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Researchers Study Mystery of the Toddler Who Won't Grow
kkleiner writes "Twenty-year-old Brooke Greenberg hasn't grown since age five. For the last 15 years, mystified doctors have been unable to explain the cause for Brooke's disorder that has kept her aging in check. At age twenty, she maintains the physical and mental appearance of a toddler. The researchers are now are painstakingly analyzing Brooke’s entire genome in search of unique mutations. Needless to say, it is a formidable undertaking. 'Cracking the code on Brooke’s condition,' [Dr. Eric Shadt] wrote, 'is the proverbial searching for a needle in a haystack, since likely there is one or a small number of letters changed in Brooke’s genome that has caused her condition.' To find the mutation Shadt and his team are using the latest genome sequencing and analysis tools. The strategy is to compare Brooke’s genome to the genomes of her parents and three normal sisters, as well as to other available sequences from the general population, and identify gene mutations that only Brooke has."
4chan is going to love this one.
Perpetual kittens.
obviously the scientists studying her have far better qualifications and information than i do, but i can't help but think damage to the brain due to the stroke, coma, and brain tumor she suffered at age 4 (right before she stopped developing) could be a more likely cause than her particular genetic makeup.
i could live a little longer in this prison
Originally a term used in Jungian psychology to describe how one presents their consciousness (persona/image/self) to the outside world. In this context, it indicates that Brooke responds to the world in a manner appropriate for a 5-year-old.
Right. Some tight skinny jeans and a bottle of vodka ... well, I suppose they should wait till she turns 21 for the vodka.
In all seriousness, if she has the mental age of a 5 year old, she is probably quite content being treated as one, and it would be highly innappropriate to treat her as older than she "really" is.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
obviously the scientists studying her have far better qualifications and information than i do, but i can't help but think damage to the brain due to the stroke, coma, and brain tumor she suffered at age 4 (right before she stopped developing) could be a more likely cause than her particular genetic makeup.
Well from the article they said:
“has no apparent abnormalities in her endocrine system, no gross chromosomal abnormalities, or any of the other disruptions known to occur in humans that can cause developmental issues.”
I assume that the endocrine system would have to be affected in order to cause such stunted growth? If the stroke, coma or brain tumor led to this wouldn't they see that abnormality reflected in these growth regulating systems? Also from the article the researchers claimed:
“Cracking the code on Brooke’s condition,” Shadt wrote, “is the proverbial searching for a needle in a haystack, since likely there is one or a small number of letters changed in Brooke’s genome that has caused her condition.”
Some googling turned up older studies that claim there are no known genetic disorders present or even chromosomal abnormalities and her telomeres seem to be shortening at the normal rate. Also, apparently her body parts are developing out of synchronization. I guess it's possible there is a hidden system that synchronizes development so that your body doesn't develop asymmetrically? And we just haven't found this yet.
... that Kurzweil Singularity bullshit should be left out of the discussion until we fully understand it.
Sort of offtopic but I'm a little disappointed that this unfortunate affliction for this person is being spun as a possible "fountain of eternal youth" in the article. Come on, people. We should be working to better understand this so we can help people
My work here is dung.
I seem to remember reading an article about her a few years ago. IIRC, her telomeres are shortening at a normal rate -- which would suggest she *IS* aging at that level.
Unfortunately, just analyzing genes might not be enough. Gene expression and epigenetics are the other half of the puzzle, and a bit more difficult to discover. Even if you know the code, it's damn difficult to determine where in the body (if anywhere) the code is or isn't active without taking samples all over the place and testing each.
For the computer literate, think of it this way. The researches are disassembling the code of several people to see if there is a difference. But that doesn't tell them what the run time parameters were when a particular bit of code was run (or what inputs it may have had while running). And sampling a memory dump from one CPU in a massively parallel system doesn't give you the whole story either.
Needle meets haystack.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
opp opp OPPAN JUNGIAN STYLE
A normal five year old can use the toilet. Not everyone developed as slowly as you.
The kid's the product of a tranya fueled dalliance by her mom after a night out with Balok on his spaceship.
Heeeeeeey psych. class ladies!
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Since when do 5 year olds nap? Mine (apparently) runs on a fission generator in overdrive from 7:00 a.m. to about 10:00 p.m.
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