Sardinian Gene Pool
A 15 news feature
Sardinian music .foggy mountainsSheep grazing with bells Grab t Dr.Mario Pirastufinding the gene is just the beginning of the project and the project is to prevent and cure the disease. and we are talking about diseases which affect probably one hundred million people in the world.Science music up and lab shotsMusic and pix Music and mountainsGVs TalanaMusic and graveyard shotsWalking two shot me and mayor Giordano Serra sound up. Translation 4.24.16 This is the old part of Talana this is an old house this is the main square..Grab Giordano Serra ,Talana MayorT4 13,28 (translation) Apparently the origins of Talana can be traced back to the year 1300 . The village, so historians say, was founded by eleven women and nine men.About 80 percent of the people now living in Talana are descendants of those twenty people.Up sot from tape two 2.51.50 (sound up of conversation as blood taken.Upsot Antonio(shorter version..)Grab Antonio Lai, retired carpenter t3 13.32(translation) Thank God, now Im old , and I wouldnt benefit from these discoveries anyway , but if theres a chance to discover something for the future for young people, in order to cure some disease.GRAPHIC SEQ..Grab Monia Mulas, Gene Research Assistant t3 36.55? research is like hope because if you dont believe in research you cannot hope , especially if youre ill. So I think they believe, especially for the next generations it is important.Sound up t2 13.50 church bellOld ladies going to churchSound up singing in churchGrab Father Virgilio MuraTalana Priest t4. 50.? (Translation) Anyone could make money out of this research rather than helping the community the people from Talana , Sardinia, Italy, Europe, the whole world .so this issue was actually raised. 51.14Sound up eye clinic Sound up Grab Dr Mario Pirastu , Head Gene Research t6 47.35This place is so isolated its not very easily reached by the public health system and we brought here several health specialists and theyre probably one of he best studied populations in Sardinia theyre spoilt , sort of. 47.575.02.40 translation reply Christian LoddoGene ResearcherWere working on the basis of the data which is kept in the archives were going to visit right now, that is the Archivio Storico Diocesano . 5.02.50sound up T5.04.41 translation Q: So how far do these records go back for Talana?The first town to be taken into account was Talana and this is the most ancient register whose origins can be traced back to the year 1643. music possibly music up dissolves with names and writing in bookGrab Christian Loddo , Genetics ResearcherTranslation 5.08.15 this way, little by little , we are able to go backwards in time and we are able to reconstruct the whole family tree. We are finished with Talana and some other villages and right now were working on other towns. 8.32Reverse question in English 5.15.37 I mean this is personaltoo isnt it? Your family actually comes from Talana.5.08.32 Translation Yes , I am from Talana(in English) , (Translation) actually my father is not from Talana but my mother is from Talana, and my grandmothers surname , Muggiano , is one of the most ancient here in Talana. 8.50sound up Christian on computerMountain shots and music ..drivingGrab Christian t7 34.41 its been isolated indeed, this road was asphalted in 1970, electricity in 1967.Sound up him singing (wide shot of car and mountains 7.49.15) .trail off singing of him walking to door tape sevenDoor opens and walks into homeSound up t7.09.37 translationCome in .Good morning Zi Michele How are you?Its a long time since Ive seen you.Yes a long time . Sound up 7.15.49 translationId like your opinion about this..which wine is better, this one or your fathers?Come on, my fathers wine is good as well! Cheers!Cin Cin!. T7.16.00Old man grab 7.16.50 translation if I had to talk about my father sadly he didnt know his father or mother. They died? He was orphaned at four years. They died in 1918? Yes in 1918 my grandfather was 35 and my grandmothrer was 25.Shot of grandmother looking at cameradissolveStreet shots with musicSound up priest and Dr Pirastu in street talking about need to preserve old buildings.6.38.18 translation So this one was refurbished why dont people buy and refurbish them?Sure , they should do that , theres also a ground floor with a wooden floor.How lovely! 6.38.31Sound up 6.38.54 translationyes , it would be nice to use it as a museum..at least one house I mean.Yes, at least one..you see , here there isnt the right attitude towards this sort of thing, they just dont want it 6.39.09Houses and people Grab Dr Pirastu t6 51.29 after forty years I came back and while I was driving the first day I started to cry and I think I feel this kind of emotion every time I come here I dont have any explanation, Im not searching for any explanation, by the way, I just like the feeling.Is it a good feeling?Absolutely.Music mountain and sheep montageSound up tape 1 .46.37 Translation Bon AppetitCutting cheese1.49.15 sound up Youd better eat it while its warm..it's good when its warm. 1.49.16sound up walking towards the old hut tape onesound up 1.14.30 Translation Natale Murruplease , after you here we do everything . We make the cheese , we sleep in here. Now we use it mainly to ripen the cheese.Lighting fireGrab Natale Murru 1.22.37 Translation unfortunately people are disappearing , you know, most people , they dont like the environment, the sheep , they prefer living in the city. 1.22.45Sound up hut and pigs in foregroundNatale walking through hillsGrab Natale t1.33.37 translationBeautiful, beautiful, because Ive got four things in my head .health , love, affection and passion. Money will come, once you have these things. Understood?Music mountains and villageGrab Dr PirastuT6.57.21 we like to prove that this is the best place to live and that to live with simple things and not with very complicated stressful life so maybe this place will be full of people in the next twenty, thirty years.End montage people dissolves faces .And mountainsSARDINIA GENE POOLReporter: Philip WilliamsCamera: Ron EkkelSound: Kate GrahamEditor: Stuart Miller For hundreds of years, the wild Sardinian mountains have shielded the shepherds and their flocks from the outside world.But the days of the simple shepherd are numbered the mountain villages they sustained no longer fortresses against the modern world.But one man saw something special here- an opportunity to exploit this isolation in his hunt for the genes that define disease. Because unlike cities, where genetic lines are jumbled beyond recognition, here they run straight and pure, - a unique opportunity to trace back hereditary diseases hundreds of years. Dr Pirastu and his team are unlocking the power of a unique mountain resource .the very blood that binds may one day also cure ..and at the same time create a future for these people where before there was none. Continuity and tradition are words that may have been invented in Talana .a thousand plus residents, their bloodlines so tightly interwoven , it creates a genetic tapestry of scientific beauty.In the Talana cemetery, two features catch a visitors eye ..the first is they seem to live forever ..the second, there are just a handful of surnames .shared by most of the residents here .and up in the village.Giordano Serra is mayor of Talana where hes lived all his life .he knows every single person in town, and more than likely , hes related to them.No one forced sixty nine year old Antonio Lai to give his blood, his time , and his medical history to the Gene research program.What started in Talana has spread to nearby villages ..just about everyone wants to get in on the research into genetic links to disease,Once they trace back genetic links within a family they can start to isolate what makes them different from everyone else.Take a common and possibly inherited problem in Talana...hypertension.When all known sufferers are identified, their ancestors can then be traced all the way back to the original eleven women and nine men. By retracing their genetic family trees right back to the present again the researchers discover a genetic trail that can track everyone with the defective gene. The next step correcting the fault the hope one day to beat not just hypertension, but heart disease, cancer, even depression.The rhythms of life here are as regular as the bell .the faces change over time but the traditions dont.Despite the clash of science and religion especially over genetics, the local priest fully supports this research project. He says the main questions asked are not about ethics, but money.But if good health comes before money, already Talana and the other villages have been paid a dividend.Eye doctors had never been to here before .specialist treatment meant three-hour drive and fees most here cant afford..Christian Loddo is a genetics sleuth and the project would never have begun without the archival goldmine kept by the catholic church ..From Talana, every birth , christening , marriage and death was recorded , by hand by the local priest beginning three hundred and sixty years ago this is volume one ..Talana had just two hundred residents .the same names as today .the same lineages .The names etched in ancient manuscripts are given a rather more modern home as the great Talana family tree grows and grows .. following the roots of faulty genes back hundreds of years. .Here in the mountains , Christian can combine his two loves .genetics and opera.Michele lives in Talana with four generations of family ..Sardinian hospitality always comes before business ..But soon the checking and cross checking begins .because the family histories must be accurate.Older eyes have seen a lot of life in Talana .They have witnessed the assault of the outside world on their mountain fortress seen the sealed roads , the electricity , the TVs arrive, and their young depart.The priest and the geneticist share a passion for preserving the few remaining old stone houses in Talana.But both are even more determined that the social structures are preserved too that the mountain villages have a future as well as a past For Dr Pirastu, his return was motivated by far more than the cold clinical eye of research.In the mountains above Talana, Natale makes his sheep milk cheese exactly as his father taught him ..and he learned his shepherds trade from who knows how many generations before that ..With the European Union banning these hand made cheeses, his children more interested in video games than herding sheep, Natale knows the world as he knows it cant survive.That he can accept but what upsets him most , is the fear he will loose his children to the cities .Natale takes me to see the old hut where until just ten years ago he used to live Up to twenty people used to live here at a time sleeping on mats, the cheeses hanging above to absorb the smoke. But times are changing.While Natale supports the genetics project he loves the free health care, but doesnt think it will change his life.Many people here see a quiet revolution ahead .. as well as unlocking genetic secrets about disease, the Talana project may also prove the mountains and their people live the ideal life .. and with the internet and expanded research projects, Dr Pirastu and his team hope to reverse the flow towards the cities.Could this be the crucible of science and lifestyle guaranteeing the future of the mountain people of Sardinia?Or just a distant dream of an optimist deeply in love with this stunning part of the world?
A 15 news feature
Sardinian music .foggy mountainsSheep grazing with bells Grab t Dr.Mario Pirastufinding the gene is just the beginning of the project and the project is to prevent and cure the disease. and we are talking about diseases which affect probably one hundred million people in the world.Science music up and lab shotsMusic and pix Music and mountainsGVs TalanaMusic and graveyard shotsWalking two shot me and mayor Giordano Serra sound up. Translation 4.24.16 This is the old part of Talana this is an old house this is the main square..Grab Giordano Serra ,Talana MayorT4 13,28 (translation) Apparently the origins of Talana can be traced back to the year 1300 . The village, so historians say, was founded by eleven women and nine men.About 80 percent of the people now living in Talana are descendants of those twenty people.Up sot from tape two 2.51.50 (sound up of conversation as blood taken.Upsot Antonio(shorter version..)Grab Antonio Lai, retired carpenter t3 13.32(translation) Thank God, now Im old , and I wouldnt benefit from these discoveries anyway , but if theres a chance to discover something for the future for young people, in order to cure some disease.GRAPHIC SEQ..Grab Monia Mulas, Gene Research Assistant t3 36.55? research is like hope because if you dont believe in research you cannot hope , especially if youre ill. So I think they believe, especially for the next generations it is important.Sound up t2 13.50 church bellOld ladies going to churchSound up singing in churchGrab Father Virgilio MuraTalana Priest t4. 50.? (Translation) Anyone could make money out of this research rather than helping the community the people from Talana , Sardinia, Italy, Europe, the whole world .so this issue was actually raised. 51.14Sound up eye clinic Sound up Grab Dr Mario Pirastu , Head Gene Research t6 47.35This place is so isolated its not very easily reached by the public health system and we brought here several health specialists and theyre probably one of he best studied populations in Sardinia theyre spoilt , sort of. 47.575.02.40 translation reply Christian LoddoGene ResearcherWere working on the basis of the data which is kept in the archives were going to visit right now, that is the Archivio Storico Diocesano . 5.02.50sound up T5.04.41 translation Q: So how far do these records go back for Talana?The first town to be taken into account was Talana and this is the most ancient register whose origins can be traced back to the year 1643. music possibly music up dissolves with names and writing in bookGrab Christian Loddo , Genetics ResearcherTranslation 5.08.15 this way, little by little , we are able to go backwards in time and we are able to reconstruct the whole family tree. We are finished with Talana and some other villages and right now were working on other towns. 8.32Reverse question in English 5.15.37 I mean this is personaltoo isnt it? Your family actually comes from Talana.5.08.32 Translation Yes , I am from Talana(in English) , (Translation) actually my father is not from Talana but my mother is from Talana, and my grandmothers surname , Muggiano , is one of the most ancient here in Talana. 8.50sound up Christian on computerMountain shots and music ..drivingGrab Christian t7 34.41 its been isolated indeed, this road was asphalted in 1970, electricity in 1967.Sound up him singing (wide shot of car and mountains 7.49.15) .trail off singing of him walking to door tape sevenDoor opens and walks into homeSound up t7.09.37 translationCome in .Good morning Zi Michele How are you?Its a long time since Ive seen you.Yes a long time . Sound up 7.15.49 translationId like your opinion about this..which wine is better, this one or your fathers?Come on, my fathers wine is good as well! Cheers!Cin Cin!. T7.16.00Old man grab 7.16.50 translation if I had to talk about my father sadly he didnt know his father or mother. They died? He was orphaned at four years. They died in 1918? Yes in 1918 my grandfather was 35 and my grandmothrer was 25.Shot of grandmother looking at cameradissolveStreet shots with musicSound up priest and Dr Pirastu in street talking about need to preserve old buildings.6.38.18 translation So this one was refurbished why dont people buy and refurbish them?Sure , they should do that , theres also a ground floor with a wooden floor.How lovely! 6.38.31Sound up 6.38.54 translationyes , it would be nice to use it as a museum..at least one house I mean.Yes, at least one..you see , here there isnt the right attitude towards this sort of thing, they just dont want it 6.39.09Houses and people Grab Dr Pirastu t6 51.29 after forty years I came back and while I was driving the first day I started to cry and I think I feel this kind of emotion every time I come here I dont have any explanation, Im not searching for any explanation, by the way, I just like the feeling.Is it a good feeling?Absolutely.Music mountain and sheep montageSound up tape 1 .46.37 Translation Bon AppetitCutting cheese1.49.15 sound up Youd better eat it while its warm..it's good when its warm. 1.49.16sound up walking towards the old hut tape onesound up 1.14.30 Translation Natale Murruplease , after you here we do everything . We make the cheese , we sleep in here. Now we use it mainly to ripen the cheese.Lighting fireGrab Natale Murru 1.22.37 Translation unfortunately people are disappearing , you know, most people , they dont like the environment, the sheep , they prefer living in the city. 1.22.45Sound up hut and pigs in foregroundNatale walking through hillsGrab Natale t1.33.37 translationBeautiful, beautiful, because Ive got four things in my head .health , love, affection and passion. Money will come, once you have these things. Understood?Music mountains and villageGrab Dr PirastuT6.57.21 we like to prove that this is the best place to live and that to live with simple things and not with very complicated stressful life so maybe this place will be full of people in the next twenty, thirty years.End montage people dissolves faces .And mountainsSARDINIA GENE POOLReporter: Philip WilliamsCamera: Ron EkkelSound: Kate GrahamEditor: Stuart Miller For hundreds of years, the wild Sardinian mountains have shielded the shepherds and their flocks from the outside world.But the days of the simple shepherd are numbered the mountain villages they sustained no longer fortresses against the modern world.But one man saw something special here- an opportunity to exploit this isolation in his hunt for the genes that define disease. Because unlike cities, where genetic lines are jumbled beyond recognition, here they run straight and pure, - a unique opportunity to trace back hereditary diseases hundreds of years. Dr Pirastu and his team are unlocking the power of a unique mountain resource .the very blood that binds may one day also cure ..and at the same time create a future for these people where before there was none. Continuity and tradition are words that may have been invented in Talana .a thousand plus residents, their bloodlines so tightly interwoven , it creates a genetic tapestry of scientific beauty.In the Talana cemetery, two features catch a visitors eye ..the first is they seem to live forever ..the second, there are just a handful of surnames .shared by most of the residents here .and up in the village.Giordano Serra is mayor of Talana where hes lived all his life .he knows every single person in town, and more than likely , hes related to them.No one forced sixty nine year old Antonio Lai to give his blood, his time , and his medical history to the Gene research program.What started in Talana has spread to nearby villages ..just about everyone wants to get in on the research into genetic links to disease,Once they trace back genetic links within a family they can start to isolate what makes them different from everyone else.Take a common and possibly inherited problem in Talana...hypertension.When all known sufferers are identified, their ancestors can then be traced all the way back to the original eleven women and nine men. By retracing their genetic family trees right back to the present again the researchers discover a genetic trail that can track everyone with the defective gene. The next step correcting the fault the hope one day to beat not just hypertension, but heart disease, cancer, even depression.The rhythms of life here are as regular as the bell .the faces change over time but the traditions dont.Despite the clash of science and religion especially over genetics, the local priest fully supports this research project. He says the main questions asked are not about ethics, but money.But if good health comes before money, already Talana and the other villages have been paid a dividend.Eye doctors had never been to here before .specialist treatment meant three-hour drive and fees most here cant afford..Christian Loddo is a genetics sleuth and the project would never have begun without the archival goldmine kept by the catholic church ..From Talana, every birth , christening , marriage and death was recorded , by hand by the local priest beginning three hundred and sixty years ago this is volume one ..Talana had just two hundred residents .the same names as today .the same lineages .The names etched in ancient manuscripts are given a rather more modern home as the great Talana family tree grows and grows .. following the roots of faulty genes back hundreds of years. .Here in the mountains , Christian can combine his two loves .genetics and opera.Michele lives in Talana with four generations of family ..Sardinian hospitality always comes before business ..But soon the checking and cross checking begins .because the family histories must be accurate.Older eyes have seen a lot of life in Talana .They have witnessed the assault of the outside world on their mountain fortress seen the sealed roads , the electricity , the TVs arrive, and their young depart.The priest and the geneticist share a passion for preserving the few remaining old stone houses in Talana.But both are even more determined that the social structures are preserved too that the mountain villages have a future as well as a past For Dr Pirastu, his return was motivated by far more than the cold clinical eye of research.In the mountains above Talana, Natale makes his sheep milk cheese exactly as his father taught him ..and he learned his shepherds trade from who knows how many generations before that ..With the European Union banning these hand made cheeses, his children more interested in video games than herding sheep, Natale knows the world as he knows it cant survive.That he can accept but what upsets him most , is the fear he will loose his children to the cities .Natale takes me to see the old hut where until just ten years ago he used to live Up to twenty people used to live here at a time sleeping on mats, the cheeses hanging above to absorb the smoke. But times are changing.While Natale supports the genetics project he loves the free health care, but doesnt think it will change his life.Many people here see a quiet revolution ahead .. as well as unlocking genetic secrets about disease, the Talana project may also prove the mountains and their people live the ideal life .. and with the internet and expanded research projects, Dr Pirastu and his team hope to reverse the flow towards the cities.Could this be the crucible of science and lifestyle guaranteeing the future of the mountain people of Sardinia?Or just a distant dream of an optimist deeply in love with this stunning part of the world?