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- tribalsun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18The Discovery Channel had a 1 hour show about this a few months ago. The man in the photo was in the piece as well as a little girl. Parents have to make a choice as to how the child will eventually be "frozen", either in a sitting position or standing as the man is shown. It was quite sad seeing a vibrant little girl going through the on set of the disease.
- 3lite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12I've never heard of this disease before. Fascinating and creepy...
- FreyrVanir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Here is a link to info about the disease...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrodysplasia_ossificans_progressiva - perryge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Tanooki Mario.
- aliekens, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Please read the article. The implications for this find are not only helpful for the 2500 people suffering from the stone man condition, but gives many insights into how bone structure works and grows, which is still a science with many open questions and hypotheses. From the article:
"By providing insights into the genetic signals that govern bone growth, the research should also improve understanding and treatment of a wide range of more common skeletal conditions. These include osteoporosis, spinal injuries and sports injuries [...].
In the longer term, it could also allow scientists to make bone in the laboratory, for treating fractures that fail to heal and skeletal malformations." - fico, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Just to be clear, this is not a treatment. They have just identified the gene. A treatment is likely 10 years off at best.
There job now is to figure out how this gene is doing what it is doing and why it causes the bone to keep growing.
Even if a treatment was developed tomorrow it will would still take a long time to go through clinical trials.
here's to hoping!!! - Tyseyh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I feel sorry for the ppl who have this. =(
- fico, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5My brother-in-law has this disease and there is no choice that the parents make. Flare ups happen and you have to make do. There is no way to control how,when, and where the disease will flare up. If the discovery channel show actually said that then they are way off base.
- evangelion01, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7wow, never heard of this disease before, it sounds horrible.... hope they find a cure soon.
- WyllyWylly, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6I wish they had said more about the implications of their find. The disease/defect in the article directly affects a small number of people, relatively speaking, but the implications of the scientists' find is huge. Dugg for the advance of modern medicine!
- jonathanchong, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Some stupid and insensitive comments on here.
Itribalsun - can you elaborate further on the decisions the parents have to make? From the photo in the article, it looks like the man is quite old, does this mean that he will forever be standing because of a decision his parents made at his birth? - levyjl1988, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree. But if studies help it can help prevent and do medicl testings to do something about it.
- orangetiki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2the wife of someone I worked with had that disease. It's truly nuts. But she was in her 60's so there's mediene that helps, but it is inevitable
- Garf13ld, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I saw a documentary on the BBC about this condition a few months ago. I truly hope this leads to some form of treatment / prevention because it's a horrific condition. Kids who are born with it are slowly debilitated over time, so it's almost like they can walk one day and not the next. It robs them of their faculties slowly. Aweful, truly aweful.
- genconkeeper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The parents of kids who have it have to decide it they want them a permanently sitting or standing position. What a terrible choice to make. Well now their is hope.
- clokwise, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Also referred to as "the cobbles".
Thants! - Areku, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I know, I found that rather interesting, in a weird way.
- FlyingLlama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1no pics?
- aurath, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5wow, sounds like some kind of superhero origin plot, that's wacky.
- itanshi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2superhero? heh, not quite, but its a plot in an epiode of Full Metal Alchemist; the skin also turned to bone. x_X very creepy
- burtonownz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Check out this skeleton:
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/Molbio/restricted/02bone/bonefig1.GIF - HPSauce, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1In the near future, I wonder if they will be able to use this to increas bone mass in a person's body; not trap them in a "second skeleton" as with the disease, but actually fortifying and building the existing bone. The reason why is because I suffer from small bones (genetic trait I guess), and while I can build muscle there are serious limitations to what can be done because of the bone mass.
It's also worrying as osteoporosis can be a real issue for me when older. - TomP, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1He would be good at playing that statues game what we played when we was little kids
- Tom | http://www.tomwrote.info - Ssandman, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7this article isnt about religion. your post is really isensitive. Not only does it seem like your trying to spread aethism by making other people's belief lok stupid, but you hardly even took notice of the article and what it was about.
this disease looks painful, and is rahter sad. You make it look like a joke with that kind of post... - IppatsuMan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1More info at IFOPA (International Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva Association): http://www.ifopa.org/
and at University of Pennsylvania: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/apr06/FOP.htm - Anpheus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"“The substitution of one genetic letter for another out of six billion genetic letters in the human genome is like a molecular terrorist that short-circuits a functioning set of muscles and connective tissues and transforms them into a second skeleton, in essence turning a light bulb into an atom bomb,” Dr Kaplan said."
Worst double analogy ever. Going from genetic mutation to terrorism to atomic bombs, what is wrong with this man? How does the light bulb become an atom bomb? Why even use the first analogy when the latter half of the first analogy clause effectively explains what the condition is?
I'm just waiting for a politician to declare a war on Molecular Terrorism (because they may have the ability to turn light bulbs into atom bombs.) - UNISKid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Damn!!! This is really freaky...share my sympathy for those who have that disease...
- panthary, on 08/16/2008, -0/+0Horrible.
- anarchy2008, on 03/10/2009, -0/+0I think people fail to realize that these people will eventually die from this. A man in Texas suffers this disease and his chest muscles have been fused as bone. He now breathes from his diaphragm, but his time is running out. Eventually, that will turn to bone and he will suffocate because he will have no muscles to help him breathe. Not too mention that your HEART is actually muscle tissue :(
- jonathanchong, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2tribalsun, not ltribalsun, sorry.
- whoutz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Don't believe everything you read.
- jpowell180, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I hear this condition happens when one stares at this ugly chick with snakes in her hair..
- fico, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Just trying to clear things up, sorry for the double post, but there is no choice to make. You can't choose how FOP will effect you.
Here is a link to the FAQ from the IFOPA site.
IFOPA FAQ - CalH, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i know that was cut and pasted from somewhere
- VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1My only regret is that I have Bone-itis!
- jakob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Does it also make you turn orange?
- evilTak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Can this effect be contained to a ... certain ... part of the body?
- branmuffin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Sure feel sorry for the people afflicted. The author of that article needs to work on his metaphors though:
Err.. "molecular terrorist", really now. I guess that Brits are hearing that word in the press about as much as us yanks. - boycy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I saw a moving, informative program about this a few years ago -- glad to hear that a treatment has now been developed for these poor souls.
- fireandlight27, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2mfearby your post reveals a very simplistic understanding of religion and the concept of deity. No one I know believes in a deity that runs around forcing everything on earth to go according to plan. This is a terrible disease, it is awful to hear about people suffering from it. Its existence does not mean, however, that there is no God in heaven weeping for those who suffer with it.
- Determination, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1I could not resist any longer...
** insert inappropriate Final Fantasy "Soft" reference here **
... can you bury yourself? - mfearby, on 10/12/2007, -12/+9Hearing of such a disease really makes me wonder where this fits into the plan of whatever deity you care to believe in. To me, this kind of thing just proves there is no god. What could possibly be gained by seeing one's creation remain in a frozen state all its life? And if anybody still thinks that this somehow fits into their god's plan, then their god isn't the nice being portrayed to them in their preferred religious text. Any such god would most likely be the most vindictive, uncaring, and cruel being ever imaginable (for you Trekkies, consider "Q" but only a million times worse). No, there is definitely NO god!
- j0keR, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Now maybe they can develop a drug that will help people grow exoskeletons. I've always wanted an exoskeleton.
- brhad56, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2There are many more ways to determine God's existance than from a single rare disease, which, as pointed out, is distasteful. Why try to prove that he doesn't exisit. Instead, try to prove he does. Invite people to answer the following question: Why do YOU believe in God? The answer is usually, but not always, because they were raised believing. Belief is usually implanted, not discovered. Almost every culture has some form of supernatural being(s). I believe that is because it was used as a way to explain the unexplain. Today, we try to explain the unexplained with science, but still pass along the old stories of the supernatural. Why? Because thats the way we were raised. If you were not raised to believe in God and never heard the old stories, would you discover his existance on your own?
- zyang, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0i for one, welcome our "the thing" overlord.
- MrSpon, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2At least they can fly.
- thepeggasus, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1Dear CalH,
I will take that as a compliment. No, it was not cut and pasted from anywhere. : ) My father is a former atheist who was actually serious in his pursuit of knowledge. The evidence finally overwhelmed him. Two books that are not too difficult to read and are designed for those who may not be part of the scientific community but yet have at least a modicum of intelligence might interest you if you truly have not been exposed to the overwhelming proof of intelligent design and the underwhelming evidence (ok, there is no evidence) of evolution: Why believe? God Exists! and Evidence that demands a verdict. Thanks again for the compliment! : ) - andywaite, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0Haha, first thing I thought of too!
- ermau, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1Nevermind.
- thepeggasus, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2What is actually amazing is that with our current level of knowledge concerning the genetic code that anyone still holds to such an outdated and misdirected concept as evolution. The amount of information in the genetic code for an individual is more extensive than that of all of the books in an entire library. With the advent of "information theory" as applied to language, only language carries grammatical, syntactical and other information contained in the gene language. And where you must posit a speaker and intelligence for any language, you must for the genetic language also. It is remarkable to me that God could design a system that has had so few "glitches" occur of many thousands of years and is able to replicate itself. Try that with Windows, Linux, Unix, OS2 or anything that we have ever been able to create. Use your head to think things through in a logical and reasoned fashion.
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