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Casey Smiles Again:
The Concluding Story |
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For the first time in several weeks, Casey’s
friends saw him smile. “You
look like the Casey we all know, “said Keiko.
“Yes, indeed, said Robert, Casey’s back.
Why the big change, Casey?” “Well, I just heard the first good news about my
Grandfather’s condition,” said Casey.
There is hope for his Parkinson’s Disease.” “That’s great, Casey.
When will he start?” “Well…. It will be quite some time before he
can start, They’re only just beginning research to see if the method
really works, and then they have to be sure it’s safe.
It may take as long as ten years to find out all they need to
know.” “Gosh, ten years. That’s a long time to
wait.” “Yes,” said Casey.
“Grandpa says they might not make it in time for him, but more than a million people, almost two million,
have Parkinson’s Disease. He
says the thing to do is be positive about it and to learn as much as
possible and hope as much as possible.
So I’m trying to follow his example by smiling.” “Good idea.
But say, did you discuss this all in your biology class? As I recall your mother said you’d figure out how to
approach a cure for diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease
and other diseases due some poorly functioning cells in your
biology class.” “And she was right,” said Casey. She said learn about stem cells and cloning.
And the point is that stem cells are cells that can become quite
a few different cell types. A person’s cells all have the same genes, including
the stem cells. But most
cells have turned off many of their genes and have become specialized or
“differentiated.” Stem
cells can be made to differentiate into a particular cell type. Robert interrupted. “Oh, I see. So you could use stem cells to make a bunch of cells that could synthesize that special chemical that is missing in Parkinson’s patients. They all have the same genes, so stem cells would have the genes for making that substance. Put some of those in your Grandpa’s head, and he could be cured!” Yes, perhaps, said Casey.
But we’ll have to be patient.
It may not happen overnight.
Still, I’ve decided that this is a good reason for me to become
an embryologist and study cell differentiation.
Maybe I can speed the process up a little bit.” “Well, Casey, if thinking those thoughts makes
you smile like that, I think you definitely should do it.” Attachment
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