Ooops. Didn't know about that. Lynn is the one who adopted a mouse, and she hasn't said anything about getting any emails from them.
Silly me, thought these might be available on their web site. If they're there, I didn't see them.
Would you settle for 2 out of 3. From other sources, here are, I think, their first two messages, episodes:
<<The GOOD NEWS about DS
Episode 1 Now it's our turn!
Now it's our turn! Now we can finally put the pieces together and solve this
puzzle. For years we have been working on a jig saw puzzle with too many flat
sided pieces. Now we can carve out interlocking systems and produce the full
picture. It has been a long frustrating wait - just watching while others got
relief and cures. Many of us have become resigned to our plight - but no
longer. Now it's our turn!
This is not just wishful thinking, but it is the end of the long steady
advance in science that has finally reached DS. Slowly but surely, various pieces
to the DS dilemma have been identified. Now we can put them all together and
solve the puzzle.
Let me show this progression to you.
1950s - An extra copy of chromosome 21 is found to be the cause of DS.
- The structure of DNA is unraveled.
1960s - The microchip is discovered.
1980s - Powerful computers begin their rise to prominence.
- Vastly improved analytical instruments start being developed.
- Recombinant chemistry opens the door to protein analysis.
1990s - The human genome is mapped by super computers.
2000s - High tech modeling of laboratory mice makes gene by gene analysis
possible.
This is not an all of a sudden happening; nor was it all conceived to solve
our particular problem. It is just the progression of science through the
latter half of the 20th century. But, each one of these developments was necessary
to allow us to solve this puzzle. DS is a genetic problem in which an over
production of certain proteins by the extra genes disrupts normal development and
ability. We have arrived at the point where we can tackle that specific
problem directly. This was never possible before!
This is the first of 7 commentaries designed to bring you up to date on the
work being supported by the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation. We
hope to publish them every Monday. If you have any questions please send them
to me at http://www.tac@... To make donations in support of this work please go to
www.adoptamouse.com >>
<<The GOOD NEWS about DS
Episode 2 How did mice get on the list of great scientific developments?
That's a good question; after all mice and medical laboratories have gone
hand in hand for many years. Yes, but the genetically modeled mice of today are a
long way from the standard laboratory mice. Modeling mice with specific
genetic structures has become a science in itself.
Let us stop for a minute to review basic genetics. When someone says it's in
your genes, she is implying it is in your very makeup and there isn't anything
you can do about it. Well she may be right. In biological terms your genes
are your DNA all neatly packed into your chromosomes in the middle of every cell
in
your body. You have 23 chromosomes and they hold about 30,000 genes. We are
interested in the 300 genes in chromosome 21, the smallest chromosome. The way
genes work is they produce specific proteins that startup or shutdown all
bodily functions. If they under produce or over produce there can be problems. In
DS
there is an extra chromosome which means the problems come from over
production.
Now what does it mean to genetically "model" a mouse. It means to add or
subtract a gene or genes to/from the total gene package in that mouse.
Using this technology, the genetic search process for DS is pretty straight
forward. The investigator sets out to narrow down the possibilities until the
abnormality causing gene(s) is uncovered.
1.. Create mice that have DS. That means mice with an extra copy of the
smallest chromosome, which exhibit the expected DS abnormalities.
2.. Create 2nd and 3rd generation DS mice in which segments of the extra
chromosome are deleted. Then determine if the absence of that segment reduces or
eliminates the DS abnormalities.
3.. Continue narrowing the search to a very small segment where the tests can
be run by individual gene for the culprit(s).
It all sounds very easy, but until now it just wasn't possible. This is why
recent advances in mice modeling technology are so important. Once we pinpoint
the offending gene(s) there are existing technologies for reducing or shutting
down their production.
That is why we can say NOW IT'S OUR TURN!
This is the 2nd of 7 commentaries designed to bring you up to date on the
work being supported by the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation. We
hope to publish them every Monday. If you have any questions please send them
to me. To make donations in support of this work please go to
www.adoptamouse.com >>
Sorry about the spacing and sorry that my "source" thought they were posting the first 3 but actually posted the 2nd episode twice.
Is this what you were looking for? And does anybody have the 3rd? -- Bob