Car One

OMG! Did Google Earth find Atlantis?

Is this Atlantis? Apparently not, according to those meanies at Google.


Google is officially denying widespread Internet rumors that its Google Earth software located the mythical sunken city of Atlantis off the coast of Africa. Either that, or Google is totally trying to hide something. Since I always appreciate a nice juicy conspiracy theory, I'm going to go with the latter.
From what it sounds like, a British aeronautical engineer was playing around with the new Google Earth 5.0, which includes undersea data, and noticed something funny off the coast of Africa, about 600 miles west of the Canary Islands, that resembled a pattern of a street grid. According to the United Kingdom's Press Association, the pattern of streets equated to an area the size of Wales.
In case you've had more important things to read about for the past few thousand years, Atlantis was a legendary island city first mentioned by Plato, allegedly a hard-core naval power located somewhere near North Africa that disappeared when it sank into the ocean. Guess global warming was a problem back then, too.
Anyway, most people think that Plato made it up, kind of like how those guys in Georgia made up the story about shooting Bigfoot, but others just won't stop believin'.
So this guy is trawling the ocean floor with Google Earth--ah, if only we had that kind of free time on our hands--and was quick to announce his discovery. It looks like The Telegraph reported the story first, adding that the exact coordinates are 31 15'15.53N, 24 15'30.53W.
Recently, Google's mapping products have revealed everything from a creepy dude walking around with a sniper rifle to what appear to be U.S. drones in Pakistan.
But when it comes to Atlantis, Google totally had to rain on everyone's parade. "It's true that many amazing discoveries have been made in Google Earth, including a pristine forest in Mozambique that is home to previously unknown species and the remains of an ancient Roman villa," a statement from Google read. "In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artifact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor. The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data."
I smell a cover-up!
In other news, that pendulum map on last week's "Lost" was totally awesome.
by Caroline McCarthy

Mommas Today

Medicine Class

At school little Johnny's class is learning about medicines. Sister Catherine, the teacher, asks the pupils what kind of medicines they know and what they are used for.

The first pupil said: 'Tylenol?'

'Very good! And what is it used for?'

'It is used for a headache.'

The second pupil said: 'Nytol.'

'Excellent!' said Sister Catherine. 'And what it is used for?'

'To help you sleep', replied the student.

Now it is Johnny's turn and he said: 'Viagra.'

'And what is it used for, Johnny?' asked the surprised Sister Catherine.

'It is used for diarrhea..'

'And who told you this, Johnny?'

'Nobody, but every evening my mother tells my father 'take a Viagra, and maybe that shit will get harder.''

Sister Catherine fainted.

Welcome To India

Bacteria in semen influences sperm quality

Investigators studied bacterial contamination in sperm samples of 1256 men at an infertility clinic. The presence of bacteria in semen samples is closely associated with sperm quality, their research shows.

The contamination of sperm samples by some bacteria species is also closely associated with infertility, report Elena Moretti, from the University of Siena, Italy, and colleagues.

Over an 8-year period, 1,256 male individuals were referred to an infertility clinic for semen analysis. The median duration of infertility was 3.75 years of unprotected intercourse without conception.

Spermiogram, semen culture, and sperm transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed, along with a culture test to identify common bacteria that colonize the male reproductive tract.

Overall, 33% of men had bacteria in their semen samples.

Within each bacteria species identified, fertile men had semen quality similar to that of uninfected controls. On the other hand, sperm quality was significantly decreased among infertile men.

"Bacteria in semen samples may influence the sperm quality, mainly by the induction of apoptosis and necrosis, which may in part be responsible for the observed reduction of sperm motility," suggest the researchers.

Source: Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics 2008; Advance online publication

Blastocyst transfers in older women

A large retrospective study has yielded information on the optimal number of blastocyst stage embryos to transfer on day 5 or 6 in women aged 38 years or older.

Specialists in a Writing Group convened by the USA’s Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology conducted the study, based on data collected by the society between 2000 and 2004. The data related to a total of 5,569 day 5 and day 6 embryo transfers in women aged 38 or older who were undergoing their first assisted reproductive technology cycle. These 5,569 transfers led to 1,667 deliveries.

The researchers used both univariate and multivariate logistic regression to model the probability of delivery, twins, and higher-order multiples based on certain patient characteristics. These were age, the number of embryos transferred, the maximum follicular phase FSH level, the number of oocytes retrieved, cryopreservation of excess embryos, and the use of ICSI.

In their new paper in the current issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility, the researchers report the findings of their analyses. In women aged 38 or 39 years, there was an increase in delivery rates when two embryos were transferred, compared with when one embryo was transferred. Transferring more than two increased the rate of multiples but not delivery.

In women aged 40 years, transferring up to three embryos increased the delivery rate without increasing the multiple rate. In women aged 41 or 42 years, the delivery rate plateaued after the transfer of three embryos, but the twin rate continued to increase.

In the paper, the researchers draw their findings together in order to present the following recommendations on the suggested number of embryos to transfer on days 5 and 6 to minimize the risk of multiples in patients undergoing their first cycle:

Number of oocytes <10 and no cryopreservation:

Maternal age 38 years: 2 embryos.
39 years: 2.
40 years: 2-3.
41-42 years: 3.
43-44 years: 3.

Number of oocytes 10 or more, and/or use of cryopreservation:

Maternal age 38 years: 1-2 embryos.
39 years: 1-2.
40 years: 2.
41-42 years: 2-3.
43-44 years: 3.

Discussing their findings, the researchers note that these recommendations of course “do not represent strict guidelines” but do represent an analysis of outcomes from a large national US dataset. They write: “From this analysis, it appears that, in patients aged 38 to 39 years who are considered candidates for blastocyst transfer, delivery rates can be maximized while minimizing multiple pregnancy rates by transfer of no more than two blastocyst stage embryos.”

The researchers acknowledge that different laboratories can have significantly different stimulation protocols, indications for blastocyst stage transfer, and classifications of embryo morphology, and point out that these differences were not taken into account in the data analyzed and presented.

Source: Fertility and Sterility 2009;91:157-66

Clown Car

Octuplet birth raises questions

Initial reports about a California woman who delivered octuplets last month evoked wonderment over the fact that all seemed to be doing well. But as more details about the woman dribbled out, wonderment turned into disbelief for many. The Associated Press has reported that the mother is a single 33-year-old named Nadya Suleman who already had six children at home, and that all 14 of her children were conceived via in vitro fertilization, or IVF. The octuplets are now the longest-surviving bunch in U.S. history.

The six boys and two girls — whose names have not yet been released — were born weighing between 1 pound, 8 ounces and 3 pounds, 4 ounces.

Kaiser Permanente spokeswoman Socorro Serrano says the babies are all doing well.

The country's first set of octuplets was born to Nkem Chukwu of Texas on Dec. 20, 1998. A week later, the tiniest of the infants died of heart and lung failure. The baby, named Odera, weighed only 10.3 ounces at birth. The surviving seven siblings celebrated their 10th birthday in December.

How Nadya could afford expensive IVF, and why a doctor would transfer enough embryos to result in octuplets, a rare, extremely risky "high-order multiples" pregnancy, is unknown.

"We're certainly trying to find out who the treating physician was so that we can find out the circumstances of the conception," says Sean Tipton, a spokesman for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

The octuplets, believed to be only the second set ever born in the USA, have raised a number of questions for fertility specialists:

Q: Are there any laws against transferring more than a few embryos to a woman's uterus?

A: There is in the United Kingdom, which has a national health program, but not in the USA.

To reduce the number of multiple births resulting from IVF, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), one of its member organizations, have drawn up guidelines suggesting limits based on a patient's age and other factors related to her chances of conceiving.

In general, the older women are, the less likely they are to conceive with embryos created with their own eggs. Under ASRM guidelines, only one or two embryos should be transferred to women under 35. The upper limit in women over age 40 is five.

SART could revoke a clinic's membership for blatantly ignoring its guidelines, Tipton says. "Being a member of SART is an important credential, because many insurance companies who pay for IVF will only pay for it at SART clinics," he says.

Q: What are the odds that every embryo will "take" and result in a baby?

A: Remote, says Terrence Lee, a reproductive endocrinologist in Brea, Calif., who writes a blog called Fertility File. "If you hear that a baseball player got eight hits last week, you usually don't think that he had only eight at-bats." Eight babies suggests many more embryos were transferred.

Q: Can't doctors just say no when patients ask that more than the recommended number of embryos be transferred, especially if they question a woman's ability to care for multiples?

A: Not really. The ASRM ethics committee addressed the question in 2004, when it said fertility programs can withhold services only if they have "well-substantiated judgments" that the patient won't be able to provide adequate child-rearing.

That bar is high, says Robert Stillman, a reproductive endocrinologist in Rockville, Md. Drug abuse, child abuse or psychotic behavior could be grounds to withhold treatment. "We're not in a position, nor should we be in a position, of deciding who's going to be good parents or how many children we want them to have," Stillman says.

Q: News reports have said Suleman didn't want to discard any of her frozen embryos. Did she have other options besides transferring them all at once?

A: "This is an avoidable consequence of fertility care," says Anne Lyerly, a Duke University obstetrician/gynecologist and bioethics researcher.

"If she couldn't bear to discard those embryos or to have them be in somebody else's family, they could have been transferred one at a time or two at a time." If that had been done, Lyerly says, Suleman might have decided to stop trying to have more children before using all of her embryos.

The Macho Men

Last photograph of my dog Lucky

Garfield Forever

The Ostrich Story

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him..

The waitress asks them for their orders.

The man says, 'A hamburger, fries and a coke,' and turns to the ostrich, 'What's yours?'

'I'll have the same,' says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress returns with the order 'That will be $9.40 please,' and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, 'A
hamburger, fries and a coke.' The ostrich says, 'I'll have the same.'

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change..

This becomes routine until the two enter again. 'The usual?' asks the waitress.

'No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and a
salad,' says the man.

'Same,' says the ostrich.

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, 'That will be $32.62.'

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. 'Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?'

'Well,' says the man, 'several years ago I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes.


My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.'

'That's brilliant!' says the waitress. 'Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!'
'That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,' says the man.

The waitress asks, 'What's with the ostrich?'

The man sighs, pauses and answers, 'My second wish was for a tall chick with a big ass and long legs who agrees with everything I say.'

World's first pregnancy using IVF egg-screening technique

A British woman has become the first in the world to conceive using a new IVF technique that could more than double the success rate of pregnancies. The 41-year-old woman was treated after suffering two miscarriages and having 13 courses of IVF, none of which led to a baby.
The technique allows doctors to screen fresh eggs for abnormal chromosomes, which are a major cause of miscarriage. Many embryos that have damaged or missing chromosomes miscarry, but others go on to produce conditions such as Down's syndrome.
The woman, who was treated by doctors at the Care Fertility Group in Nottingham, is expected to give birth in the next two months. Fertility clinics have long sought a way to check eggs or embryos for major chromosome abnormalities. A healthy egg carries 46 chromosomes – 23 pairs – but before it can be fertilised it needs to ditch 23 of these, which it packages into a structure called a polar body. The new technique checks the chromosomes in the polar body.
Doctors at the clinic collected nine eggs from the woman after stimulating her ovaries with standard hormone-based drugs. Using the new screening technique, they found that only two had intact chromosomes and so were likely to implant and lead to a successful pregnancy. Both embryos were implanted into the woman and one went on to a pregnancy.
Simon Fishel, director of the Care Fertility Group, said the milestone demonstrated the "wonderful ingenuity of humankind". The screening process costs £1,950 on top of standard IVF treatment, which can £3,500.
"One of the main reasons why IVF doesn't work is chromosomal abnormality," said Fishel. "Full chromosome analysis offers huge hope to many couples who have a poor chance of conceiving, those who have had many failures, and for those who want to maximise their chance at each attempt. We now have the best tool for achieving this."
Up to half the eggs of younger women, and up to 75% in women over 39, have abnormal chromosomes.
The technique, called polar body array comparative genomic hybridisation, is the first that can check all of an egg's chromosomes to see if any are missing or duplicated.
The process uses a laser to make a small incision in the outer membrane of the egg, from which doctors can extract the polar body containing the 23 chromosomes that were expelled before fertilisation. The doctors then use a computer-driven screening process to check if all of the chromosomes are present.
"This screening method has the potential to improve birth rates, minimise the incidence of miscarriage and birth defects caused by chromosomal irregularity," Fishel said.
Fishel's clinic has agreement from the government's fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, to offer the technology to any of their patients. Because the procedure is experimental, however, it will not yet be offered on the NHS.
The HFEA has ordered UK fertility clinics to take steps to reduce the number of twins and triplets born to IVF couples. In most cases, this will involve transferring only one embryo to the womb at a time. Doctors believe the new technique will allow them to select the most promising embryos, increasing the chances of a succesful pregnancy.
A previous trial conducted last year by the Care Fertility Group and an American team suggests the technology could double the number of embryos that implant in the womb, from 25% to 50%.
Fertility doctors at other clinics cautiously welcomed the development today. Stuart Lavery, a senior consultant gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital in London, said: "Although it is still at a very early stage, this technique may offer a new diagnostic and therapeutic hope to couples who suffer from repeated implantation failure in IVF."
"Previous methods of screening embryos to detect abnormality have not proven to be sufficiently effective in increasing live birth rates. We need further research in this area so questions of reliability, efficacy and safety can be fully answered."
Tony Rutherford, chair of the British Fertility Society, said: "It is absolutely essential that these new techniques are subject to further rigorous research, and should only be offered to patients within the context of a robustly designed clinical trial, carried out in suitably experienced centres."
Around 6,000 babies a year are born in the UK to otherwise infertile couples as a result of IVF. The technique was developed in the 1970s and the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978.

Have Another ‘Fertilitini’

Once upon a time, a woman's ovaries were her own private affair. Aspiring mothers struggling with fertility issues whispered to their doctors about their travails, took drugs to stimulate their follicles and crossed their fingers. Today, aging eggs and donor sperm are the topic of open conversation on blogs, on Oprah and in movies like "Baby Mama" (storyline: a 37-year-old businesswoman hires a surrogate after being told her chance of getting pregnant is just about nil). Even politicians are in the fertility limelight. Sarah Palin's baby, Trig, was born when she was 44. And the newly appointed New York senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, cast a vote in Congress the day before giving birth to son Henry at age 41 last May.

And yet, despite the outing of the female reproductive system, many young women still don't fully understand the facts about age as a risk factor for infertility. Their Ob-Gyns don't always tell them. And 40-plus Hollywood mothers (some of whom are presumably using donor eggs to get pregnant) and cases like Palin and Gillibrand reassure them. So this week, the American Fertility Association (AFA) is launching "Manicures & Martinis" at the Dashing Diva Nail Salon in Manhattan, the first in a series of one-hour conversations about reproductive health. The event, targeted at women in their 20s and 30s who want to have children someday but aren't ready now, features a leading fertility expert, who'll talk about the reality of the biological clock and other risk factors for infertility. Yes, there'll be martinis—an offering criticized by some health advocates as irresponsible— but there will also be an organic alcohol-free "fertilitini."

Corey Whelan, AFA's director of development, says this is the kind of program she wishes existed when she was trying to get pregnant in her 20s and 30s while suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome. "I wanted to create a program that was soft, that was light and that was non-threatening," says Whelan, now 53 and the mother of 13-year-old twins conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The goal is to inform women so they can explore their options at an earlier age, she says, and the message is "one of hope, not one of doom and gloom."

To get the word out, AFA is joining the world of social marketing, advertising the event on Web sites like Facebook.com and Meetup.com. Whelan's hope is that women who attend will spread the word to their friends in person and electronically—a girlfriend-to-girlfriend experience, as opposed to some dreaded medical information session that few young women would be inclined to sign up for. "We would not be able to bring this particular demographic into a lecture hall or symposium," she says. "They wouldn't be interested and it wouldn't work."

But will women show up? AFA's Manhattan event is fully booked, with 25 women signed up and more than 30 on a waiting list. The confirmed participants are all single and between the ages of 21 and 34. One woman registered her daughter, her niece and her daughter's best friend, says Whelan, who plans to offer similar events in other venues (cheese shops, billiard halls) across the country in 2009.

Talking to women about age and motherhood is always controversial. No matter how public the topic of reproduction has become, an individual woman's fertility and the choices she makes about when and how to have children remain highly personal. While many women and health-care providers believe that informing women about age as a risk factor is empowering, others say that harping on the topic smacks of paternalism and is unfair to women who are still in search of a partner.

Mother's fury at dead daughter's fiance's plan to have baby with his sister using frozen IVF embryos

When Kay Stanley died in a car crash in Australia, her fiance and family were united in grief.

But a year on, they are at war over alleged plans to create a baby from three embryos she had frozen after becoming pregnant with IVF treatment.

Her mother Gwen Bates is horrified at the idea of having a grandchild in such a way and believes her daughter would never have approved.

She claims Miss Stanley's fiance Brett Vogel has proposed that his sister would act as a surrogate mother for the embryos in an attempt to have a 'miracle' baby.

Her daughter, a former entertainer who had toured Australia with children's show The Tweenies, was ten weeks' pregnant when she died.

Her VW Beetle was hit by a passenger train at a level crossing near Melbourne and shunted more than 200 metres as she drove to her job as a pre-school teacher. Mrs Bates, a nurse from Rotherham, said: 'I was told by Brett's family not to be sad because a miracle was about to take place.

'They told me his sister Sally was going to have one or two of the embryos implanted so that Brett could have my girl's baby.

'This was devastating news and would have an enormous impact on my life. It is also something I believe Kay would be against.'

Mrs Bates has stayed in Australia fighting to bring her daughter's body home after, she said, Miss Stanley was buried there against her wishes.

However, Mr Vogel's family will have no contact with her, so she does not know if the bizarre baby plan has gone ahead.

'It was Sally's partner who told me that it had been discussed by the family,' added Mrs Bates. 'I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was a bombshell and I found it weird.

'Brett admitted there were three embryos still frozen from the IVF treatment Kay had been having.

'But when I tried to bring up the claims that his sister would act as a surrogate, he blanked me.

'Since the funeral Brett has been all over the world but has returned to Australia. I almost bumped into him in a cafe but he got up and walked straight out. He crossed the street when I saw him on another occasion.'

Kay Stanley died in an accident in Australia. Her mother is now fighting to bring her body back and prevent her fiance from using her frozen embryos

Mrs Bates has sought legal advice after receiving a letter from Mr Vogel's solicitors demanding she has no contact with him.

'I am trying to find out how I stand legally,' she said. 'I will take action if need be. I have a right to know.

'This will be my daughter's child and I will become a grandmother. All I have left are a few pieces of her jewellery and some candles.

'I want to bring my daughter home and have her buried in Rotherham and I will not leave without her. We come home together or we stay together here. I want to be with her.'

She is considering legal proceedings to gain ownership of her daughter's body to establish the status of the embryos.

An inquest has yet to be held. But it has been suggested Miss Stanley may not have seen the crossing warning lights because of bright sunshine.

Her mother said: 'They are using Kay as a scapegoat. They started to put the barriers up after her death but if they knew it was dangerous, something should have been done.

'The police asked if she was happy, suggesting that she may have done it deliberately. I told them she had just had IVF treatment and was about to get married. There was no one more careful than Kay.'

Mr Vogel, who was Miss Stanley's partner for four years, has declined to comment.

Honeymoon Packages

Grandad donates sperm for 'grandchild'

A 72-year-old British man is to donate his sperm to his daughter-in-law, allowing her to become a mother and produce a "grandchild", fertility authorities said.

The unnamed man is donating his sperm because his son and daughter-in-law's attempts at IVF treatment failed due to the poor quality of the husband's sperm, according to London's Evening Standard newspaper.

"It's not uncommon for someone in the family to donate, although normally the age limit for sperm donors is 45," said a spokesperson for Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has advised the clinic overseeing the 72-year-old's donation.

"What's uncommon in this case is the donor's age."

The donated sperm is being handled by the London Women's Clinic, where the couple are having treatment.

Dr Peter Bowen-Simkins, a director of the clinic, told the Evening Standard the couple and the grandparents-to-be had undergone counselling to prepare them for the arrival of a child produced in such an unusual way.

"I've certainly never come across a case like this before," Bowen-Simkins told the paper.

"In this case, keeping the genetic identity of the child similar to their own was a huge factor. The husband does not have a brother which is why he chose his own father to assist."

Experts said they had no ethical problems with the man donating his sperm, but did have medical concerns about the health of the child.

"What worries me are the genetic risks to the child because of the quality of the donor's sperm, given his age," said Dr Alan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology (male fertility) at Sheffield University.

Pacey said the man's age could reduce the chances of the donation working, increase the chances of the woman having a miscarriage and also increase the likelihood that the child produced inherits a genetic condition, such as autism, Down's Syndrome or dwarfism.

The dangers of being an older dad

Women with older partners may be at higher risk of suffering miscarriages irrespective of their own age, according to a study that has linked the increased chance of a failed pregnancy with men over the age of 40.

Until now it was widely assumed that miscarriage rates largely increased with female age only, but a study into women undergoing artificial insemination with their partner's sperm has found that it can also be linked with older men. Scientists also found that pregnancy rates fell as the male partner gets older. This may reflect a decline in sperm quality in men over 40 that affects both the chances of conception and the increased risk of a miscarriage, they said. It is the first time scientists have discovered such a strong paternal effect on rates of pregnancy and miscarriage, and they suggest that, in future, fertility clinics should look more closely at the age of men as well as the age of women when advising on treatment.

Stephanie Belloc, of the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction in Paris, said: "Until now … the message was to get pregnant before the age of 35 or 38 because afterwards it would be difficult. But now the gynaecologists must also focus on paternal age and give this information to the couple.

'Fertility clinics should look more closely at the age of men' "We suggest that there is a link between paternal age and DNA decay in the spermatozoa because we previously demonstrated that age is associated with increased sperm DNA fragmentation. So maybe there is a link between paternal age and DNA decay that are implied in the miscarriages.

"I think it's important to consider not only the woman, but both members of the couple in natural conception, but also in assisted reproductive technology [such as artificial insemination and IVF]."

The scientists analysed data gathered at a fertility clinic that performs artificial inseminations directly into a woman's uterus, a technique which improves the conception rate.

They followed up 21,239 cases of these intrauterine inseminations to see whether the age of the man or the woman had any significant effect on the chances of conception and miscarriage.

As expected, they found maternal age was a strong factor in pregnancy rates, with just 8.9 percent of women over the age of 35 getting pregnant, compared with 14.5 percent in younger women.

'We also found that the age of the father was important in pregnancy rates' "But we also found that the age of the father was important in pregnancy rates - men over 35 had a negative effect," said Belloc.

"And, perhaps more surprisingly, miscarriage rates increased where the father was over 35."

The study - the results of which were to be released at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona - found the miscarriage rate among women with partners aged between 35 and 39 was 18.1 percent, but 33 percent for the partners of men aged between 40 and 44.

Couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology where the man is older than 35 or 40 should consider using the technique of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), for directly injecting single sperm into an egg, because then the best sperm could be chosen for fertilisation, Belloc said.

"It's the conclusion of my study that ICSI should be the [technology] of choice when paternal age is increasing because we can choose the best spermatozoa.

"We can choose spermatozoa without DNA fragmentation, and DNA fragmentation is increasing with paternal age. So it is a way to be free of paternal age."

Older dads

TV presenter Des O'Connor's wife, the Australian singer-songwriter Jodie Brooke Wilson (35), gave birth to their son Adam in September 2004. O'Connor, then 72, claimed: "It felt like the right time."

US presidential hopeful John McCain was 48 when he and his wife Cindy had their first child together, the now-award-winning blogger Meghan McCain. They have since had two more.

There were a few sleepless nights at the Playboy mansion in the early 1990s when a sexagenarian Hugh Heffner fathered sons Marston and Cooper by his fiancee Kimberley Conrad.

When Leo Blair was born in 2000, 47-year-old Tony became the first serving prime minister to have a baby in more than 150 years.

Actor David Jason became a dad for the first time aged 61 when his daughter, Sophie Mae, was born.

A 56-year-old Michael Douglas welcomed Dylan Michel into the world in 2000, then married the mother, Catherine Zeta-Jones, soon afterwards. The couple had a daughter three years later.

Parenting Today & Aircraft Routes

Weekend Humor

Happy Valentine's Day

In spite of what you have been told by everyone, the truth is that Valentine's Day originated hundreds of years ago, in India, and to top it all, in the state of Gujarat !!!

It is a well known fact that Gujarati men, specially the Patels, continually mistreat and disrespect their wives (Patelianis). One fine day, it happened to be the 14th day of February, one brave Patelani, having had enough "torture" by her husband, finally chose to rebel by beating him up with a Velan (rolling pin to make chapattis). Yes....the same Velan which she used daily, to make chapattis for him.... only this time, instead of the dough, it was the husband who was flattened.

This was a momentous occasion for all Gujarati women and a revolt soon spread, like wild fire, with thousands of housewives beating up their husbands with the Velan. There was an outburst of moaning "chapatti-ed" husbands all over Anand and Amdavad.

The Patel men-folk quickly learnt their lesson and started to behave more respectfully with their Patelanis.
Thereafter, on 14th February every year, the womenfolk of Gujarat would beat up their husbands, to commemorate that eventful day - the wives having the satisfaction of beating up their husbands with the Velan and the men having the supreme joy of submitting to the will of the women they loved.

Soon The Gujju men realised that in order to avoid this ordeal they need to present gifts to their wives....they brought flowers and sweets. This is how the tradition - Velan time - began.

As Gujarat fell under the influence of Western culture, the ritual soon spread to Britain and many other Western countries, specifically, the catch words 'Velan time' !!! In course of time, their foreign tongues, this got anglisized to 'Velantime' and then to 'Valentine'.

And thereafter, 14th of February, came to be known as Valentine's Day and now you know the true story of Valentine's day.

The Italian Confession

Study Demonstrates Superiority of ICSI over IVF Procedure in Extremely Low Ooocyte Retrieval Cycles

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), in contrast to the conventional IVF procedures, may help attain a higher rate of normal fertilization in extremely low oocyte retrieval cycles. The results of the study have been published in the recent issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility. Yu-Che Ou from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, and colleagues, conducted a case-control study on infertile subjects with one to three oocytes per retrieval, and were divided into two groups undergoing either ICSI or IVF treatment. During the study, the cycle cancellation, fertilization, implantation and clinical pregnancy rates per transfer were observed. The study results are shown in the Table:

Although the rates of clinical pregnancy, implantation, and live births per transfer were higher in the ICSI group, the difference was not statistically significant between the two groups. Also, the cycle cancellation and complete fertilization failure rates were found to be similar in both the groups.Earlier, Requena, et al. (Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, 2000) conducted a prospective case-control study to evaluate maturation in vitro of human oocytes (MIVHO) as an alternate to IVF treatment, in low ovarian responders. Oocyte retrieval, maturation in vitro, fertilization, and blastocyst development rates were observed in spontaneously ovulatory women at the Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad. The study results showed that the oocyte retrieval rate was considerably higher in cases where the pickup was carried out before follicular selection. The results of MIVHO in normal responders as well as low responders with an ovarian content of early antral follicles >5, were comparable. The study results demonstrated that MIVHO in low responders with an adequate number of early antral follicles could be successful and oocyte retrieval before follicular selection would aid in attaining more oocytes.

Although low ovarian response is not well defined, usually a patient with <34 oocytes, serum peak levels of <500mg/ml after aggressive stimulation, and with a background of at least two unsuccessful attempts of ovarian stimulation, is considered to be a low responder. Low ovarian reserve could be a result of high body mass index, pelvic adhesions, prior ovarian surgery, or progressive age. As the IVF outcome is directly dependent on the number of embryos available, low embryo count could result in decreased pregnancy rates.Though ICSI is associated with damage to a low percentage of injected oocytes, this micro-assisted fertilization technique is preferable in cases of oligospermia and azoospermia. Demonstrating the better performance of ICSI compared to IVF in very low oocyte retrieval cycles, the current study suggests ICSI as a superior choice for treating this condition.

References
1. Ou YC, Lan KC, Huang FJ, Kung FT, Lan TH, Chang SY. Comparison of in vitro fertilization versus intracytoplasmic sperm injection in extremely low oocyte retrieval cycles. Fertil Steril. 2008 Dec 22. [Epub ahead of print].
2. Requena A, Neuspiller F, Cobo AC, et al. The potential use of maturation in vitro of human oocytes in low responder patients. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2000 May;17(5):239-44

New Research Questions Use Of Common Fertility Treatments

A new study published on bmj.com has found that fertility is not improved in infertile couples who have been treated with long-established medical interventions. The team of researchers led by the University of Aberdeen has called for UK and national guidelines to be reviewed with this new evidence that challenges current practices.

In the UK, one in seven couples experience infertility. Of these, about 25% of the infertility is unexplained, and the standard treatment includes a body of common interventions that have been used for years and have been issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The research team set out to compare two specific interventions with expectant management (i.e., no treatment). From four teaching hospitals and a district general hospital in Scotland, they recruited a sample of 580 women who have had unexplained infertility for over two years. The women were randomly assigned such that one group had no medical intervention and tried naturally to become pregnant, a second group took oral clomifene citrate (CC) to correct subtle ovulatory dysfunction, and a third group received unstimulated intra-uterine insemination (IUI) of sperm.

During the course of the study, 101 women became pregnant and had a live birth. The birth rate for women with no intervention was 17%, and the rates for the oral CC group and the IUI group were 14% and 23%, respectively. According to the researchers, the 6% difference between the IUI and the non-intervention group is no large enough for the results to suggest a meaningful and significant improvement in the live birth rate.

Many women suffered from side effects that included: pain, bloating, hot flushes, nausea and headaches. These affected about 10 to 20% of women, most of whom were taking oral CC. Also, it is worth noting that satisfaction was higher in the groups of women being actively treated - as they were reassured by the treatment process - compared to women who received no intervention.

"These interventions, which have been in use for many years, are unlikely to be more effective than no treatment. These results challenge current practice, as endorsed by a national guideline in the UK," conclude the authors.

Tarek El-Toukhy and Yacoub Khalaf (Assisted Conception Unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust) write in an accompanying editorial that: "As a direct result of the lack of evidence, many couples with unexplained infertility endure (and even request) expensive, potentially hazardous, and often unnecessary treatments." There is a need for high quality clinical trials as well as better information for patients to determine the best treatments in light of effectiveness and adverse effects. El-Toukhy and Khalaf also call for the current NICE guidelines to be reviewed with this research in mind.

Clomifene citrate or unstimulated intrauterine insemination compared with expectant management for unexplained infertility: pragmatic randomised controlled trial
S Bhattacharya, K Harrild, J Mollison, S Wordsworth, C Tay, A Harrold, D McQueen, H Lyall, L Johnston, J Burrage, S Grossett, H Walton, J Lynch, A Johnstone, S Kini, A Raja, A Templeton
BMJ (2008). 337: a716.
doi:10.1136/bmj.a716

Study Links Water Pollution With Declining Male Fertility

New research strengthens the link between water pollution and rising male fertility problems. The study, by Brunel University, the Universities of Exeter and Reading and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, shows for the first time how a group of testosterone-blocking chemicals is finding its way into UK rivers, affecting wildlife and potentially humans. The research was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and is now published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives

The study identified a new group of chemicals that act as 'anti-androgens'. This means that they inhibit the function of the male hormone, testosterone, reducing male fertility. Some of these are contained in medicines, including cancer treatments, pharmaceutical treatments, and pesticides used in agriculture. The research suggests that when they get into the water system, these chemicals may play a pivotal role in causing feminising effects in male fish.

Earlier research by Brunel University and the University of Exeter has shown how female sex hormones (estrogens), and chemicals that mimic estrogens, are leading to 'feminisation' of male fish. Found in some industrial chemicals and the contraceptive pill, they enter rivers via sewage treatment works. This causes reproductive problems by reducing fish breeding capability and in some cases can lead to male fish changing sex.

Other studies have also suggested that there may be a link between this phenomenon and the increase in human male fertility problems caused by testicular dysgenesis syndrome. Until now, this link lacked credence because the list of suspects causing effects in fish was limited to estrogenic chemicals whilst testicular dysgenesis is known to be caused by exposure to a range of anti-androgens.

Lead author on the research paper, Dr Susan Jobling at Brunel University's Institute for the Environment, said: "We have been working intensively in this field for over ten years. The new research findings illustrate the complexities in unravelling chemical causation of adverse health effects in wildlife populations and re-open the possibility of a human - wildlife connection in which effects seen in wild fish and in humans are caused by similar combinations of chemicals. We have identified a new group of chemicals in our study on fish, but do not know where they are coming from. A principal aim of our work is now to identify the source of these pollutants and work with regulators and relevant industry to test the effects of a mixture of these chemicals and the already known environmental estrogens and help protect environmental health."

Senior author, Professor Charles Tyler of the University of Exeter, said: "Our research shows that a much wider range of chemicals than we previously thought is leading to hormone disruption in fish. This means that the pollutants causing these problems are likely to be coming from a wide variety of sources. Our findings also strengthen the argument for the cocktail of chemicals in our water leading to hormone disruption in fish, and contributing to the rise in male reproductive problems. There are likely to be many reasons behind the rise in male fertility problems in humans, but these findings could reveal one, previously unknown, factor."

Bob Burn, Principal Statistician in the Statistical Services Centre at the University of Reading, said: "State-of-the-art statistical hierarchical modelling has allowed us to explore the complex associations between the exposure and potential effects seen in over 1000 fish sampled from 30 rivers in various parts of England."

The research took more than three years to complete and was conducted by the University of Exeter, Brunel University, University of Reading and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Statistical modelling was supported by Beyond the Basics Ltd.

The research team is now focusing on identifying the source of anti-androgenic chemicals, as well as continuing to study their impact on reproductive health in wildlife and humans.

New Treatment For Common Cause Of Male Infertility

Researchers in Germany found that a simple and minimally invasive outpatient treatment for varicoceles, a common cause of male infertility that affects about 1 in 10 men, can significantly improve sperm function and pregnancy rates.

The study came from the University of Bonn Medical School and is published in the August issue of Radiology.

Lead author Dr Sebastian Flacke and colleagues found that the level of sperm motility present before having the treatment was also an important predictor of pregnancy success.

Flacke is now an associate professor of radiology at the Tufts University School of Medicine, director of noninvasive cardiovascular imaging and vice chair for research and development in the department of radiology at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts.

He said that:

"Venous embolization, a simple treatment using a catheter through the groin, can help to improve sperm function in infertile men."

"With the patients' improved sperm function, more than one-quarter of their healthy partners were able to become pregnant," added Flacke.

Varicoceles is a condition like varicose veins where the blood vessels in the scrotum become tangled and swollen. Normally the blood flows from the testicles back to the heart via small veins that have a non-return valve to stop the blood flowing backwards to the testicles. But if these valves stop working, then the blood backs up, fails to leave the testicles properly and causes the vessels to bulge and swell.

Varicoceles is a common condition that generally has no symptoms or harmful side effects and affects between 10 and 15 per cent of adult men in the US. Figures from the National Institutes of Health suggest it mostly affects young men between 15 and 25. Occasionally the condition results in pain, shrinkage, or fertility problems.

Until recently, men with problematic varicoceles were treated with open surgery to remove the affected blood vessels, but now there is a minimally invasive procedure called catheter embolization which a man can have as an outpatient. Catheter embolization is where the radiologist inserts a small tube or catheter through a tiny cut in the groin, and using x-ray imaging, guides the catheter to the affected blood vessel and then blocks it using a platinum coil and a few millillitres of a liquid agent. The patient recovers quickly and is usually well enough to go back to work in 24 hours.

For this study, in order to identify what might affect pregnancy rates in couples where the man was infertile before undergoing varicocele embolization, Flacke and colleagues recruited 223 infertile men aged between 18 and 50 who had been diagnosed with at least one varicocele and who underwent embolization. All the men had healthy partners with whom they had been trying to conceive.

Before and after the procedure, all participants underwent a clinical exam (with ultrasound test), gave a semen specimen, and had their hormone levels tested.

The results showed that:226 of the patients' 228 varicoceles were successfully treated with embolization.

Follow up data was successfully obtained for 173 patients, and in these, three months after the procedure, the average sperm motility and sperm count was found to be significantly improved.

Six months later, 45 couples (26 per cent of the 173 followed up), reported a pregnancy.

The only significant pre-treatment predictor of post-treatment pregnancy success was sperm motility.

Other measures such as hormone levels, clinical grading of varicoceles, Doppler ultrasound findings, and other semen parameters did not reach statistical significance.
Flacke said:

"Embolization of varicoceles in infertile men may be considered a useful adjunct to in-vitro fertilization."

"Embolization of Varicocles: Pretreatment Sperm Motility Predicts Later Pregnancy in Partners of Infertile Men."
Sebastian Flacke, Michael Schuster, Attila Kovacs, Marcus von Falkenhausen, Holger M. Strunk, Gerhard Haidl, and Hans H. Schild.
Radiology 2008 248: 540-549.
Volume 248, Issue 2, August 2008
DOI: 10.1148/radiol.2482071675.

Singapore Airlines

A mother and her young inquisitive son were flying Singapore
Airlines from Singapore to New York.

The son (who had been looking out the window) turned to his mother
and asked, "If dogs have baby dogs and cats have baby cats, why
don't planes have baby planes?"

The mother (who couldn't think of an answer) told her son to ask the
pretty flight attendant.
So the boy dutifully asked the flight attendant, "If dogs have baby
dogs and cats have baby cats, why don't planes have baby planes?"

The flight attendant asked, "Did your mother tell you to ask me
that?" The little boy admitted that she did.

"Well, then, tell your mother that there are no baby planes because
Singapore Airlines always pulls out on time. Now, let your mother
explain that to you!!!"

How Do The Iraqis Hide From The Yanks

Expired Banks

Peanuts Forever

Malignant Conditions In Children Born After Assisted Reproductive Technology

A recent article article reviews the risks of childhood malignancies and imprinting disorders in children born as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART) (Bibliography at the end of this post). Since the birth of Louise Brown, there have been 3 million babies born by IVF. Factors which have been implicated in potentially increasing the risk of malignancies in these offspring include:

1. gonadotropins for superovulation,
2. intracytoplasmic sperm injection,
3. blastocyst culture,
4. assisted hatching,
5. and preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

For example, whereas, a significant risk of neuroblastoma, retinoblastomas, acute lymphatic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma has been reported after ART, others have failed to replicate these findings.

Epigentic alterations leading to DNA modifications and imprinting disorders have also been implicated as a result of assisted reproductive techniques. Two genetic imprinting disorders that are known to cause birth defects and childhood malignancies, Beckwith-Wiedmann syndrome and Angelman syndrome. Each of these have been associated with ART.

The current paper provides a literature review that was unable to identify the precise risks of imprinting disorders and childhood cancers in children conceived with ART.

Although, most studies have not shown an increase in the incidence of childhood cancers after ART, patients should be advised about the known and unknown associated risks.

Neelanjana M, Sabaratnam A
Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2008 Oct;63(10):669-76

Doctors Confirm First Successful Essure Tubal Ligation Reversal

Lakeshore Surgical Center made medical history less than one year ago by being the first facility to perform an Essure Tubal Occlusion Reversal. The Essure procedure is a new type of Tubal Ligation, for women who want a permanent type of birth control or sterilization. The Essure procedure has only been performed for a little over 5 years and is reported to be permanent and NOT reversible by the manufacturing company. On November 5, 2007 Dr. William A.C. Greene Jr. and Dr. Wendell Turner at Lakeshore Surgical Center, were the first surgeons in the country to perform an Essure Reversal.

The Essure procedure differs from other Tubal Ligation due to the fact that a coil-like device is inserted into the fallopian tube where it meets the uterus. Scar tissue then grows around the inserted coil over the next 3 months to form a natural barrier that prevents sperm from reaching the egg. To reverse this procedure the doctors at Lakeshore Surgical Center developed specific instruments to allow for the Essure coil-like device to be removed with the utmost of care, and not damage the fallopian tube. Then a custom needle, designed by Dr. William Greene is used to sew the tube back into the wall of the uterus without cutting the uterus open.

The success of the procedure was confirmed October 8, 2008, by a patient who came to Lakeshore Surgical Center in March, 2008, to be one of the first women in the country to have the Essure Reversal performed by expert tubal ligation reversal surgeons, Dr. William Greene Jr. and Dr. Wendell Turner. The first Essure Reversal pregnancy has been confirmed by the patient's physician, by ultrasound and the fetal sac was seen in the uterus.

This medical procedure is a huge stepping stone in the medical field of Reproductive Surgery and Infertility. Tubal Ligation Reversals have been performed for years, but the Essure procedure, which is stated to be non-reversible, has not been successfully reversed before now. Women who want to have more children, due to divorce, loss of a child or have just changed their mind, Tubal Reversal is an option. This advance in Reproductive Surgery will allow women to be able to conceive naturally, after having the Essure procedure. In-Vitro Fertilization and other infertility treatments are no longer the only option for women who have made this choice and changed their mind.

To date Lakeshore Surgical Center has performed 4 Essure Reversals, including the case above who is now pregnant. Of these three other patients, one has yet to become pregnant, another did have a confirmed pregnancy but miscarried and the third patient has not yet become pregnant but has been seen by another physician, who confirmed through a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) that her tubes were open.

Lakeshore Surgical Center is the leading specialized Tubal Ligation Reversal center. Located in Gainesville, GA, surgeons Dr. William A.C. Greene, Jr. and Dr. Wendell Turner have combined 50 years of outpatient gynecologic surgery experience and have performed thousands of Tubal Ligation Reversals. For 10 years, this cutting edge facility, along with the skills and expertise of its doctors and staff have provided women with the opportunity to become "pregnant again".

New Sperm Shaker Set To Improve IVF Success Rates

Scientists have developed a ground-breaking method for testing the quality of a sperm before it is used in IVF and increase the chances of conception.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh, funded by the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), have created a way of chemically 'fingerprinting' individual sperm to give an indication of quality. Scientists can then consider whether the sperm is healthy enough to be used to fertilise an egg as part of an IVF treatment.

The sperm are captured in two highly focussed beams of laser light. Trapped in what are essentially 'optical tweezers', an individual sperm's DNA properties are identified by the pattern of the vibrations they emit in a process known as Raman spectroscopy. This is the first time this process has been used to evaluate DNA damage in sperm.

Dr Alistair Elfick, lead scientist on the project, said: "In natural conception the fittest and healthiest sperm are positively selected by the arduous journey they make to the egg. What our technology does is to replace natural selection with a DNA based 'quality score'. But this is not about designer babies. We can only tell if the sperm is strong and healthy not if it will produce a baby with blue eyes."

In the past quality tests of sperm have mostly been carried out on the basis of shape and activity. While these do give some indication of health of the sperm they do not give its DNA status.

There are established tests for sperm DNA quality but they work by cutting the cells in half and tagging them with fluorescent dye a process that kills the sperm and renders it useless. This new process does not destroy the sperm, so if it is found to have good DNA quality, it can still be used in IVF treatment.

Conception rates in both IVF treatment and intercourse are at around one in four. By selecting the best quality sperm it is hoped this new process could both increase a couple's chances of conception and give the child the best potential start in life.

The research is currently in a pre-clinical phase, and if successful could be available to patients in the next five to ten years.

IVF treatments often work for women under 35

Women under 35 who undergo six cycles of in vitro fertilization have up to an 86 percent chance of giving birth, a new study found.

But for women over 40, the odds are less than 50 percent -- in some cases, significantly less.

"IVF is a mainstay of the treatment of infertility, and it can overcome most causes of infertility for those under 40," said study senior author Dr. Alan S. Penzias, surgical director of Boston IVF, and an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School.

But, he added, "Fertility is a function of age. It starts to decline at age 27, and the most pronounced decline is above age 40."

"Unfortunately, there's no test that shows when fertility starts to decline," said Dr. Jamie Grifo, program director for the New York University Langone Medical Center's fertility clinic, who added that this study could serve as a reminder to women to "be really thoughtful about the decisions you make about the reproductive process. Don't expect to be able to get pregnant at any time. You don't have to be pessimistic, but the older the patient, the lower the chance of success, unless a couple is willing to consider donor eggs."

The new study, published in the Jan. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at IVF success in a different way. Traditionally, IVF success is reported as the number of pregnancies per cycle of IVF treatment, but that doesn't let couples know the exact odds of having a pregnancy that ends up with a healthy baby. And that information is exactly what people want to know, Penzias said.

"Couples really want to figure out how likely it is that they'll have a baby if they undergo IVF," he said.

To give people a better idea of the live-birth rates, Penzias and his colleagues followed more than 6,000 women undergoing IVF at a large center. Almost 15,000 cycles of IVF were completed. A cycle is the implantation of one or more eggs. Penzias said for this study, an average of 2.3 eggs were transferred for the first cycle and 2.8 for the sixth.

The overall live-birth rate after six cycles of IVF was between 51 percent and 72 percent. For women under 35, the rate was 65 percent to 86 percent. The rates differed, because not all women returned for all six cycles, the researchers said.

So, the researchers developed a best-case and worst-case scenario to account for these women. The highest number assumes that the women who stopped IVF treatments would have had a baby, and the lower number assumes that none of them would have. The actual number likely lies somewhere in between those two scenarios.

Penzias said that means that women under 35 who go through IVF have roughly the same chance of having a baby as someone who's a similar age in the general population.

The live-birth rate decreased as the age of the women increased, and women over 40 had only between a 23 percent to 42 percent chance of having a baby.

Overall, about 70 percent of the women had one baby, and less than 30 percent had twins. Fewer than 2 percent had triplets, according to the study.

"It's not a surprise to know that if you do more than one IVF cycle, you have a better chance of having a baby, but this study gives an indication of what one can expect if one is going to do IVF and try it multiple times," said Grifo, who added that the bottom line is, "that for any one woman, each cycle is either 100 percent or zero percent."

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