After a long night of making love, he notices a framed photo of a good looking man on the nightstand by her bed.
He begins to worry.
"Is this your husband?" he nervously asks.
"No, silly," she replies, snuggling up to him.
"Your boyfriend, then?" he continues.
No, not at all," she says, nibbling away at his ear.
"Is it your dad or your brother?" he inquires, hoping to be reassured.
"No, no, no!!!" she answers.
"Well, who in the hell is he then?" he demands.
"That's me before the surgery."
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Getting the Mechanics
There was a Gynecologist who decided he no longer wanted to practice. Instead he wanted to restore old cars. To prepare himself for this career change, he signed up for a mechanics course in engine repair. He studied really hard, and the day arrived for the final exam. The task was to find out what was wrong with the engine and repair it. The Gynecologist took a little longer than the rest of the class, but he got the job done. A couple of days later he went to see how he did. Up on the wall, beside his name he saw a mark of 150%. He was really puzzled so he went to the instructor. "How can this be?" he asked. The instructor replied, "Well, I gave you 50 points for figuring out the problem, and 50 points more for solving the problem. But I had to give you an extra 50 points for doing all the work through the exhaust pipe!"
Friday, August 10, 2007
Another False Ringtone?
Men who use mobile phones could be risking their fertility, warn researchers. A new study shows a worrying link between poor sperm and the number of hours a day that a man uses his mobile phone. Those who made calls on a mobile phone for more than four hours a day had the worst sperm counts and the poorest quality sperm, according to results released at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in New Orleans in 2006. Doctors believe the damage could be caused by the electromagnetic radiation emitted by handsets or the heat they generate. The findings suggest millions of men may encounter difficulties in fathering a child due to the widespread use of mobile phones and offers another possible explanation for plummeting fertility levels among Indian males. Sperm counts among Indian men have fallen by 29 per cent over the past decade, a drop which has also been blamed on increasing obesity, smoking, stress, pollution and 'gender-bending' chemicals which disrupt the hormone system. The latest study backs up previous research which indicated a link between mobile phone use and sperm quality, but it is the biggest and best designed to date.
US researchers in Cleveland and New Orleans, and doctors in Mumbai, India, looked at more than 360 men undergoing checks at a fertility clinic who were classified into three groups according to their sperm count. Men who used a mobile for more than four hours a day had a 25 per cent lower sperm count than men who never used a mobile. The men with highest usage also had greater problems with sperm quality, with the swimming ability of sperm - a crucial factor in conception - down by a third. They had a 50 per cent drop in the number of properly formed sperm, with just one-fifth looking normal under a microscope.
The researcher, who led the study, said "Almost a billion people are using cell phones around the world and the number is growing in many countries at 20 to 30 per cent a year. In another five years the number is going to double. People use mobile phones without thinking twice what the consequences may be. It is just like using a toothbrush but mobiles could be having a devastating effect on fertility. It still has to be proved but it could have a huge impact because mobiles are so much part of our lives.The greater the use of mobile phones, the greater the reduction in each measure. This was very clear and very significant. Many in the lowest group for sperm count would be below normal as defined by the World Health Organisation.The most likely mechanism was damage to sperm-making cells in the testes caused by electromagnetic radiation or heat, although a fall in hormone production could also affect sperm motility and sperm DNA.The eyes, breasts and testicles are the areas of the body most likely to absorb the energy and many men carry their mobiles attached to their belt. Mobiles may also increase temperature in the groin, if a man was wearing it on a belt or carrying it around in a pocket. Sending text messages uses less power than talking but it can be a more intense emission of radiation, especially on trains"
Altogether 361 men in the study were divided into four groups, with 40 never using a mobile, 107 men using them for less than two hours a day, 100 men using them for two-four hours daily and 114 making calls for four or more hours a day. The main finding was that on four measures of sperm potency - count, motility, viability and morphology, or appearance - there were significant differences between the groups.
However, Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said "This is a good quality study but I don’t think it tackles the issue. If you’re using your phone for four hours a day, presumably it is out of your pocket for longer. That raises a big question: how is it that testicular damage is supposed to occur?" He said mobile phone use may be a marker for other lifestyle factors known to affect sperm quality. "Maybe people who use a phone for four hours a day spend more time sitting in cars, which could mean there’s a heat issue. It could be they are more stressed, or more sedentary and sit about eating junk food getting fat. Those seem to be better explanations than a phone causing the damage at such a great distance" he added.
What next?
US researchers in Cleveland and New Orleans, and doctors in Mumbai, India, looked at more than 360 men undergoing checks at a fertility clinic who were classified into three groups according to their sperm count. Men who used a mobile for more than four hours a day had a 25 per cent lower sperm count than men who never used a mobile. The men with highest usage also had greater problems with sperm quality, with the swimming ability of sperm - a crucial factor in conception - down by a third. They had a 50 per cent drop in the number of properly formed sperm, with just one-fifth looking normal under a microscope.
The researcher, who led the study, said "Almost a billion people are using cell phones around the world and the number is growing in many countries at 20 to 30 per cent a year. In another five years the number is going to double. People use mobile phones without thinking twice what the consequences may be. It is just like using a toothbrush but mobiles could be having a devastating effect on fertility. It still has to be proved but it could have a huge impact because mobiles are so much part of our lives.The greater the use of mobile phones, the greater the reduction in each measure. This was very clear and very significant. Many in the lowest group for sperm count would be below normal as defined by the World Health Organisation.The most likely mechanism was damage to sperm-making cells in the testes caused by electromagnetic radiation or heat, although a fall in hormone production could also affect sperm motility and sperm DNA.The eyes, breasts and testicles are the areas of the body most likely to absorb the energy and many men carry their mobiles attached to their belt. Mobiles may also increase temperature in the groin, if a man was wearing it on a belt or carrying it around in a pocket. Sending text messages uses less power than talking but it can be a more intense emission of radiation, especially on trains"
Altogether 361 men in the study were divided into four groups, with 40 never using a mobile, 107 men using them for less than two hours a day, 100 men using them for two-four hours daily and 114 making calls for four or more hours a day. The main finding was that on four measures of sperm potency - count, motility, viability and morphology, or appearance - there were significant differences between the groups.
However, Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said "This is a good quality study but I don’t think it tackles the issue. If you’re using your phone for four hours a day, presumably it is out of your pocket for longer. That raises a big question: how is it that testicular damage is supposed to occur?" He said mobile phone use may be a marker for other lifestyle factors known to affect sperm quality. "Maybe people who use a phone for four hours a day spend more time sitting in cars, which could mean there’s a heat issue. It could be they are more stressed, or more sedentary and sit about eating junk food getting fat. Those seem to be better explanations than a phone causing the damage at such a great distance" he added.
What next?
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A Wonderful Story
A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the outer office of the President of Harvard University. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in
Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it
was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he signed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus." The president wasn't touched; he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard. The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We
have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. And the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California, where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it
was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he signed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus." The president wasn't touched; he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard. The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We
have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. And the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California, where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Egg Recovery from 5 year olds
Israeli researchers have reported extracting eggs from girls as young as 5 years old with cancer, then maturing them and freezing them for future use. The scientists were surprised to find oocytes in follicles from several girls who had not yet reached puberty, including seven in a 5-year-old girl with Wilm’s tumor, and eight in an 8-year-old with Ewing’s sarcoma.
Using needle aspiration, they were able to collect 167 oocytes in total – an average of 8.5 per patient – which were then matured in vitro and frozen. The median age of participants was 16 years, and oocytes were found in all but one girl. The findings, presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 23rd annual meeting in Lyon, France, could offer an alternative to transplanting ovarian tissue, which is less resistant to freezing than oocytes and may contain cancerous cells.Lead researcher Ariel Revel, from Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, admitted that no eggs had yet been thawed and his team did not know whether any pregnancies would result. However, he added: “We are hopeful that the mature eggs can offer these girls a realistic possibility of preserving their fertility.” In India, we are eons away from cutting edge research - especially Fertility Preservation. We are however at par in clinical medicine with the best in the world. If only research was given importance & weightage in undergraduate & post-graduate examinations, we would top there as well. It is high time that our policy makers bring in this radical curriculum change so that India does not slip off the research map despite being projected as one of the BRIC tigers of the next decade.
Using needle aspiration, they were able to collect 167 oocytes in total – an average of 8.5 per patient – which were then matured in vitro and frozen. The median age of participants was 16 years, and oocytes were found in all but one girl. The findings, presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 23rd annual meeting in Lyon, France, could offer an alternative to transplanting ovarian tissue, which is less resistant to freezing than oocytes and may contain cancerous cells.Lead researcher Ariel Revel, from Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, admitted that no eggs had yet been thawed and his team did not know whether any pregnancies would result. However, he added: “We are hopeful that the mature eggs can offer these girls a realistic possibility of preserving their fertility.” In India, we are eons away from cutting edge research - especially Fertility Preservation. We are however at par in clinical medicine with the best in the world. If only research was given importance & weightage in undergraduate & post-graduate examinations, we would top there as well. It is high time that our policy makers bring in this radical curriculum change so that India does not slip off the research map despite being projected as one of the BRIC tigers of the next decade.
Monday, August 6, 2007
The Commerce of Human Genes
Nearly a fifth of all known human genes have been patented in the US, the majority by private companies, a new study reveals. The research, published in the journal Science, matched patented genes to their locations in the human genome. It showed that almost 4382 of the 23,688 genes present in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Gene database are claimed in 4270 different patents. Around 63 per cent of them are assigned to private firms, say authors Kyle Jensen and Fiona Murray of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Critics of gene patenting argue that it stifles research, slows down the development of new medicines and increases the cost of genetic diagnostic tests. The worldwide patenting of two genes involved in hereditary breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, by US firm Myriad Genetics, was met with strong opposition by scientists in Europe. Following a series of challenges, nearly all the patents were either revoked or amended, so that most BRCA gene testing can now be carried out free of charge in European laboratories.
However, supporters of gene patenting say that protecting intellectual property is crucial for securing investment in later research, and central to the success of the biotech industry. In the latest study, the researchers wanted to gain an accurate picture of the gene patents taken out in the US. They found that the 4270 patents are owned by 1156 different assignees, with nine of the top ten being US-based. The top patent assignee is Incyte Pharmaceuticals/Incyte Genomics, whose intellectual property rights cover 2000 human genes.
The researchers found that many genes were claimed by several different patents - CDKN2A, a gene involved in cancer, and the bone growth gene BMP7 are the most patented genes in the genome, with 20 patents each. 'Our data raise a number of concerns about gene patents, particularly for heavily patented genes', said Murray. 'We worry about the costs to society if academic scientists and industry have to walk through a complex maze of patents in order to make more progress in their research', she told National Geographic magazine.
Commenting on the study, Helen Wallace, of the UK pressure group Genewatch, told the Guardian newspaper that gene patenting 'encourages a search for genes, when many problems with health could be addressed by better research into diet, social and economic factors'. UK bioethicist John Harris said that the pharmaceutical industry argues that they need to protect the products of their research, otherwise they would not invest in future research. 'However, I worry this kind of patenting could have impacts on the cost of health and the freedom to access it', he added.
The charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has obtained a Europe-wide patent on the BRCA2 gene, which is involved in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. It intends to make the patent freely available to publicly-funded laboratories across the continent, so that research and diagnostic work on the gene can continue. The situation was previously complicated by patents held by US firm Myriad Genetics, on BRCA2 and another gene involved in breast cancer, called BRCA1.
Most breast and ovarian cancers are not inherited, but around 5-10 per cent are caused by inherited mutations - many of them in one of two genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Myriad Genetics has faced criticism from scientists, governments and patient groups opposed to the patents that it holds on tests that look for mutations in these two genes. However, CRUK holds a UK patent on BRCA2, which is apparently wider than Myriad's and so covers more applications.
Cancer Research Technologies Limited (CRT), the commercial subsidiary of CRUK, has now successfully applied for a European patent on BRCA2, and has agreed to waive the fees for all public laboratories wishing to work on the gene. 'Myriad had been trying to offer commercial deals to researchers working on BRCA1 and 2' said John Toy, medical director of CRUK, adding that 'our patents will break that gridlock'.
CRUK was granted the BRCA2 patent on the basis that it funded much of the work that lead to the gene's discovery, at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, in 1995. The announcement was welcomed by Gert Matthijs, of University Hospital Leuven, in Belgium, speaking on behalf of the European Society of Human Genetics. He told The Scientist magazine that the BRCA2 patent issue illustrates why Europe needs new legislation on the licensing of genes and genetic tests. 'If someone holds a patent on a gene, it creates a monopoly because no-one can invent a competing product as they could with other items, such as drugs' he explained.
Critics of gene patenting argue that it stifles research, slows down the development of new medicines and increases the cost of genetic diagnostic tests. The worldwide patenting of two genes involved in hereditary breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, by US firm Myriad Genetics, was met with strong opposition by scientists in Europe. Following a series of challenges, nearly all the patents were either revoked or amended, so that most BRCA gene testing can now be carried out free of charge in European laboratories.
However, supporters of gene patenting say that protecting intellectual property is crucial for securing investment in later research, and central to the success of the biotech industry. In the latest study, the researchers wanted to gain an accurate picture of the gene patents taken out in the US. They found that the 4270 patents are owned by 1156 different assignees, with nine of the top ten being US-based. The top patent assignee is Incyte Pharmaceuticals/Incyte Genomics, whose intellectual property rights cover 2000 human genes.
The researchers found that many genes were claimed by several different patents - CDKN2A, a gene involved in cancer, and the bone growth gene BMP7 are the most patented genes in the genome, with 20 patents each. 'Our data raise a number of concerns about gene patents, particularly for heavily patented genes', said Murray. 'We worry about the costs to society if academic scientists and industry have to walk through a complex maze of patents in order to make more progress in their research', she told National Geographic magazine.
Commenting on the study, Helen Wallace, of the UK pressure group Genewatch, told the Guardian newspaper that gene patenting 'encourages a search for genes, when many problems with health could be addressed by better research into diet, social and economic factors'. UK bioethicist John Harris said that the pharmaceutical industry argues that they need to protect the products of their research, otherwise they would not invest in future research. 'However, I worry this kind of patenting could have impacts on the cost of health and the freedom to access it', he added.
The charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has obtained a Europe-wide patent on the BRCA2 gene, which is involved in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. It intends to make the patent freely available to publicly-funded laboratories across the continent, so that research and diagnostic work on the gene can continue. The situation was previously complicated by patents held by US firm Myriad Genetics, on BRCA2 and another gene involved in breast cancer, called BRCA1.
Most breast and ovarian cancers are not inherited, but around 5-10 per cent are caused by inherited mutations - many of them in one of two genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2. Myriad Genetics has faced criticism from scientists, governments and patient groups opposed to the patents that it holds on tests that look for mutations in these two genes. However, CRUK holds a UK patent on BRCA2, which is apparently wider than Myriad's and so covers more applications.
Cancer Research Technologies Limited (CRT), the commercial subsidiary of CRUK, has now successfully applied for a European patent on BRCA2, and has agreed to waive the fees for all public laboratories wishing to work on the gene. 'Myriad had been trying to offer commercial deals to researchers working on BRCA1 and 2' said John Toy, medical director of CRUK, adding that 'our patents will break that gridlock'.
CRUK was granted the BRCA2 patent on the basis that it funded much of the work that lead to the gene's discovery, at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, in 1995. The announcement was welcomed by Gert Matthijs, of University Hospital Leuven, in Belgium, speaking on behalf of the European Society of Human Genetics. He told The Scientist magazine that the BRCA2 patent issue illustrates why Europe needs new legislation on the licensing of genes and genetic tests. 'If someone holds a patent on a gene, it creates a monopoly because no-one can invent a competing product as they could with other items, such as drugs' he explained.
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