Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Danish Pride?
Please go to http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Oou3N5ylvdI
What a shame! The red waters seen in the pictures is Blood. At this time of year, there is a brutal, grotesque, bloody slaughter in the Faroe Islands, which belong to Denmark. Denmark - A country supposedly 'civilized' & part of "THE EUROPEAN UNION ". Many people do not hear about this attack on life... so no real protests have been registered. This bloody slaughter to attend Moz to 'show' entering adulthood(!) Is absolutely incredible and no one in Denmark has moved a finger to prevent this barbarism that is committed against the Calderon - an intelligent dolphin who has the peculiarity of approaching people out of sheer curiosity. Please share this post to raise awareness against this senseless crime against defenseless dolphins!
What a shame! The red waters seen in the pictures is Blood. At this time of year, there is a brutal, grotesque, bloody slaughter in the Faroe Islands, which belong to Denmark. Denmark - A country supposedly 'civilized' & part of "THE EUROPEAN UNION ". Many people do not hear about this attack on life... so no real protests have been registered. This bloody slaughter to attend Moz to 'show' entering adulthood(!) Is absolutely incredible and no one in Denmark has moved a finger to prevent this barbarism that is committed against the Calderon - an intelligent dolphin who has the peculiarity of approaching people out of sheer curiosity. Please share this post to raise awareness against this senseless crime against defenseless dolphins!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
USB Drive Proves Fertility Conventions Give Out the Best Swag Ever
Attendees can get some pretty cool swag at big conventions, but I have yet to see a product as functionally hysterical as this sperm-shaped USB drive handed out at the American Society For Reproductive Medicine's (ASRM) 2008 conference this week. I'll tell you what—whipping this thing out at while using your laptop at Cafe Coffee Day should prove interesting.
Mitsubishi D702iF Cellphone Tracks Fertility Cycle
There have been some cellphones in the past that targeted the female market not by virtue of the cellphone design and color, but the software as well. These cellphones were used to track a female's biological rhythm to help them conceive during their most fertile period. Of course, these phones will not help single ladies who are fighting against the biological clock to get a man and start a family, but at least it keeps them aware of when they are at their most fertile. Mitsubishi decided to test the market with its D702iF cellphone that recognizes a lady's Basal Body temperature (BBT). The D702iF supports the NTT DoCoMo FOMA service as well
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Testicles could provide 'ethical' stem cells
Scientists in the UK and Germany have found that cells extracted from human testis can be manipulated to make them act like human embryonic stem (ES) cells, resulting in another approach in the burgeoning stem cell field. ES cells can potentially be used to create 'repair tissue' specific to the individual for diseased or damaged tissue, as they can give rise to any tissue in the body. This could offer treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's and diabetes, and for spinal cord injuries. The use of ES cells, however, is surrounded with ethical controversy, as harvesting the cells from the embryo involves the subsequent destruction of the embryo.
The teams of scientists, at the University of Tubingen, Germany, and King's College London, used 22 samples taken from biopsies from testicles or from medical castrations. They extracted sperm precursor cells, called spermatogonial cells, and manipulated them chemically to become more stem cell-like. Thomas Skutella, who led the team in Germany, says: 'these cells
changed their properties, losing characteristics of spermatogonial cells and acquiring characteristics similar to those of human ES cells'. Depending on the chemical signals the cells were exposed to, the cells changed 'into skin, structures of the gut, cartilage, bone, muscle and neurons', he added.
The study, published in the journal Nature, follows on from studies in mice in 2006, and brings hope that these cells can in the future be used safely in humans to develop personalised tissue, thereby avoiding rejection after transplantation. Use of these cells would also avoid the ethical problems that prevent work with ES cells. The results are by no means conclusive. Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell specialist from the UK's National Institute for Medical Research, pointed out that the testicle-derived stem cells are not identical to ES cells. 'The DNA in the stem cells in the testes lack some important
modifications that regulate the activity in certain genes, and this may affect ability of the reprogrammed cells to make specific mature tissue types' he said. The same cells are the likely root of testicular tumours, so there are safety concerns, and also the issue that the cells could only be used to treat men, leaving women without a similarly easy method.
The teams of scientists, at the University of Tubingen, Germany, and King's College London, used 22 samples taken from biopsies from testicles or from medical castrations. They extracted sperm precursor cells, called spermatogonial cells, and manipulated them chemically to become more stem cell-like. Thomas Skutella, who led the team in Germany, says: 'these cells
changed their properties, losing characteristics of spermatogonial cells and acquiring characteristics similar to those of human ES cells'. Depending on the chemical signals the cells were exposed to, the cells changed 'into skin, structures of the gut, cartilage, bone, muscle and neurons', he added.
The study, published in the journal Nature, follows on from studies in mice in 2006, and brings hope that these cells can in the future be used safely in humans to develop personalised tissue, thereby avoiding rejection after transplantation. Use of these cells would also avoid the ethical problems that prevent work with ES cells. The results are by no means conclusive. Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell specialist from the UK's National Institute for Medical Research, pointed out that the testicle-derived stem cells are not identical to ES cells. 'The DNA in the stem cells in the testes lack some important
modifications that regulate the activity in certain genes, and this may affect ability of the reprogrammed cells to make specific mature tissue types' he said. The same cells are the likely root of testicular tumours, so there are safety concerns, and also the issue that the cells could only be used to treat men, leaving women without a similarly easy method.
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