Progeria is an extremely rare condition, 15 years ago almost nothing was known about it. Then Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns, both physicians, had a son who was diagnosed with it at 2 years old. They were able to find the cause, isolate the genes responsible, and adapt a drug to combat many of the more fatal symptoms. They had help, and luck. But they are doing the impossible.
Progeria is an extremely rare condition, 15 years ago almost nothing was known about it. Then Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns, both physicians, had a son who was diagnosed with it at 2 years old. They were able to find the cause, isolate the genes responsible, and adapt a drug to combat many of the more fatal symptoms. They had help, and luck. But they are doing the impossible.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/09/25/161691083/experimental-drug-is-first-to-help-kids-with-premature-aging-disease
Bonus: the drug may help slow aging in healthy humans as well.
Also: this has been mentioned on LW before, but without the awesome Do The Impossible narrative. I blame the BBC.