内容摘要：Men of the Maasai tribe perform traditional dance, during a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Wednesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Men of the Maasai tribe perform traditional dance, during a Maasai male rite of passage, specifically the initiation of boys, marking the transition from childhood to becoming a moran (warrior) in Olaimutiai, Narok County, Kenya Wednesday, April 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Among other successful graduates are the sons of two racing industry veterans.Blane Servis, a recovering alcoholic, is an assistant trainer to Brad Cox in Kentucky. Servis’ father, John, trained 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner

Will Walden beat a 12-year heroin addiction to become a trainer. His father, Elliott Walden, is president and CEO of racing operations for WinStar Farm. He previously trained Victory Gallop to a win in the 1998 Belmont Stakes.Once the younger Walden, Tyler Maxwell and Mike Lowery had gotten clean, they asked Taylor to find someone to buy 10 horses so they could train them.Unable to convince anyone, Taylor talked himself into it. He purchased 10 horses at $40,000 each.

“I tell my wife and she’s ready to kill me,” he said.He upped the ante by putting in another $400,000 to care for the horses and hire Walden and the other men to train, leaving Taylor on the hook for $800,000.

His wife was still upset, so he found others to buy in for $200,000.

“We lost about half our money,” Taylor said, “but from that all those guys stayed sober and today Will Walden has 50 horses in training.”, most of them caused by a misstep hidden within their genes. Some conditions can be caught early and treated—but in parts of Africa where population data and resources are scarce, many people go undiagnosed. Rodriguez is trying to change that by connecting patients with genetic testing and medical support, while gathering key data from those patients and their families.

“Most rare disease data has been collected from people of European ancestry, so we have very little knowledge about what’s happening in other parts of the world, mainly in Africa,” Rodriguez said.Ndeye Lam looks at photos of her deceased daughter Mariama who died at age 13 of a rare genetic disease, in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Ndeye Lam looks at photos of her deceased daughter Mariama who died at age 13 of a rare genetic disease, in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)His research is funded by organizations including the La Caixa Foundation in Spain and the National Ataxia Foundation in the United States. And he has consulted with scientists in China, France, Boston, and elsewhere around the world, documenting rare diseases and novel disease-causing gene variants.