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

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.

Samsung Files Patent for Safe (ie Non-Baby) Sex Cell Phone

A cell phone that lets ladies know if they're running a higher-than-normal chance of getting pregnant is the latest idea from Samsung. The Korean electronics giant has filed a patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office for a "portable device for user's basal body temperature (BBT) and method for operating the device."

An ultrasonic or laser-based distance sensor, and an infrared ray temperature sensor installed around the speaker of the phone measures the distance of the phone to your ear and the temperature inside your eardrum. Then, software inside the phone processes the measurements and transforms them into BBT records, before recommending that, yes, you can have hot, crazy rumpo with no consequences, or yes, you've got a chance of making Junior if you get busy tonight.

It's not a bad idea, given that a lot of women would rather lose a leg than be separated from their mobile, but how are Samsung going to market this? Presumably not, as we have, as a safe-sex phone, as it's won't protect from STDs.

Here's a bit of the patent application, but be warned that the word menstruation is used repeatedly in it.

[0089] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 7, as shown in FIG. 7, the information control unit 218 may display the user's generated menstruation information, e.g. fertile period information, on the display unit 219 of the portable device, i.e. on a screen of the portable device in a form of a calendar. Also, the information control unit 218 may display a graph 720 in which the user's menstruation information is indicated in each color. In the graph 720, a black interval 711 indicates a menstruation period, a green interval 712 indicates an infertile period, a yellow interval 713 indicates a pregnancy possibility period, and a red interval 714 indicates a fertile period.
Also, when the menstruation starting day is not inputted by the user, the information control unit 218 may provide the user with an alarm to induce the user to check for pregnancy.

Obama's - Kenyan family moving to the USA

Those were the Days

How did one survive growing up in the 70's, 80's and 90's?
We had no seatbelts, no airbags and sitting in the back of a truck was a treat…
Our baby prams had the most gorgeous lead based colours…
No such thing as tamper proof bottle tops…
Opening kitchen cupboards was a breeze… as safety locks were unheard off…
Cycling was like a breath of fresh air…
No safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads, with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike…
When thirsty we only drank tap water, bottled water was still a mystery…
We kept busy collecting bits & pieces so we could build all sort of things … and we were fearless on our bikes even when the brakes failed going downhill…
We were showing off how tough we are, by how high we could climb trees & then jumping down….It was great fun….
We could stay out to play for hours, as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner…
We walked to school, or sometimes we even rode our bike.
We had no mobile phones, but we always managed to find each other…. How? No one knows…
We lost teeth, broke arms & legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses…. nobody complained as we had so much fun, it wasn't anybody's fault, only ours
We ate everything in sight, cakes, bread, chocolate, ice-cream, sweet sugary drinks, yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around.
And if one of us was lucky to find a 1 litre coca cola bottle we all had a swag from it & guess what? Nobody picked up any germs...
We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo's, I-Pods, Video games, 99 Cable TV channels, DVD's, Home Cinema, Mobile phones, Home Computers, Laptops, Chat-rooms, Internet, etc ... BUT, we had REAL FRIENDS!!!!
We called on friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the back…
We loved being let loose in the big bad world…without bodyguards…
We played with sticks and stones, played cowboys and Indians, doctors and nurses, hide and seek, soccer games, over and over again…
When we failed our exams we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same grade…without visiting psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors…
Such were the days…
We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibilities. ..
Most of all, we learned to respect others…
Are YOU from that generation??
Maybe this post will make you then forget the stress that surrounds us these days….and just for a few moments put a smile to our faces as we remember what life was really like in the good old days:)

From Danny With Love