What Biology Breakthroughs Have Surprised You?

Well, I don't know if it's so been so surprising, it's just helpful. So it turns out that, genes, really make a difference, an extra copy of one gene makes a big difference in Down Syndrome, and so, the gratifying thing about the linear thinking that we do, is that genes make a differences, too much of a gene makes a difference that can cause a disease, and that going after defining which genes are involved, and how they work is an entree to therapy. And in Down Syndrome I think, the therapies will come. Eight years ago, when I would talk to people about Down Syndrome, it's too difficult to understand, too complex to study, and too light to make a differences, and there were no clinical trials, no rational clinical trials.

Now there's a clinical trial which is going from Roche, there'll be another clinical trial I hope begin next year in a different way of approaching Down Syndrome, and I think, there's four, five, or six targets out there that are really rational targets for helping kids and adults with Down Syndrome.