September 25, 2017
1,315
11
1
0.91%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
A woman with a rare genetic condition influences an entire field of study and changes an Olympic athlete’s life.
She is not a geneticist, but the 42-year-old Iowa wife and mother searched through medical libraries, traveled to conferences and pored over information on her computer to turn herself into a self-described DIY scientist who researchers say has influenced an entire field of study.
Her findings led her to an unlikely theory: What robbed Viles of the full use of her limbs was a similar genetic mutation that was confounding a Canadian Olympic athlete — albeit in an entirely different way.
In Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, the mutation built bulging muscles that helped her win an Olympic bronze medal in the 100-meter hurdles. In Viles, it robbed her of the ability to walk.
Check out more Humankind stories:
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram
****************
HumankindAmazing moments that give us hope ➤
HumankindStories worth sharing ➤
#humankind
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.