Three-person IVF may prevent inherited ills

British scientists have mastered a controversial artificial reproduction technique that could prevent incurable inherited diseases by swapping DNA between two fertilized human eggs.

Lead researcher Doug Turnbull of Newcastle University said on Wednesday he hoped the first babies free from so-called mitochondrial diseases would be born within three years.

But applying the technique in the clinic, to help women at risk of passing on the disorders, will require a change in British law that currently bans reproduction from such manipulated embryos.

Around one in 6,500 children are born with serious diseases caused by malfunctioning mitochondrial DNA, leading to a range of conditions that can include fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular weakness.

The Newcastle team's technique effectively replaces mitochondria, which act as tiny energy-generating batteries inside cells, so a baby doesn't inherit faults from its mother. Mitochondria are only passed down the maternal line.

"What we've done is like changing the battery on a laptop. The energy supply now works properly, but none of the information on the hard drive has been changed," Turnbull said.

"A child born using this method would have correctly functioning mitochondria, but in every other respect would get all their genetic information from their father and mother."

Within a day of fertilization, using in vitro fertilization, nuclear DNA is removed from the embryo and implanted into a donor egg, whose own genetic material has been removed and discarded.

The resulting fetus inherits nuclear DNA, or genes, from both its parents but mitochondrial DNA from a second "mother."

For critics like Josephine Quintavalle of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics that makes it "a step too far in meddling with the building blocks of human life."

Artificial hip destroyed his sex life!

Artificial hips made in Ireland squeak and are defective, say 750 lawsuits against the manufacturers Stryker, the medical device and implants manufacturer. The artificial hips in question have now been recalled.

Most complaints allege that the hips squeak and one plaintiff says it destroyed his sex life. Another says he sounds like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz and has put his squeaky hip on You Tube and attracted over 50,000 viewers (see embedded clips).

Stryker faces a barrage of complaints that replacement hips made in its Irish facility in Cork caused pain and made embarrassing squeaking noises. One patient complained that the problem interrupted sex with his wife as she started laughing as his hip squeaked.

Patients have stated that reported that while the noise was amusing at first it quickly became upsetting.

Frances Jones had a Stryker implant to replace her left hip in October 2007. Jones is seeking $2.5m (€1.85m) in damages plus costs in Illinois according to the Irish Sunday Times, Stryker Ireland and its parent company’s Stryker Orthopedics and Stryker Corporation are named in the suit.

Jones claims her artificial hip had “excessive levels of manufacturing residuals” that made it squeak.

Among those who have had to have their artificial Stryker hip replaced is Mike Mueller, head of an online real estate business.

Mueller put a video of his squeaky Stryker hip on YouTube and has attracted almost 50,000 views (see embedded video).

“They used to call me the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz as they could hear me creaking as I came down the corridor,” he said.

“I had the hip fitted in April 2007 and it started squeaking four months later,” he said. “Eventually I was in so much pain I had to have it replaced. I am worried that if I need a third hip replacement it will so much harder to fit and I might be confined to a wheelchair.”

Stryker Ireland’s accounts for 2008 showed the company employed 524 people here.

Doug Kreis, a personal injury lawyer in Florida, said the claims were related to “product liability.”

“The injuries claimed by the patients . . . relate to an alleged mechanism by which the natural lubricant layer between the ceramic ball and liner is compromised.”

Baba Ramdev's Dogs (Yoga Wale Kuttey)

Kumar Paswan & his Parasitic Twin

This youngster from India has his own twin in his womb. Well it's really weird, maybe this is the first case in the medical history of the twin in the womb in his village in rural India. Kumar Paswan has a difference with the other boys in his ages. Kumar Paswan has his twin inside his womb.

To some in his remote Indian village he is a living version of India 's multi-limbed God Lakshmi and worshipped every day as holy. To others eight-year-old Kumar Paswan is a monster, is stoned on sight and forced to hide away his astonishing medical condition. But all the tragic youngster wants is to be normal and has launched an appeal for the thousands of pounds needed for an operation to remove his parasitic twin.

The twin stopped developing in the womb before it separated fully from Kumar and has left him with seven limbs. "When he was born the doctors said he wouldn't live long but here he is and apart from how he looks he is very healthy," said his dad Veeresh Paswan, of Bihar, eastern India . "I am tired of being different. I just want to live normally," added the youngster.

Speed Controls being used in Eastern Canada

How's this for excellent speed control?


I don't know about you, but this would slow me down! People slow down and try to "straddle" the hole .....


This is actually a speed control device that is in use. It is much cheaper than speed cameras.


Pretty clever - especially when moved around each day. Isn't art wonderful?

Problems Caused By Deforestation

A Slap On The Face Of Hindus

This is a Letter to the Editor of The Hindu, from a practicing Christian lady who was Professor in Stella Maris College, Chennai till recently; now settled at Baroda, regarding an Editorial in The Hindu in favor of bringing back MF Hussain to India.
Dear Ram,

I have taken time to write this to you Ram -- for the simple reason that we have known you for so many years -- you and The Hindu bring back happy memories. Please take what I am putting down as those that come from an agonized soul. You know that I do not mince words and what I have to say I will -- I call a spade a spade -- now it is too late for me to learn the tricks of being called a ‘secularist’, if that means a bias for one, and a bias against another.

Hussain is now a citizen of Qatar -- this has generated enough of heat and less of light. Qatar you know better than me is not a country which respects democracy or freedom of expression. Hussain says he has complete freedom -- I challenge him to paint a picture of Mohammed, fully clad.

There is no second opinion that artists have the Right of Freedom of expression. Is such a right restricted only to Hussain? Will that right not flow to Dan Brown -- why was his film Da Vinci Code not screened? Why was Satanic Verses banned -- does Salman Rushdie not have that freedom of expression? Similarly, why is Taslima hunted and hounded and why fatwas have been issued on both these writers? Why has Qatar not offered citizenship to Taslima? In the present rioting in Shimoga in Karnataka against the article Taslima wrote against the tradition of burqa which appeared in the Out Look in Jan 2007. Nobody protested then either in Delhi or in any other part of the country; now when it reappears in a Karnataka paper there is rioting. Is there a political agenda to create a problem in Karnataka by the intolerant goons? Why has the media not condemned this insensitivity and intolerance of the Muslims against Taslima’s views? When it comes to the Sangh Parivar it is quick to call them goons and intolerant etc. Now, who are the goons and where is this tolerance and sensitivity?

Regarding Hussain’s artistic freedom it seems to run unfettered in an expression of sexual perversion only when he envisages the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. There is no quarrel had he painted a nude woman sitting on the tail of a monkey. The point is he captioned it as Sita. Nobody would have protested against the sexual perversion and his orientatation to sexual signs and symbols. But would he dare to caption it as ‘Fatima enjoying in Jannat with animals’?

Next example is the painting of Saraswati copulating with a lion. Here again his perversion is evident and so is his intent. Even that, let's concede, cannot be faulted -- each one’s sexual orientation is each one’s business I suppose. But he captioned it as Saraswati. This is the problem. It is Hussain’s business to enjoy in painting his sexual perversion. But why use Saraswati and Sita for his perverted expressions? Use Fatima and watch the consequence. Let the media people come to his rescue then. Now that he is in a country that gives him complete freedom, let him go ahead and paint Fatima copulating with a lion or any other animal of his choice. And then turn around and prove to India -- the Freedom of expression he enjoys in Qatar.

Talking about Freedom of Expression -- this is the Hussain who supported Emergency -- painted Indira Gandhi as Durga slaying Jayaprakash Narayan. He supported the jailing of artists and writers. Where did this Freedom of Expression go? And you call him secularist? Would you support the jailing of artists and writers Ram – would you support the abeyance of the Constitution and all that we held sacred in democracy and the excessiveness of Indira Gandhi to gag the media writers - political opponents? Tell me, honestly why does Hussain expect this Freedom when he himself did not support others with the same freedom he wants? And the media has rushed to his rescue. Had it been a Ram who painted such obnoxious, degrading painting - the reactions of the media and the elite ‘secularists’ would have been different; because there is a different perception/ and index of secularism when it comes to Ram -- and a different perception/and index of secularism when it comes to Rahim/Hussain.

It brings back to my mind an episode that happened to The Hindu some years ago. [1991] You had a separate weekly page for children with cartoons, quizzes, and with poems and articles of school children. In one such weekly page The Hindu printed a venerable bearded man -- fully robed with head dress, mouthing some passages of the Koran -- trying to teach children. It was done not only in good faith but as a part of inculcating values to children from the Koran. All hell broke loose. Your office witnessed goons who rushed in -- demanded an apology -- held out threats. In Ambur, Vaniambadi and Vellore the papers stands were burned -- the copies of The Hindu were consigned to the fire. A threat to raise the issue in Parliament through a Private Members Bill was held out -- Hectic activities went on -- I am not sure of the nature and the machinations behind the scene. But The Hindu next day brought out a public apology in its front page. Where were you Ram? How secular and tolerant were the Muslims?

Well this is of the past -- today it is worse because the communal temperature in this country is at a all high -- even a small friction can ignite and demolish the country’s peace and harmony. It is against this background that one should view Hussain who is bent on abusing and insulting the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Respect for religious sentiments, need to maintain peace and harmony should also be part of the agenda of an artist -- if he is great. If it is absent then he cannot say that he respects India and express his longing for India.

Let’s face it -- he is a fugitive of law. Age and religion are immaterial. What does the media want -- that he be absolved by the courts? Even for that he has to appear in the courts -- he cannot run away. After all this is the country where he lived and gave expression to his pervert sadist, erotic artistic mind under Freedom of Expression. I simply cannot jump onto the bandwagon of the elite ‘secularist’ and uphold what he had done. With his brush he had committed jihad -- bloodletting.

The issue is just not nudity -- Yes the temples, the frescoes in Konarak and Kajhuraho have nude figures. But does it say that they are Sita, Sarswati or any goddesses? We have the Yoni and the Phallus as sacred signs of Life-of Siva and Shakthi -- take these icons to the streets, paint them -- give it a caption it becomes vulgar. Times have changed. Even granted that our ancients sculptured and painted naked forms and figures, with a pervert mind to demean religion is no license to repeat that in today’s changed political and social scenario and is not a sign of secularism and tolerance. I repeat there is no quarrel with nudity -- painters have time and again found in it the perfection of God’s handicraft.

Let me wish Hussain peace in Qatar -- the totalitarian regime with zero tolerance. May be he will convince the regime there to permit freedom of expression in word, writing and painting. For this he could start experimenting painting forms and figure of Mohamed the Prophet-and his family. And may I fervently wish that the media -- especially The Hindu, does not discriminate goons -- let it not substitute tolerance for intolerance when it comes to Rahim and Antony and another index for Ram.

I hope you will read this in the same spirit that I have written. All the best to you Ram.

Dr Mrs Hilda Raja
Vadodara

Disclaimer - These obscene paintings have been given space here, only with an intention to highlight the hurt Hussain has caused to the Hindus. It is painful otherwise to reproduce this work. It is not our intention to further hurt the sentiments of Hindus.