the first in the country to require yearly weight examinations for all schoolchildren. Parents will receive yearly reports on their children's body-mass index. This number shows weight in relation to height.

VOICE TWO:

In recent years, a lot of schools have added food and drink machines to help raise money for education. But now schools are under pressure to remove the machines or limit sales of unhealthy foods.

Some schools have given students devices to measure how much they walk each day. And a new private school is to open in September in California. The Academy of the Sierras says its goal is to help obese students lose weight and improve their health.

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VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver¹⁶, who was also our producer. This is Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

10 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

11 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

12 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

13 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

14 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

15 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

16 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。