Noble laureate seeks brain's secrets<\/p>\n
By Ati Nurbaiti<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A young man from mainland China who failed an
\nentrance examination at a prestigious British university turned
\nout to be a grand master in chess.<\/p>\n
What happened? The test failed to take several factors into
\nconsideration.<\/p>\n
\"A language which uses pitch uses a different part of the
\nbrain,\" says neurologist and 1976 Noble prize laureate, Daniel
\nCarleton Gajdusek, of the United States.<\/p>\n
Similarly, applying standard intelligence tests to the deaf
\nwill make them seem like they are mentally inferior. However, the
\nfact the deaf communicate through sign language shows they can
\nmaster anything there is to know.<\/p>\n
Irianese<\/p>\n
Gajdusek cited yet another example of how testing, which is
\noften specialized, fails to grasp the full extent of a person's
\ncapabilities. He said an Irianese, whose entire family was
\nilliterate and who was illiterate himself, now teaches
\nmathematics at a university. Gajdusek, 71, refused to identify
\nthe man, saying he will not betray his friend, who has asked that
\nhis name and whereabouts be kept confidential.<\/p>\n
Through a lifetime of research and practice as a pediatrician
\nand neurologist, to mention a few of his fields of expertise,
\nGajdusek has traveled with colleagues and lived in a number of
\nsocieties to observe how a child learns, what causes defects and
\nhow to overcome them.<\/p>\n
By researching cultures and subcultures, such as that of the
\ndeaf in a hearing society, Gajdusek has discovered the rich
\ndiversity of how people learn, of how they use their brains.<\/p>\n
Much depends on culture and upbringing, he said.<\/p>\n
His experience brings Gajdusek to believe that scientists must
\nlook out for cultural differences. \"Methods in measuring
\nintelligence are biased, picked for a given purpose,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Just try using the standard tests to pick an expert gamelan
\nplayer, or Balinese dancer, Gajdusek suggested. Or imagine the
\nresults if someone had given Albert Einstein a music test. \"He
\nwas a rotten musician, tone deaf,\" but classic music helped
\ninspire the renowned scientist.<\/p>\n
For his dedication, Gajdusek received the Noble prize, which,
\nhe said, was nothing that he had hoped for.<\/p>\n
\"You don't make good science hoping for some prize,\" said the
\nman with at least 15 awards to his name, besides a long list of
\nhonorary memberships.<\/p>\n
And when a researcher does receive recognition, it would be an
\ninsult, he said, if it were from some unknowing masses instead of
\na bunch of people who know what you are doing.<\/p>\n
Luck<\/p>\n
Pure fun and play, he says, and luck, is what a good scientist
\nbuilds his work on, besides thinking, talking and even gossiping
\ninstead of being burdened with administrative work.<\/p>\n
And don't expect your trainees to take much of your advice, or
\neven be interested in your assignments, if you really hope they
\nwill turn out to be creative, original thinkers. \"Look how
\nchildren play ... it's us who take away the creativity from
\nthem,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But those who benefit from his work will surely not only
\nprocure fun. From Sumatra to Irian Jaya and from New York to
\nGuam, Gajdusek and his team, who study child growth and
\ndevelopment and disease patterns, have identified the causes of
\nsigns of aging among the young.<\/p>\n
\"We found it is a chronic calcium deficiency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It kills people of 20 to 70 years old,\" he said during a
\nvisit here. He was sharing insights with fellow researchers at
\nthe National Research Council in Serpong, West Java.<\/p>\n
The signs include paralysis, shaking, breathing difficulties
\nand changes in brain function, similar to the symptoms of
\nParkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.<\/p>\n
\"You have some 100 cases in Jakarta, and in Irian Jaya I found
\na much higher incidence,\" said Gajdusek.<\/p>\n
This is not something new -- Gajdusek has visited Irian Jaya
\nsince the late 1950s, and returns with his team every year to
\ncheck on this disease.<\/p>\n
Even birds cannot lay eggs in the area due to the lack of
\ncalcium in foods in the region.<\/p>\n
Exposure<\/p>\n
But gradual exposure to the outside world as new roads go in
\nhave brought in a more variety of food than sago. \"This disease
\nhas much declined.\"<\/p>\n
And why Irian Jaya? People in isolated areas, also in
\nMicronesia and Australia, are the targets of Gajdusek and his
\nteam at the Study of Child Growth and Development and Disease
\nPatterns in Primitive Cultures, where he is director.<\/p>\n
\"We would need a much larger budget\" to track down necessary
\nblood relatives of respondents in metropolitan areas like Jakarta
\nand New York, he said.<\/p>\n
In modern families, spouses often come from a different ethnic
\nbackground, and siblings often live far apart.<\/p>\n
\"While in Irian, I see (paralysis) signs in a child, I ask him
\nabout his brothers and sisters and I get all 40 of them in 15
\nminutes.\"<\/p>\n
Gajdusek, unmarried, has probably the most diverse family in
\nthe world. He has 54 adopted children, mostly from Papua New
\nGuinea and Micronesia. They range from an eight-year-old to
\nartists and university professors and drop-outs.<\/p>\n
Some of them now live with him in his Maryland home in the
\nUnited States.<\/p>",
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