John Merrick's Birthday

On this very date in 1862 John Merrick was born.  We know him as the Elephant Man, whose story was told in the movie of the same name. He is believed to have suffered from Proteus syndrome, the cause of which was unknown up until last week.  On July 27th it was announced that a team of researchers at the National Institute of Health have identified the genetic mutation responsible for Proteus syndrome.  The mutation is not inherited, it occurs spontaneously while the embryo develops. And the mutation does not appear in all the body's cells, just some of them.  Last fact:  this syndrome is caused by a "single-letter misspelling among the 3 billion letters that make up the human genome".  Can't say that I fully understand that, but it is amazing.

Source:  National Institutes of Health News, July 27th, 2011

Chase's Calendar of Annual Events

The Elephant Man