Artificial Wombs

Preliminary research, presented at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting held in Lyon, France, last month, suggests that a novel 'womb-on-a-chip' device may help to improve IVF success rates. The 2 millimetre wide chip, developed by Dr Teruo Fuji and colleagues at the University of Tokyo in Japan, acts like an artificial womb to nurture fertilised embryos - up to 20 at a time - to the stage at which they can be implanted into a real womb. According to the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, over 30,000 women in the UK undergo IVF each year. However the success rates associated with conventional IVF methods are as low as 1 in 5, meaning that most of these expensive IVF cycles do not result in a successful pregnancy. Washing or moving the eggs during IVF treatment, a process which can cause harmful temperature or acidity changes, might be one possible reason for the low success rates seen in IVF says Dr Matt Wheeler from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, who is also working on automated IVF systems. Fuji's team believe that the new chip, which avoids these disruptive washing and moving processes, is closer to the real thing: 'We are providing the embryos with a much more comfortable environment, mimicking what happens in the body', he told New Scientist. Inside the chip, cells from the lining of the womb are cultured to provide nutrients to the growing embryos, helping them to develop to the stage at which they can be implanted into a real womb.

To test the device, the researchers carried out several experiments on mice, comparing the chip-grown embryos with those produced using conventional IVF. Their findings suggest that the chip-grown embryos outperformed conventional IVF embryos in several ways:
-More were successfully fertilised (43 out of 50, compared with 41 out 50).
-More developed to the stage at which they could be implanted into a real mother (35 out of 50 compared to 32 out of 50).
-Grew faster (containing around 77-119 cells compared to 58-94 cells, after 2 days).
-More continued to develop when implanted into female mice (44% compared to 40%).

Dr Wheeler commented: 'It's not just about more embryos surviving to be implanted...They also seem to be doing better once they are implanted'. Following these successful experiments in mice, Fuji's team have now been granted permission to begin trials on human embryos later this year. The next five years are going to see many path-breaking discoveries in the field of IVF. I personally believe that just a couple of years down the line all IVF culture systems will be automated based on principles such as the subject system.

The Ant & The Grasshopper

I just received an E-mail from an Indian friend working in the UK. I just had to reproduce her E-mail here. I think this is very relevant in today's context. I hope it disturbs you as much as it has disturbed me. Let me introduce the Traditional version of the Ant & the Grasshopper as we were taught in school:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter,the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

The Kalyug Version:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house. Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers. Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway
Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'. Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the 'Prevention of Terrorism Against
Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter. Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV. Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'. Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '. CPM calls it the 'Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden ' . Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly .


Many years later...

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley. 100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ...

As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the Grasshoppers, India is still a developing country.... Jai Hind..

Medical School

First-year students at Medical School were receiving their first anatomy class with a real dead human body.

All gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet.

The professor started the class by telling them, "In medicine, it is necessary to have 2 important qualities as a doctor: The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the human body."

For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the corpse, withdrew it and stuck it in his mouth.

"Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students.

The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns sticking a finger in the butt of the dead body and sucking on it.

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them calmly and told them, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention."

Anal Glaucoma

A woman calls her boss one morning and tells him that she is staying home because she is not feeling well.

"What's the matter?" he asks

"I have a case of anal glaucoma," she says in a weak voice.

What the hell is anal glaucoma?"

"I can't see my ass coming into work today"

MRKH Syndrome

Mr. and Mrs. XYZ first approached our clinic with their problem of Primary Infertility on 31st January 2005. The couple has been married for the past two and a half years and came to us asking for IVF with gestational surrogacy. Mrs XYZ, 30 years of age, was aware that she had a rare a congenital uterine abnormality called Mayer- Rokitansky Kustner Hauser Syndrome. Patients with MRKH syndrome have failed development of the embryonic Mullerian ducts. They have absolutely normal secondary sexual characteristics like breast development etc. Normal development of these ducts result in the formation of the uterus, cervix and the upper 2/3 of the vagina. However, failure of the same results in a variety of abnormalities, most common being vaginal atresia and agenesis of the uterus and cervix. There is however normal ovarian development and normal ovarian function.

A preliminary examination and a basic hormonal screening test were done to rule out other hormonal imbalances. The patient was then advised to keep a Basal Body Temperature chart for a month to confirm the dates of ovulation to help us plan a cycle. As soon as a we localized her cycle dates, her treatment cycle was begun and synchronized with the surrogate's cycle. She was given gonadotropin injections to stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs. A laparoscopic Ovum pick-up was scheduled as her ovaries high in the pelvis making vaginal ovum pick-up difficult. We managed to obtain
just three mature eggs which were then fertilized with her husband's sperms and finally two embryos were transferred into the surrogate on day 2 but her pregnancy test came negative.

The patient, however, did not lose hope and decided to do another treatment cycle. We started the cycle again with a little more ovarian stimulation with fertility injections to get more eggs. The surrogate was also started on hormonal replacement therapy to prepare her uterine lining. This time we managed to obtain 10 eggs of which 9 fertilized and we transferred four embryos. The surrogate got pregnant and subsequently delivered full term twins . The treatment has fulfilled the hopes and dreams of this woman who was born without a womb. We are now in the midst of treating three other women with MRKH syndrome.

Maha - Mrityunjaya Mantra

(PRAYER FOR THE SICK)

Om Trayambakam Yajaamahe,

Sughandhim Pushtimvardanam,

Urvaarukamiva Bandhanaan,

Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritaat.

MEANING:

"We worship the Three - Eyed One (Lord Shiva), who is fragrant and nourishes well all beings. May He liberate us from death for the sake of Immortality, even as the cucumber is servered from its bondage to the creeper".

'NOTE'

This Maha - Mrityunjaya Mantra is a life-giving Mantra. In these days, when life is very complex and accidents are an everyday affair, this holy Mantra comes to your rescue. It wards off death by snake-bits, lightning, water accidents, motor accidents, air accidents, and accidents of all kinds. Besides, It has a great curative power. Diseases that are pronounced incurable by doctors arecured by this Mantra, when chanted with sincerity, faith and devotion. It is a Mantra too conquer death.

It is a Moksha Mantra as well, it is Lord Shiva's Mantra. It gives long life, health, prosperity, peace, satisfaction and immortality.

An E- mail sent by Dean IIT Madras, about our National Identity

"Dear Friends,

Here is a personal experience, as well as a moment of national pride, which I want to share with you. Hope you find it worth the time you put in reading it :

"In the middle of the 1965 India-Pakistan war, the US govt - then a close friend of Pakistan - threatened India with stopping food-aid (remember "PL-480"). For a food deficient India this threat was serious and humiliating. So much so that in the middle of war, Prime Minister (Late) Lal Bahadur Shastri went to Ram Leela Grounds in Delhi and appealed to each Indian to observe one-meal-fast every week to answer the American threat. As a school boy, I joined those millions who responded to Shastri ji's call. I continued the fast even when the war was over and India became self-sufficient in food. Hurt deep by the national humiliation suffered at the hands of the US govt, I had vowed to stop my weekly fast only when India starts giving aid to USA.

It took just 40 years. Last week THE day arrived. When the Indian ambassador in Washington DC handed over a cheque of US$ 50 million to the US govt, two plane loads of food, medical aid and other relief materials were waiting to fly to the USA. Time to break the fast? With no bad feeling about the USA, and good wishes for the Katrina victims, this humble Indian feels proud of the distance India has covered in 40 years. Let's celebrate a New India!"

We have miles to go, but let us feel proud of the direction our Nation is taking. Jai Hind.