Face Lift

Labor Pains

Brain Scan

Digital Naturopathy

Sperm Penetration Assays (SPA, "Hamster Tests")

There have been many attempts made to develop a Laboratory test that will accurately predict the ability of a human sperm to fertilize a human egg. Dr. Aitken and his group many years ago demonstrated a correlation between sperm movement characteristics and sperm fertilizing ability as evaluated by the zona pellucida-free hamster egg penetration test. In this test, the species specific barrier to penetration (not fertilization) is removed from the ova (eggs) of the hamster. These oocytes are then exposed to prepared sperm from the man being tested. One of the most widely used accessory tests in the evaluation of advanced sperm function, the fusion between human sperm and the hamster oocyte (egg) is nearly identical to that occuring with the human egg. Fusion with the vitelline membrane of the oocyte is normally initiated by the healthy sperm's plasma membrane that lies over a special section (equatorial segment) of the sperm head in a sperm that has prepared itself for normal fertilization. This test relies upon the ability of sperm that are tested in the laboratory to undergo the necessary reactions to fertilize an egg. Because the sperm prepare themselves in a slightly different manner in the laboratory than in the body, false negatives (fail in the hamster test but normally fertilize the partner's human egg) have been reported. This test may be used as a screen to asist in determining which men may need the assistance of "ICSI" fertilization. There is some feeling that if a man's sperm are able to penetrate the hamster eggs in the laboratory, there is a higher likelihood that his sperm will ultimately be able to fertilize a human egg if so exposed. This test is not uniformly accepted, due to the high false negative (no penetration of the hamster egg, but wife gets pregnant anyway) rate and the sometimes seen false positive (penetrates the hamster egg but does not fertilize human eggs in vitro) rate of this test. Global experience has been that good performance in the hamster test can provide some limited reassurance of the likelihood that a man's sperm will be able to achieve fertilization if given the chance. If men fail the hamster test, most centers rely upon in vitro fertilization with ICSI. This protocol has provides excellent success rates in men whose sperm function remains questionable. It should be noted that most men that fail the hamster test, are able to achieve normal fertilization with ICSI.

Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA)

The use of computer asisted semen analysis has advanced the ability to study and understand sperm function as it relates to human infertility. The major advances have been in the ability to more accurately determine sperm concentration (counts) and motility (movement). Generally, sperm are "looked" at by a computerized digitizing tablet through a microscope. The computer has been "taught" by the laboratory personnel what sperm look like, and how they move. When the computer then "sees" a sperm under the microscope, it is able to draw a digitized picture of each individual sperm, including the speed and path this sperm takes while moving under the microscope. A great deal has been learned about the normal and abnormal "micro"characteristics of sperm employing this method. The method is, however, not foolproof. The computer is only as intelligent as it's programmer. Small changes in the computer program can alter the sperm calculations significantly. The computers must constantly be monitored and updated. In most laboratories, all grossly abnormal CASA assays are always verified by both a repeat analysis as well as with a "hands on" human second look opinion. We feel that any abnormal sperm count must be verified by a manual counting and assesment method.

This Is True Love:)

The Gujarati Boy

One day many years ago at a school in South London a teacher said to the class of 5-year-olds, "I'll give GBP 20 to the child who can tell me who was the most respected man, whom people consider God, who ever lived."

An Irish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Patrick." The teacher said, "Sorry Alan, that's not correct."

Then a Scottish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Andrew." The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, Hamish, that's not right either.

Finally, a Gujarati boy raised his hand and said, "It was Jesus Christ." The teacher said, "That's absolutely right, Jayant, come up here and I'll give you the GBP 20."

As the teacher was giving Jayant his money, she said, "You know Jayant, since you are Gujarati, I was very surprised you said Jesus Christ." Jayant replied, "Yes, in my heart I knew it was Lord Krishna, but business is business!"

Chocolate

Breast-feeding

Ultrasound Technology & Diets

Klinefelter's Syndrome

Klinefelter's Syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by infertility, abnormal male breast tissue development (gynecomastia) and small, firm testes. It is the most common cause of azoospermia (no sperm production). Klinefelter's Syndrome is caused by an abnormal number of sex chromosomes. Whereas a normal male genetic make-up includes one "X" chromosome and one "Y" chromosome, in patients with Klinefelter's Syndrome, an extra "X" chromosome is present, resulting in three (XXY) sex chromosomes. Thought at one time to be hopelessly infertile, it has been found that these men can have small amounts of sperm production occuring within the testicle. Our Center has successfully recovered sperm in men with this disorder who have gone on to father normal, healthy children. It is important that all men with very low or absent sperm counts be tested for Klinefelter's Syndrome before offering IVF and ICSI.

Glow-in-the-dark cats can help with gene therapy in the future

Last week South Korean scientists reported that they had successfully cloned cats whose genes had been altered so that they 'glow-in-the-dark' under UV light. It is hoped that the ability to alter genes in this way may help scientists discover how to make more complicated gene changes, allowing them to artificially create animals with human genetic diseases for carrying
out research into new treatments or cures. The discovery, made by researchers at Gyeongsang National University, is
significant because - with a duo of glow-in-the-dark cats as living proof - it marks the first time that scientists have successfully altered the genetic code of cloned cats. 'This technology can be applied to cloned animals suffering from the same diseases as humans', Kong Il-keun, who led the research, told AFP. 'It will also help develop stem cell treatments', he said, noting that cats have some 250 kinds of genetic diseases that affect humans, too. The technology can also help clone endangered animals like tigers, leopards and wildcats, Kong said.
The three cats - all Turkish Angoras - were created by taking skin cells from donor female cats and using a harmless virus to insert the gene for 'Red Fluorescent Protein' (RFP) into the nucleus of each cell, thereby altering its genetic code. The nuclei of the donor female's egg cells were then removed and replaced with the gene-altered nuclei of the skin cells, to
create a cloned embryo.
To find out if they had been successful in their attempt at creating gene-altered embryos, the researchers implanted the cloned embryos back into the donor females to show that the cloned kittens did indeed glow-in-the-dark, indicating that they expressed RFP in their skin. The three cats were reportedly born by Caesarian section in January and February of this year. Although one was a stillbirth, the scientists claim that it too had expressed the RFP protein throughout its body, indicating
that their methods had worked in all three cats. The scientists hope that the ability to create animals that mimic human diseases can speed up efforts to find treatment and drugs by allowing scientists to study animals and conduct experiments that are not possible with human patients. With the current price tag of tens of thousands of dollars to clone a single cat,
glow-in-the-dark pets are unlikely to become a commercial venture in the near future.The discovery was announced last week in a press release by the government managed Korea.net news service, however peer reviewed papers and
replications of the same experiment will be eagerly awaited to prove the validity of these results.

UK Couple to Test Embryos for high Cholesterol disorder

UK doctors are expected to receive permission to help a couple avoid passing on a hereditary condition that causes very high blood cholesterol to their children, according to the Times. The newspaper reports that a team lead by Paul Serhal, of University College London, will be granted a license by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) this week. This will enable them to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to select embryos free from the gene mutation that causes both the mild and severe forms of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). One in 500 people in the UK has inherited the mild form of FH, although many of those with the condition are thought to remain undiagnosed. The condition can increase the risk of a heart attack in men under fifty by ten-fold. However, if treated through diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and
- in some cases - with statin drugs, this risk can be drastically reduced. FH also increases the risk of strokes and blood vessel failure, which can lead to limb amputations. In contrast to the mild form of the condition, which affects people who inherit just one copy of the faulty gene, there is also a severe form of FH that affects children who inherit a 'double dose' of the mutation. This 'homozygous' form of the disease leads to very high levels of cholesterol from the age of around five, and can often cause death in childhood. Unlike the mild form, it does not always respond well to treatment with statins or other drugs.
The couple seeking treatment at UCL both have mild FH, which they discovered only after having a daughter with the homozygous, severe form of the disease. There is a 25 per cent risk that any subsequent child will also inherit the severe form of FH, who, unlike their first child, may not respond well to treatment. There is also a 50 per cent chance that they will
pass on the mild form of the condition to their next and subsequent child, and a 25 per cent chance that each will be unaffected.
PGD involves taking a single cell from a 2-4 day old IVF embryo, performing a genetic or chromosome test on that cell, and then returning one or two unaffected embryos to the womb. In the UK, the use of PGD is regulated by the HFEA, which licenses the procedure on a case-by-case basis. The couple approached Mr Serhal after learning that his clinic offered PGD for hereditary breast cancer. If the procedure is successful, then the couple will be able to select one or more unaffected embryos to implant. However, if there are no unaffected embryos, then the couple will have to decide whether or not to select embryos that have the milder form of FH. Mr Serhal told the Times: 'This obnoxious disease can cause cardiovascular accidents at a very young age. Ideally, we will find embryos with no FH genes, but it is possible we will not and it will be up to the patients to choose. Some people would think twice about using embryos that they know have a risky gene, and others would say you shouldn't screen out a condition that can be managed so people can live with it. It will be an awkward choice'.

Sperms & The Laboratory

Laboratories performing sperm "counts", in general, vary in the details that they provide the physician requesting the "count". A general sperm count as part of a fertility evaluation should include the total density or count (20 million per ml or above), and the motile density (8 million per ml or higher). The motile density is perhaps the most important part of the semen analysis, as it reports the total number of sperm thought capable of progressing from the site of sperm deposition to the site of fertilization. This value is essential in both allowing a determination regarding whether or not a semen analysis is "normal", as well as in providing prognostic information should advanced reproductive medical assistance be required. (Numbers in italics are what "normal" values should be.)

Definitions of "abnormal" counts:
• Polyzoospermia: Excessively high sperm concentration.
• Oligozoospermia: Sperm count less than 20 million/ml
• Hypospermia: Semen volume < 1.5 ml
• Hyperspermia: Semen volume > 5.5 ml
• Aspermia: No semen volume
• Pyospermia: Leukocytes (germ fighter cells) present in semen
• Hematospermia: Red blood cells present in semen
• Asthenozoospermia: Sperm motility < 40%
• Teratozoospermia: > 40% of sperm seen are of abnormal form
• Necrozoospermia: Nonviable ("dead") sperm
• Oligoasthenozoospermia: Motile density < 8 million sperm/ml

Sperm Morphology (Shape and Appearance)
The evaluation of sperm size, shape and appearance characteristics should be assesed by carefully observing a stained sperm sample under the microscope. The addition of colored "dyes" (stains) to the sperm allow the observer to distinguish important normal landmarks (characteristics) as well as abnormal findings. Several methods of staining sperm are used, and the method employed should be one with which the examiner is comfortable and experienced.

Several different shapes or forms of human sperm have been identified and characterized. These forms fall into one of four main categories: normal forms, abnormal head, abnormal tail and immature germ cells (IGC).
Normal forms
Normal sperm have oval head shapes, an intact central or "mid" section, and an uncoiled, single tail.

Abnormal heads
Many different sperm head abnormalities may be seen. Large heads (macrocephalic), small heads (microcephalic) and an absence of identifiable head are all seen in evaluations. Tapering sperm heads, pyriform heads (teardrop shape) and duplicate or double heads have been seen. Overall (gross) abnormalities in appearance may be termed "amorphous" changes.

Abnormal tails
Coiling and bending of the tail are sometimes seen. Broken tails of less than half normal length should be categorized abnormal. Double, triple and quadruple tails are seen and are abnormal. Cytoplasmic droplets along the tail may indicate an immature sperm.

Immature germ cells (IGC's)
White blood cells (WBC's, germ fighters) in the semen should rarely be seen. It is very difficult to distinguish between an immature germ cell and a WBC. Because the presence of WBC's in the semen (pyospermia) can be a serious concern, if a report of "many IGC's" is delivered, it becomes very important to assure that these cells are not, instead, WBC's.

Sperm "Motility" (Movement)
Sperm motility studies identify the number of motile (moving) sperm seen in an ejaculate specimen. Here again, as in many other sperm studies, many laboratories use "normal" values that are out of date and inaccurate. Many labs will assess sperm motility upon receipt of the specimen, and again at hourly time intervals for four to twenty four hours. It is well known that sperm motility is a temperature dependent sperm function, so the handling and processing of specimens is critical. It is for this reason that we, except in very rare instances, require that specimens be evaluated only in a laboratory such as our own, where we are able to tightly control laboratory conditions. We have found the repeated testing of sperm over time for motility adds little to the evaluation of motility over the initial sperm motility assessment. Sperm are known not to survive well for extended periods of time in semen, and in nature, sperm very rapidly leave the semen to enter the cervical mucus. Many laboratories consider "normal" sperm motility to be 60% or greater. Our own studies, in agreement with many others have found men with 50% or greater sperm motility to be "normal".

Asthenozoospermia
Decreased sperm motility. If found to be present, exam should be repeated to assure that laboratory conditions did not cause the problem. Frequent causes: abnormal spermatogenesis (sperm manufacture), epididymal sperm maturation problems, transport abnormalities, varicocele. These conditions should all be looked for if sperm motility is repeatedly "low".

Necrozoospermia
A total absence of moving sperm. It is vital, if sperm are seen, but are not moving, to carry out studies (vital stains) to see if the sperm seen are alive. It is possible to have sperm with normal reproductive genetics that are deficient in one or several of the factors necessary to produce motility. We have achieved several successful pregnancies employing microinjection of healthy, non motile sperm directly into the egg (ICSI).

Chemical and Biochemical Semen Characteristics
Semen acid-base balance (pH)
The pH of semen is measured using a specially treated paper blot that changes color according to the pH of the specimen that it is exposed to. The pH of normal semen is slightly alkaline ranging from 7.2 to 7.8. Prostatic secretions are acidic while the secretions of the seminal vesicles are alkaline. Therefore, alterations in pH may reflect a dysfunction of one or both of these accessory glands. The pH of semen has not been generally found to have a major influence on a man's fertility potential.

Color and Turbidity
Semen is normally translucent or whitish-gray opalescent in color. Blood found in semen (hematospermia) can color the semen pink to bright red to brownish red. The presence of blood in semen is abnormal and should be reported. The presence of particles, nonliquified streaks of mucus or debris requires further evaluation.

Liquefaction
Semen is normally produced as a coagulum. The specimen will ususally liquify within 30 minutes. The failure to liquify within one hour is abnormal. Excellent methods for correcting this problem in the laboratory are available.

Viscosity
Nonliquefaction and excessive viscosity are two separate conditions. Viscosity is measured after complete liquefaction has occured. Viscosity is considered "normal" if the liquefied specimen can be poured from a graduated beaker drop by drop with no attaching agglutinum between drops. The role of hyper (excessive) viscosity is being studied, but it seems possible that htis condition may interfere with the ability of sperm to travel from the site of deposition into the cervix or uterus.

Why men don't write advice columns

Dear Walter:
I hope you can help me here. The other day I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car
shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help.
When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in the bedroom with a neighbor lady . I am 32, my husband is 34 and we have been married for twelve years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that he'd been having an affair for the past six months.
I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. I don't feel I can get through to him anymore.
Can you please help?
Sincerely,

Mrs... Sheila Usk

-------------------------------------

Dear Sheila:
A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the jubilee clips holding the vacuum pipes onto the inlet manifold. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber.
I hope this helps.
Walter

Chicken Soup For The Soul

Second Opinion

New Material Provides Constant Light For 12 Years Without a Power Source

MPK, a company that has made a name producing glow-in-the-dark paint, has developed self-luminous micro particles called Litrospheres. The new material is said to be inexpensive (Rs 15 to light up a 8 ½ x 11 piece of plastic that is 1/8" thick), non-toxic, and capable of staying constantly lit for over 12 years thanks to a betavoltaic technology that uses a radioactive gas.

Fortunately, the gas is involves a "soft" emission of electrons that cannot penetrate the glass or polymer wall of the microspheres. So theoretically, you don't have to worry about brain tumors or taking on super powers when using it.

The Litrospheres, which can be injected molded or added to paint, are not affected by the heat or cold and they can withstand up to 5000 pounds of pressure. They can also give off light that is equivalent of a 20-watt incandescent bulb in almost any color imaginable. As you might expect, the first applications of the technology will most likely involve safety equipment—or the clothing and accessories of frequent clubgoers.

Glow-in-the-Dark Cats Could Make For a Unique Home Lighting Solution

Scientists at the Gyeongsang National University in South Korea have cloned cats that have the ability to glow-in-the dark when exposed to ultraviolet light. By inserting a virus into the skin cells of a mother cat and placing those contaminated cells into the womb, scientists were able to prove that it was possible to clone an animal with a manipulated gene. Apparently, this development could allow for a better understanding of human genetic diseases in the future. But what about the benefits of glowing cats?
If you ask me, cats that could truly glow-in-the-dark would make for an unique and styilsh night-light. And, much like the new Litrospheres, they last for about 12 years (I will talk about this tomorrow). The only downside is that the latter requires no power source while cats require a steady diet. Still, the crazy cat lady down the street could have the most power efficient house in town.

Future Consequences of Egg Donation

A recent report in the journal Nature investigated the ethics and economics of donating eggs for stem-cell research. Helen Pearson In 1989, a healthy 32-year-old woman offered her infertile younger sister some of her healthy eggs, and with them the chance to have a baby. Doctors at the Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre in London gave the donor hormones that made a batch of eggs in her ovary mature, and collected six eggs for fertilization. Three embryos were transferred to the younger sister and two were frozen. One baby girl was born. Five years later, the doctors contacted the egg donor to ask whether to discard her frozen embryos. They discovered that she had been diagnosed with late-stage colon cancer that spread to her skull. She died just before her thirty-ninth birthday. Doctors don't know if the fertility drugs caused or accelerated the woman's cancer. But the possibility prompted Cromwell infertility specialist Kamal Ahuja to report the case as a reminder of how little is known about the risks of donating eggs (K. E. Ahuja and E. G. Simons, Hum. Reprod. 1998;13, 227-231; 1998). "It shook us all up," he says. Specialists in reproductive medicine say there is insufficient information about the long-term risks of drugs used to stimulate ovulation, a practice that has become more common in the past 25 years, with the proliferation of in vitrofertilization (IVF) and assisted reproduction. But some studies have suggested the drugs may be linked to the development of certain cancers.The question is receiving renewed scrutiny now that scientists are asking healthy women to donate their eggs forstem-cell research and exposing them to the potential risks of ovulation stimulation without the end result of a baby . The uncertainty makes it even more difficult to reach a consensus on whether women who donate eggs should be compensated, and if so by how much. "This discussion should emphasize long-term risk assessment rather than money," Ahuja says.During ovulation stimulation for IVF or egg donation, women are given drugs that encourage the ovary to ripen several eggs simultaneously, rather than the one egg normally ovulated each month. Doctors know that this can have side effects ranging from moodiness to infection. The most serious is ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which seriously affects about 6% of women receiving the drugs. Thirty or more eggs start to develop at once and fluid leaks out of blood vessels and collects in the abdomen, causing nausea, bloating and very occasionally kidney failure or even death.There is little information on how frequently ovarian stimulation has tragic side effects, says obstetrics and gynaecology professor Didi Braat of Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, because doctors are often reluctant to report such cases and rarely have to. But deaths are thought exceptional: in a study reported at this year's meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, Braat and her colleagues found only six deaths clearly linked to IVF from the medical records of some 100,000 women who underwent the procedure between 1984 and 2006.So some specialists are more worried about the long-term risks of fertility drugs. In the 1990s, for example, studies pointed to a link between fertility drugs and breast or ovarian cancer, although it's not clear how cancer would be promoted. One study suggested that women who took an ovulation-stimulating drug called clomiphene citrate for more than a year had 11 times the risk of developing ovarian tumours compared with the general population (M. A. Rossing et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 1994;331, 771-776).But these studies are controversial. It might be infertility, not fertility drugs, that predisposes women to disease. Other aspects of women's reproductive lives influence ovarian and breast cancer whilst pregnancy is thought to protect against tumours, for example. And ovarian cancer is so rare that it's hard to get a large enough sample to spot any connection.Louise Brinton at the US National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and her colleagues tried to control for these factors in one of the most comprehensive studies so far. They collected the medical records of more than 12,000 women who received ovulation-stimulating drugs between 1965 and 1988. The team did not find statistically significant increases in breast and ovarian cancer, but did find that the women were around 1.8 times more likely to develop uterine cancer (M. D. Althuis et al. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2005;161, 607-615).Such studies have reassured many specialists that the risks of ovulation stimulation are insignificant. But Brinton and others studying the issue say the picture is still incomplete. Brinton's study involved mainly women who took clomiphene citrate, rather than the gonadotropin hormones introduced for IVF in the 1980s. Researchers have only had a decade or so to study significant numbers of women taking the newer drugs, but extra cancers may not appear until the women reach 50 or 60. Researchers also don't know whether studies on infertile women can be generalized to egg donors, who are typically younger and healthier. Epidemiologist Mary Croughan at the University of California, San Francisco, has unpublished data suggesting donors are at lower risk of cancer. But "it's important to follow these women into the future", she says.She and other experts want more extensive studies to follow up women who have had IVF treatment or donated eggs. There is at least one large study of the long-term effects of ovarian stimulation under way in the Netherlands. But it's unclear who will drive the effort, particularly when private fertility clinics may have little interest in finding out the potential risks of the drugs they use. Ahuja suggests that an authority such as Britain's HFEA could coordinate such an investigation.Some argue that the researchers asking women for eggs should help pin down the health risks. Kevin Eggan of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, for example, says that his group tells egg donors of the risks, and that they cancel the procedure if women show signs of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.If the risks aren't made clear upfront, one well-publicized tragedy could kill efforts to find donors, adds John Buster, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. "If a woman has a cardiac arrest while giving eggs for stem-cell research, it won't go down too well.

If Christmas was run by Commonwealth Public Servants

Life After 40

The Indian Transfer Student to an American School

It was the first day of school and a new student named Chandrashekhar Subrahmanyam entered the fourth grade.

The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American History. Who said "Give me Liberty , or give me Death"? She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Chandrashekhar, who had his hand up: "Patrick Henry, 1775" he said. "Very good! Said the teacher.

Who said "Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the Earth?" Again there was no response except from Chandrashekhar. "Abraham Lincoln, 1863" said Chandrashekhar.

The teacher snapped at the class, "Class, you should be ashamed. Chandrashekhar, who is new to our country, knows more! About its history than you do."

She heard a loud whisper: "F**k the Indians". "Who said that?" she demanded. Chandrashekhar put his hand up. "General Custer, 1862." At that point, a student in the back said, "I'm gonna puke" The teacher glares around and asks "All right! Now, who said that?" Again, Chandrashekhar says, "George Bush Sr to the Japanese Prime Minister in 1991"

Now furious, another student yells, "Oh yeah? S*ck this!" Chandrashekhar jumps out of his chair waving his hand and shouts to the teacher, "Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!" Now with almost mob hysteria someone said "You little shit, if you say anything else, I'll kill you." Chandrashekhar frantically yells at the top of his voice, "Gary Condit to Chandra Levy, 2001."

The teacher Fainted, and as the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, "Oh shit, we're f**ked!" And, Chandrashekhar said quietly, "George Bush, Iraq , 2005."

Indian Herbal Remedy- Cancer Hope

An Indian herbal remedy could one day be used to help fight pancreatic cancer, scientists hope. A team at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute found extracts of triphala slowed the growth of human pancreatic tumours grafted onto mice.
The findings, presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, offer hope that one day a treatment might be developed. But experts have warned the research is still at a very early stage.Triphala is a herbal preparation used in the traditional Indian medicine system Ayurveda. It contains the dried and powdered fruits of three plants, and it is said to ease intestinal-related disorders, promoting good digestion.Triphala triggered the cancerous cells to die off and significantly reduced the size of the tumors. Previous studies have shown triphala to have an anti-cancer activity in cell cultures, and the new research found this effect also worked in mice fed the herb preparation, without damaging normal pancreatic cells. The team fed mice grafted with human pancreatic tumours a triphala solution five days per week. After four weeks they compared the tumour size and protein contents of the tumours with those of a control group of mice that had not received the triphala. They found that the tumours in triphala-treated mice were half the size of those in the untreated mice.
The also found the treated mice tumour cells had higher levels of proteins associated with apoptosis - the process by the which the body normally disposes of damaged, old of unneeded cells. In cancer cells this process is often faulty, allowing the tumours to divide rapidly without any cells dying.
More research will investigate if the findings in mice can be extended. Further testing revealed that triphala had also activated tumour-suppressor genes, but did not negatively affect normal pancreatic cells. Their results demonstrated that triphala has strong anti-cancer properties given its ability to induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells without damaging normal pancreatic cells.
Pancreatic cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer death. It is difficult to treat and survival rates are very low - the latest figures show that the length of time between diagnosis and death is usually less than six months. Much more work needs to be done to see if triphala will work in humans. Experts said researching new treatments for pancreatic cancer was important, but warned the current research is still at an early stage.

Baby Boy or Baby Girl?

A slightly greater number of males than females are born worldwide every year. In recent decades, although there are still more baby boys born than girls, there has been an apparent decline in the ratio of male to female newborns in several industrialized countries, including Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Japan and the United States. That has led researchers to ask: Are there any factors that can influence the probability of giving birth to a baby boy or girl? A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, found that mothers who experienced an increase in weight from the beginning of the first pregnancy to the beginning of the second pregnancy may be slightly more likely to give birth to a baby boy during their second pregnancy. The study appears online September 24, 2007 in the journal Fertility & Sterility.

"The results are provocative because few biological factors are known in humans to influence the chances of either conceiving or carrying to term a baby boy or girl. Our study suggests that maternal nutritional factors might play a role," said Eduardo Villamor, assistant professor of international nutrition at HSPH and lead author of the study. Some prior studies had looked at what factors might influence the sex ratio, but evidence of causality has been weak. Parental smoking, for example, has been associated with both lower and higher sex ratios. Maternal nutritional status had been studied, but there was little evidence to support a causal relationship with the sex ratio. One of the hypotheses that the authors of this study wanted to test was whether the increase in maternal obesity in several industrialized countries could play a role in the declining sex ratio. Their study found the opposite--maternal weight gain seemed to favor the birth of boys.

The study population, drawn from the Swedish Birth Registry, included 220,889 women who had successive pregnancies between 1992 and 2004 (live births and stillbirths were included). The researchers analyzed the change in women's body mass index (BMI) between the first and second pregnancies. (BMI is weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.) The male to female sex ratio of the second pregnancy increased linearly with the amount of weight change from the first to second pregnancy, from 1.024 in women who lost more than 1 unit BMI to 1.080 in women who gained 3 or more units (a male to female sex ratio of 1.000 would indicate an equal number of boys and girls being born). The trend was independent of obstetric complications, maternal smoking, parental age, length of the interpregnancy interval and the sex or survival status of the first-born child. The data suggest that interpregnancy weight gain appears related to a slight increase in the probability of giving birth to a baby boy during a second pregnancy. The obesity epidemic does not appear to explain the observed decline in the sex ratio in some industrialized countries, which indicates that there are factors still unknown influencing the probability of giving birth to boys or girls.

The authors are careful to note that women should not gain weight to try to influence the sex of their baby. "Weight gain before pregnancy carries significant risks to the mother and the baby, and should not be practiced to influence the odds of having a boy," said Villamor. "Other factors of which weight gain is only an indicator could be at play here."

You cannot beat age

A report published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the younger a woman is when she uses assisted reproductive technology (ART), the more likely she is to become pregnant and have a live birth using her own eggs. The report defines ART as procedures in which both egg and sperm are handled in a laboratory, and says the majority of ART treatments its data include refers to IVF. The CDC's annual report,used data for the year 2002 collected from 391 of the 428 fertility clinics in the US. The report, called '2002 Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates', showed that, in 2002, 45,751 live births were achieved from 115,392 ART procedures performed in the US. This was an increase from the previous year's figures, when there were 40,687 live births from 107,758 treatments. Overall, the per-cycle ART success rate in 2002 was 35 per cent, compared to 28 per cent in 1996.The 2002 data show that 37 per cent of women who undergo ART using their own, fresh eggs when they are below the age of 35, had a live birth. This is compared with 31 per cent of women aged between 35 and 37; 21 per cent of women aged between 38 and 40; 11 per cent of women aged between 41 and 42 and just four per cent for women older than 42. However, the report also showed that the age of the woman undergoing ART had 'little effect' on success rates if donated eggs were used. In 2002, the live birth rate for all ART procedures where donated eggs were used was 50 per cent, with the success rate varying only slightly between age groups.
Victoria Wright, one of the authors of the CDC report, said that the data show that 'women in their 20s and early 30s who used ART had the most success with pregnancies, and single live births'. But, she added, 'success rates declined steadily once a woman reached her mid-30s'. She said the figures should act as 'a reminder that age remains a primary factor with respect to pregnancy success, and younger women have greater success than older women, even with technology'

Online Gene Mapping

Two rival companies have launched novel genetic services which, for a price tag of $1000 (Rs. 40,000), will allow people to have their genomes scanned, delivering them personal information about their ancestry, some personal disease risks and other inherited traits.
The first - called deCODEme - was launched by Icelandic company deCODE Genetics on 16 November. Customers send a cheek swab in the post from which DNA can be extracted and analysed for 'over one million variants in your genome', says the website. This is achieved by comparing the customer's genome with a database of thousand's of people's genomes in search for single letter changes - known as SNPs - which can act as signposts for disease risk or other inherited traits. Within 2-3 weeks customers can expect to have access to their personal genome profile via a password-protected online account.
The second - called 23andMe, a reference to the number of pairs of chromosomes in the human genome - was launched on 19 November by a start-up company based in California's Silicon Valley. Similarly, customers send a saliva sample in the post from which DNA can be extracted and analysed for 'nearly 60,000 datapoints on your genome', says the website. 23andMe
co-founder Anne Wojcicki is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who is also a major funder of the venture.
Both websites emphasise that they are not medical-diagnostic services, instead marketing themselves as providers of genetic information. 23andMe even promotes the novelty of being able to 'connect with other 23andMe customers through sharing features', raising the prospect that a kind of gene-based social networking service might evolve, like MySpace or FaceBook.
Some critics have raised concerns over the potential value of a growing body of genetic information to a biotech or insurance company, particularly in light of the fact that 23andMe intends to share anonymised information with outside groups for the purpose of research. While both companies have stressed that they take confidentiality very seriously, promising to accept customers anonymously if specified, there are further concerns that insurance companies might mount legal pressure on such
companies in order to force information disclosure. 'Will they stoutly defend privacy if sued by insurers?' asks The Economist, also worried that any personal genetic information shared with doctors in the US could inadvertently make its way into the hands of insurers via medical records.
Although there are obvious benefits to be gained from the availability of personal genome services, there are also legitimate concerns that such services could cause unnecessary anxiety for some. 'I would think twice before spitting into that vial', says author Nicholas Carr, writing in the Guardian (UK).

Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra

A sardar went hunting one day in Ontario and bagged three ducks. He put them in the bed of his pickup truck and was about to drive home when he was confronted by an honorary game warden who didn't like sardars.

The game warden ordered the sardar to show his hunting license, and the sardar pulled out a valid Ontario hunting license. The game warden looked at the license, then reached over and picked up one of the ducks, sniffed its butt, and said, "This duck ain't from Ontario. This is a Quebec duck. You got a Quebec huntin' license, boy?" The sardar reached into his wallet and produced a Quebec hunting license.

The game warden looked at it, then reached over and grabbed the second duck, sniffed its butt, and said "This ain't no Quebec duck. This duck's from Manitoba. You got a Manitoba license?" The sardar reached into his wallet and produced a Manitoba hunting license.

The warden then reached over and picked up the third duck, sniffed its butt, and said, "This ain't no Manitoba duck. This here duck's from Nova Scotia. You got a Nova Scotia huntin' license?" Again the sardar reached into his wallet and brought out a Nova Scotia hunting license.

The game warden was extremely frustrated at this point, and he yelled at the sardar "Just where the hell are you from?" The sardar smiled turned around, bent over, dropped his pants, and said, "You tell me, you're the expert."

Child Support Agency Forms - Dallas, USA 2007

The following are all replies that Dallas women have written on Child Support Agency forms in the section for listing fathers name details.  
1.Regarding the identity of the father of my twins, child A was fathered by Jim Munson. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of child B, but I believe that he was conceived on the same night.  
2.I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my child as I was being sick out of a window when taken unexpectedly from behind. I can provide you with a list of names of men that I think were at the party if this helps.  
3.I do not know the name of the father of my little girl. She was conceived at a party at 3600 Grand Avenue where I had unprotected sex with a man I met that night. I do remember that the sex was so good that I fainted. If you do manage to track down the father, can you send me his phone number? Thanks.  
4.I don't know the identity of the father of my daughter. He drives a BMW that now has a hole made by my stiletto in one of the door panels. Perhaps you can contact BMW service stations in this area and see if he's had it replaced.  
5.I have never had sex with a man. I am awaiting a letter from the Pope confirming that my son's conception was immaculate and that he is Christ risen again.  
6.I cannot tell you the name of child A's dad as he informs me that to do so would blow his cover and that would have cataclysmic implications for the economy. I am torn between doing right by you and right by the country. Please advise.  
7.I do not know who the father of my child was as all blacks look the same to me.
8.Peter Smith is the father of child A. If you do catch up with him, can you ask him what he did with my AC/DC CDs?  
9.From the dates it seems that my daughter was conceived at Disney World; maybe it really is the Magic Kingdom.  
10.So much about that night is a blur. The only thing that I remember for sure is Delia Smith did a program about eggs earlier in the evening. If I'd have stayed in and watched more TV rather than going to the party at 146 Miller Drive, mine might have remained unfertilized.  
11.I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my baby, after All when you eat a can of beans you can't be sure which one made you fart.
Amen!