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This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I'm BobDoughty.

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And I'm Sarah Long. First this week: saying goodbye to a youngvoice against muscular dystrophy.

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Then, a related report on the scientific interest in a smallchild with big muscles; he has earned the name "Superboy."

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And, learn how some American schools are trying to help studentscontrol their weight.

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Last week, in the American state of Maryland, more than athousand people attended the funeral of a local poet. The mournersincluded former President Jimmy Carter. Oprah Winfrey of televisiontalk-show fame was also there; the poet had appeared on her show.

They all gathered to say goodbye to Mattie Stepanek. He wasthirteen years old. In his short life, he wrote five books ofpoetry. Three became national best sellers. In all, his books havesold more than one million copies.

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But Mattie Stepanek also became known for his work to support theMuscular Dystrophy Association. This group looks for ways to cureforty disorders. These all weaken the muscles that hold together thebones of the body.

More than one million children areaffected in the United States alone. Mattie Stepanek was one ofthem. He had a rare form of muscular dystrophy, called autonomicmitochondrial myopathy. This genetic disorder made his musclesextremely weak. It attacked his heart rate, breathing, bloodpressure and ability to process food.

He died on June twenty-second at Children's National MedicalCenter in Washington, D.C.

The same disease that killed Mattie also killed all three of hisbrothers. His mother, Jeni, has an adult form.

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Mattie Stepanek began to write poetry at age three, after one ofhis brothers died. A small publishing company printed two-hundredcopies of his collected poems in two-thousand-one. The book wascalled "Heartsongs." Before long, people across the country wantedcopies.

Mattie made public appearances and was in the media. But he spenta lot of his time in hospitals. He used a wheelchair he named"Slick." And he had to be connected to feeding and breathingdevices.

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We might think of his life as terribly sad, but Mattie did notappear to. He told people that his purpose in life was to bringpeace to the world. And he got to meet another peacemaker, JimmyCarter. They wrote to each other for three years.

At the funeral last week, the former president called Mattie the"most extraordinary person" he has ever known. A flag of the UnitedNations covered the boy's coffin.

Mattie Stepanek also recorded his poems. Listen now as he readsfrom one called "About Things that Matter."

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"A person by my name and being existed With a strong spirit andan eternal mindset To become a peacemaker for all By sharing thethings that really matter."

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The same week that Mattie Stepanek died, there was news thatmight offer some promise for people with muscular dystrophy.

Medical researchers reported onthe case of a healthy but unusual little boy in Germany. At birth,he was not nearly as soft as most newborns. The medical teamimmediately saw the big muscles on his body. But the doctors andnurses were more concerned about his health. His arms and legs madesudden movements that were not usual for a baby.

The team at Charite University Medical Center in Berlin called onMarkus Schuelke, a brain specialist who works with children. DoctorSchuelke examined the baby. But tests did not show anything wrongwith the baby's brain.

The boy appeared perfectly healthy. And, within a few months, hislegs and arms moved normally. No one could explain the large andwell-developed muscles, however.

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Doctor Schuelke and several other scientists did blood tests onthe boy for the next four-and-a-half years. Se-Jin Lee was one ofthe first researchers whom Doctor Schuelke asked about the case.Doctor Lee teaches molecular biology and genetics at Johns HopkinsUniversity School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Several yearsago, he led a study of a protein that limits muscle growth. Theprotein is called myostatin.

In that study, the researchers created a group of mice withdamaged myostatin genes. The mice developed two times the musclemass as a group of mice with normal genes. Other scientists laterproved that abnormal myostatin genes produce a kind of extra strongcattle. These cows are called Belgian Blues.

Scientists involved in the study of myostatin developed a theory.They thought a lack of the protein would affect humans in the sameway as other animals. But no scientist could prove it. Until now.

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Markus Schuelke, Se-Jin Lee and other doctors reported theirfindings in the New England Journal of Medicine. They say the boyfrom Germany is the first human found with such a case.

They say both copies of his myostatin gene, one from his motherand one from his father, are abnormal. As a result the gene does notproduce myostatin. And the scientists say the little boy is verystrong. At four-and-a-half, he could hold two three-kilogram handweights with his arms extended out to his sides.

The scientists also tested the boy's mother. She had been aprofessional athlete. They say she too appeared muscular, but not asmuch as her son. The report says the doctors did not know who thefather was. But several members of the family were reported to beunusually strong.

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Researchers at the drug company Wyeth also took part in thestudy. Wyeth is testing a drug to block myostatin production. Thecompany hopes this might serve as a treatment for one kind ofmuscular dystrophy.

The doctor will continue to study the so-called "Superboy." Theysay he is healthy. And they say he seems like other kids his age --in every way but one.

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We have talked a lot lately about the increasing numbers ofoverweight people around the world. Today we are going talk justabout young people. In the United States, for example, thegovernment says almost one-third are overweight or close to it. Thatis a national average. A recent study in Arkansas found that fortypercent of public school children there are overweight or obese --severely overweight.

Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease, diabetesand other problems.

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American health experts say most children these days do not getenough physical activity, either in school or at home. But manyschools are trying to do something about the obesity problem.

In the northwest, schools in Spokane, Washington, have a fitnessand wellness program for all students. It starts early and continuesthrough high school. The program teaches children to exercise andcare for their health.

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On the other side of the country, education officials in Virginiaare considering several measures to improve student health. One isto offer physical education classes daily to more students. Anotheris to measure student health, then report the findings to theparents, like in Arkansas.

That southern state has become the first in the country torequire yearly weight examinations for all schoolchildren. Parentswill receive yearly reports on their children's body-mass index.This number shows weight in relation to height.

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In recent years, a lot of schools have added food and drinkmachines to help raise money for education. But now schools areunder pressure to remove the machines or limit sales of unhealthyfoods.

Some schools have given students devices to measure how much theywalk each day. And a new private school is to open in September inCalifornia. The Academy of the Sierras says its goal is to helpobese students lose weight and improve their health.

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VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson and CatyWeaver, who was also our producer. This is Bob Doughty.

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And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more newsabout science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.