Baby Conceived 1989, Born 2010

The latest astounding miracle of medical science has come out thanks to the efforts of a medical team in Eastern Virginia.  A human embryo first conceived in 1989 was frozen for twenty years by two parents, and then transplanted to a surrogate mother who then gave birth to it in May of this year.  To date it is the longest time a human embryo has been conceived and frozen before being born successfully.

The incredible announcement was made in a written analysis in the journal Fertility and Sterility.  As the scientists involved declared that thus far the procedure  had been successful.  And of course this isn't the first time a child has been born that had been conceived years prior, but it is certainly an unusual thing to consider for the future.

Will we eventually live in a world where people who have been frozen for several generations are finally brought into a new world?  According to fertility experts, we could even use current technology to preserve embryos for an indefinite period of time.  Some day a person conceived a century before may be brought out of isolation and born to the descendants of his biological parents.

But while the process is incredibly interesting from a purely scientific perspective, will there be challenges to introducing people from generations prior into a new environment?  While it may not have a direct impact on natural selection (or the model currently in use in our society) immediately, it could hold potential for some exciting and perhaps terrifying future innovations and projects.

Consider the Svalbard Seed Vault first created in 2008.  The project was designed so that in the event of a worldwide catastrophe, a great deal of the world's seeds would be accessible eventually and once again reseed the planet.  But what about the fauna of the planet?  Many plants depend on animals and humans in order for them to reach their potential and thrive.  Could the technology used to preserve embryos be used for access by future generations so the human race could survive as well?  Of course in theory the project would also require humans to bring back this vast underground ark.  At least currently it would.

In February of 2009, Nick Otway from New South Wales Department of Primary Industries proposed that an artificial uterus could be created to save Grey Nurse Sharks from extinction.  And with the attention the procedure received at the time, many asked the obvious question, could it ever work with humans?

So the ultimate futuristic proposal, and this is where it enters the world of mad science, could be made that a seed vault carrying hundreds or possibly thousands of embryos frozen deep within the tundras of Greenland or the Arctic could be preserved with little power and then eventually thawed and introduced into an artificial nursing system that would raise human children with a robotic system using technology not far from our current state in the future.  While the scenario is at the moment nothing more than science fiction fodder, could we one day find ourselves in a world where the human race is saved from extinction by a similar system to the seed vault in Svalbard?  Imagine the last of the human race kept alive in a ship in a bottle to be revived hundreds or possibly thousands of years after it was first conceived.  And while it may sound preposterous to those of us living in the year 2010, will those of 2050 consider it a possibility? 

Best Wishes,

10 tips to keep Breast Cancer Away

The month of October, is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer, a disease which is haunting most of the women in the world and experts have predicted that very soon every one out of 14 women will have Breast Cancer.

Experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and its clinical care partner, the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, have offered 10 tips to keep away breast cancer.

The 10 tips provided by Anne McTiernan, director of the Hutchinson Center's Prevention Center, a member of the Center's Public Health Sciences Division, and author of "Breast Fitness" (St. Martin's Press):


1. Avoid becoming overweight
Obesity raises the risk of breast cancer after menopause, the time of life when breast cancer most often occurs. Try to maintain a body-mass index under 25.

2. Eat healthy to avoid tipping the scale
Embrace a diet high in vegetables and fruit and low in sugared drinks, refined carbohydrates and fatty foods. Eat lean protein such as fish or chicken breast and eat red meat in moderation, if at all. Eat whole grains. Choose vegetable oils over animal fats.

3. Keep physically active, even when begun later in life
It reduces overall breast-cancer risk by about 10 percent to 30 percent. All it takes is moderate exercise like a 30-minute walk five days a week.

4. Drink little or no alcohol
Alcohol use is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

5. Avoid hormone replacement therapy
Menopausal hormone therapy increases risk for breast cancer. If you must take hormones to manage menopausal symptoms, avoid those that contain progesterone and limit their use to less than three years. "Bioidentical hormones" and hormonal creams and gels are no safer than prescription hormones and should also be avoided.

6. Consider taking an oestrogen-blocking drug
Women with a family history of breast cancer or who are over age 60 should talk to their doctor about the pros and cons of oestrogen-blocking drugs such as tamoxifen and raloxifene.

7. Don't smoke
Research suggests that long-term smoking is associated with increased risk of breast cancer in some women.

8. Breast-feed your babies for as long as possible
Women who breast-feed their babies for at least a year in total have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer later.

9. Participate in a research study
The Hutchinson Center is home to several studies that are looking at ways to reduce the risk for breast cancer.

10. Get fit and support breast cancer research at the same time
Regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. Ascend some of the world's most breathtaking peaks while raising vital funds for and awareness of breast cancer research.

mockDukThesis

CBS) What do young women today really think about sex? It's a question guys might not want to hear answered, if a "senior thesis" by recent college grad Karen Owen is any indication.
The mock thesis, subtitled "Excelling in the Realm of Horizontal Academics," features lots of stuffy academic language - but it's actually a brutally frank kiss-and-tell about the physical attributes and sexual prowess of 13 male students Owen claims to have hooked up with.
The PowerPoint presentation includes a bar chart showing the overall rankings of her sexual conquests and photos of the men in question - many from the Duke lacrosse team. Points were awarded on the basis of physical attractiveness, sexual skills and creativity, aggressiveness, humor, and athletic ability.
Oh yes, and on "the length and girth of the subjects' hardware."

The paper is now a viral sensation online. What do sex therapists make of it?

"Men have engaged in this sort of behavior for time immemorial," says Dr. Ian Kerner, the author of "She Comes First." Now here is a woman who feels empowered to rate and rank men in much the same way. It's giving men a dose of their own medicine."
Kerner says men have been telling tales of their exploits since the dawn of time. But is turnabout fair play?
Kerner doesn't think so. He says Owen's "f*** list" reflects the coarsening of sexual mores among young people, as well as the perils of social media.
Owen reportedly intended the paper to be seen only by friends and has since said she is deeply sorry.
"I regret it with all my heart," she told Jezebel.com, "I would never intentionally hurt the people that are mentioned on that."
That point seems especially pertinent, given the the recent apparent suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, whose roommate had posted a video of him making out with a man.
"I would say it is a wake-up call for men and women to treat each other respectfully," he says.
Then again, says Kerner, Owen deserves some credit for including emotional and intellectual attributes in her ranking system. A similar ranking system developed by a man might not include humor or intelligence, he says.
"It would start with breast and butt and maybe eyes," says Kerner, and go straight downhill from there.
Can't we all just get along?