Jerome Lejeune, A Saintly Scientist
Mercatonet has a story on the French doctor who discovered that a patient with Down's had an extra chromosome at the 21st pair. ...The genetic diagnosis known as Trisomy 21 was born, establishing the first ever link between mental disability and a chromosome disorder -- and heralding a new era in genetics. It was a discovery of incalculable importance to people with the condition and their families -- if only at first from a symbolic point of view. The embarrassing and misleading term "mongolism" was gradually retired (although it still crops up) and the term Down's adopted after John Langdon Down who first described the syndrome. But Lejeune's contribution went beyond the scientific into the realm of what we might call "public relations" as he sought to open people's eyes to the human dignity of those affected by the syndrome and their claim on our love and effort. With his trademark combination of precise observation, moral insight and poetry he o...