Thursday, January 11, 2007

Don't put all your eggs in one...

If you're a female and you've ever needed cash, fast, you've jokingly had the thought "I could donate my eggs." But really, what is in involved with donating eggs? Is it as easy as the ads on Craiglist make it out to be?

First, you have to qualify to donate. Generally they'd like the donor to be in her twenties and free of health problems. You'd have to submit blood samples, recent medical history, and fill out a genetic questionnaire.

If you pass all that, you can look forward to more needles. Lots more needles.

If you're on the pill or some other sort of birth control, you'd have to go off of it and have a 'natural' cycle. They'd then start monitoring your cycle from day 1, taking blood samples to see if your hormone levels were ideal for donation or not. At day 19, they would check you again. At the start of your next day 1, the real fun would begin.

Typically, you would next have an ovarian scan. What is an ovarian scan? It is when they stick a long, thin probe up your vagina and peek around at your eggs in your ovaries. For some, this can be painful because the technician will have to press on your lower abdomen so your ovaries present better to the sonogram device. Just a lot of pressure and squishing, really.

You give more blood to monitor your hormone level, injecting yourself with hormones in the fatty area of your belly over the course of your cycle. You are checked periodically during the next few weeks, sometimes having to have your hormone level adjusted depending on the level in your blood.

Just before harvesting, you give yourself a final big injection of hormone. All these shots are to encourage your ovaries to over produce egg 'let down', releasing more than one egg during that particular monthly cycle.

Egg collection is a short process. You are sedated. Once under, the actual retrieval of eggs takes about 15 minutes. It consists of sticking a long thing probe into the vagina and then using a very thin needle to extract the eggs, which can be as many as 13. While you aren't ready to run a marathon, you aren't totally out of commission either. A day off is suggested.

After the procedure there is a possibility of suffering from Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome(OHSS). This could be a bloated abdomen, PMS type symptoms, vomiting, and a host of other problems. If you experience any of these, your doctor should be notified immediately.

So, as you can see, you can't just "drop in" and lay a couple of your ovum on the table. It is at least a 2 month long process and sometimes painful.

Next time you need some quick cash, I'd suggest selling your Prada bag on ebay.

Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Yet another reason to support commercial fishing...

In ancient Malay mythology, a man and his sister were out foraging for food one day when the sister was bit by leeches. To relieve her itching, she ran to the sea. Before diving in, she asked her brother what he would do with himself in her absence. After speaking about it, she decided to turn herself into a sea cow. Her brother agreed to do the same.

The woman in the story was named Dugong.

Dugong are of the Sirenia, which also includes manatees, and mostly inhabit waters off of Australia. They are herbivores and feed mainly on sea grasses, which is where the term "sea cow" is derived from. They are ugly creatures, yet gentle. Dugong can live up to 70 years of age, but do not start to reproduce until the age of 17. Females also seldom produce more than one offspring per lifetime.

Sadly, these animals are endanger, again, by commercial fishing and other human influence. I did say they ate sea grass, but without drawing it all out, the commercial fishing waste and farmland washouts filled with chemicals are killing the environment sea grass grows in. This is called "eutrophication". The fact that Dugong like to habitat shallow waters where sea vessels now regularly make passage can only lead you to the deduction of a large mammal shredded by a propeller. If these ships happen to be fishing vessels, you can also come to the conclusion that Dugong similarly suffer the fate of dolphins caught in the net - death.

So, what is being done to help save these gentle giants? The Australian government has listed them as a "protected" animal. Dugong were traditionally hunted by native Australian tribes like the Aborigines, but that poses little to no threat today. The main threat is pollution killing the environment they live in. With all opposing factors to the population in consideration, today's scientists and researchers give, at best, the odds of increasing the population MAYBE 5% per year.

It has often been said that, for where Dugong are found, the ecosystem could best be measured by how many Dugong lived there. In 1987 there were 3500 Dugong. Within 4 years there were 1700. Considering how commercial fishing has blossomed in the past 10 years, you can add up today's factors. I am fairly proficient at math, so let's do this little equation of sorts...

P= current Dugong population, currently a very weak variable
Pf= female population of Dugong
L = lifetime of 70 years
K = Dugong born
X= the rate at which Dugong are becoming extinct

So..

1K/L(Pf) + ( - X) = P

One stray beam of hope is that they recently have seen an increasing amount of these animals along the coasts of Thailand...so maybe there is hope yet.

In the long run P, sadly, will be negative if X isn't lessened dramatically. Greenpeace has been quoted as saying, "What we need is a marine reserve, not a reserve for the marines."

Well said.




Read more:
BBC

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Fido is not always man's best friend.

I was just reading over an article on BBC's website about how to survive a dog attack and it got me thinking about all the times I'd been attacked by a dog. Read: 2. My background has given me the chance to work with many dogs, cats, and other mammals that we humans like to call companions. BBC has some very generic tips, so I thought I would give some of my own based on experience.

1. BBC has "Don't turn your back". I second this. The only reason you should turn your back is if you are swiveling to get out of a dog's grip, paw or mouth.
2. Loud noises do not help. Most times, when a dog is in attack mode, they are only sparked on by screaming and yelling.
3. Hit the dog, I suggest if you are locked onto by a dog's jaws, you whack it in the mouth as much as possible until it lets go. A dog's nose is most sensitive. Just remember, once it breaks its grip on your flesh, it will come back for more, so getting another object as a weapon can sometimes help.
4. Be confident and aggressive if you are already being bitten. Scare it. Being scared yourself will only let it overpower you and you will be worse off.
5. Do not run. You will never outrun that dog. Dogs that see prey "in flight" get more excited and more encouraged to attack.

Ways to avoid a dog attack:
1. Do not pet strange dogs. duh. If a dog wanders into your yard that you do not know, leave it alone.
2. If faced with a hostile animal, do not make eye contact. That is an intimidation tactic and can only make them more prone to attack.
3. If you see dogs fighting, unless you are a professional dog trainer/behaviorist, do not attempt to get between them. Make noise - whistle, call a dog's name. You can be seriously injured caught in the crossfire of a dog fight.
4. Stop bathing in bacon grease. It isn't good for your complexion and the neighbor's dog isn't afraid to get his muzzle dirty.


Okay, so the last tip was just a joke, but if you do indeed bathe in bacon grease, you are totally asking for it.



other reads:
BBC

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Accidents Happen

A common myth is that more suicides occur around the holidays. This is totally false. The majority of suicides occur during the spring months. Something that is not a complete farce, however, is the fact that there are more traffic accidents around holiday time due to more people being on the road, whether alcohol is involved or not.

Sadly, a lot of these accidents are fatal. People are rendered in comas and families are devastated, but the one thing illuminated in this ill-set light is hope. Not of the family of a brain-dead person, but of the family of someone waiting for an organ.

There are roughly 82K people waiting for an organ this very minute. There are 74 organ transplants done a day, while 19 die waiting for one. This is every day. In 2004, around 27,000 people received organ donations.

Why should you donate your or your family member's organs?

Because one body can help up to 50 people.

Organ donaters declared 'deceased' with viable organs are immediately entered into a national database. Their blood type, weight, height, and location are all inputted and it immediately spits out a list of the best possible matches for their heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and pancreas. Shortly thereafter, matches are found for their corneas, skin, and bones.

Donating your organs normally doesn't delay funeral arrangements nor does it make open-casket funerals impossible.

After organs are donated, your family is kept in the loop. You find out where your organs have gone and who they helped, minus personal contact info. You are able to receive updates on those who's life you have gifted.

Another possibility, aside from death, is life. Donating umbilical cord blood after your baby is born can save lives. In recent years, 20K people were saved due to umbilical cord blood donations. The blood is used to help treat people with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, and a host of other diseases. There is no centralized database for umbilical cord donations, but more and more hospitals are doing it, so please contact yours for more info.

So, in short, giving during the holidays doesn't stop at Macy's. Remember to check that box the next time you renew your license or make sure your family knows you want to give, even after you are gone.


Other reads:
Organ Donor
Life Gift

Monday, December 18, 2006

20 something and invincible? I think not.

I have become more and more alarmed by the trend 20 something people seem to be living. The unstated feeling of invincibility is crazy and unfounded, yet we seem to have an outbreak of it. A pandemic, if you will.

Well, with probably too much glee, let me burst their, and perhaps your, bubble.

500 young people, defined as being 35 years old or less, die every year from something called Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome(SADS), or Sudden Adult Death Syndrome depending on who you ask. This is a syndrome thought to be related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS), but in the 18-35 age group. SADS is a non-traumatic, non-violent, and often undiagnosed cause of death. Due to current law, many deaths caused by SADS are determined "natural causes" because the heart wasn't sent on from the coroner to a specialist for further investigation or simply because SADS has to do with the electric abnormalities that occur in heartbeats and are no longer present as a telltale sign after death. Duh.

What, you are begging to know, are the causes, signs, and everything else you need to know so you don't suddenly keel over, dead?

SADS is caused by cardiac arrhythmia. A-say what, you ask? Cardiac arrhythmia is when your heartbeat is funky. It cha-chas or waltzes instead of foxtrots. CA's, let's shorten that up as it is a lot to type, are caused by heart disease, coronary artery disease, valve disorders, and congenital heart defects. There are a few genetic disorders that cause CA's as well. The main genetic disorders are Long QT Syndrome, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, and Brugada Syndrome. These all are present at birth and affect the heartbeat.

So, now you know what causes SADS, but how do you recognize it? Sometimes the symptoms of SADS is...nothing. That's right. You just die. Lucky ones will get syncope(fainting spells), blackouts, dizziness, shortness or breath, or chest pain. These symptoms typically occur during times of physical exertion or emotional upset. These should serve as a huge warning sign that something is NOT right. The twinge in your chest from hiking that Ikea desk up your 5th floor walk-up is not normal. You are not 80, you are 20-something.

Diagnosing a heart problem can be the first step to preventing SADS. As I said earlier, a lot of the causes of arrhythmias are genetic. These are present at birth, caused by autosomal dominant or recessive genes. Sometimes arrhythmias can be caused by medication, so it is a good idea to tell your doctor if you experience any of the symptoms I listed, even if they have never happened before and you have been on the same medication for years. To diagnose these heart problems is fairly simple and painless. You can have an electrocardiogram(ECG) or an echo cardiogram(ECHO), which will help define what exactly is wrong with your heart, where, and in what patterns.

Once a heart problem is diagnosed, 90% of the disorders can be treated by use of beta blockers. Yes, I said treated, not cured. Sometimes surgery can help.

Aside from SADS, some 700,000 young people suffer from some sort of arrhythmia, ranging from mild to severe. Some know, some don't.

To break it down for you, 1 person from 18-35 dies every week from SADS. It hits them and they are gone, leaving family and a whole life ahead of them behind, without warning.

So, don your cape and mask, hit Macy's during the holidays like there's no tomorrow. When you feel faint and your chest hurts after you walk the 12 blocks home with bags in hand, just remember it probably isn't from your triple espresso cafe au lait mocha calorie-laden-accino. Call your doctor.



Other reads:
BBC Health
SADS UK
C.R.Y.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Why Lee Smolin is an Idiot.

Lee Smolin is the author of what some consider to be a "hot" book, in that it has provided some great debate and mud slinging within the scientific community. Smolin has taken a stance that string theory will not pan out and is pretty much a waste of time in his book, The Trouble with Physics. He has come under fire for giving the impression that he thinks the study of string theory, which is the belief that everything is unified and consistent in this universe, is a pointless task. The truth is, there have been too many breakthroughs in ST to deny that it is a viable possibility. Smolin supports the idea that we should question any theory that we are studying today, which I also completely agree with, but he doesn't really apply it in this case. "I'll believe it when I see it, but not until." What's up, Thomas? Haven't seen you since...sheesh..the BIBLE. If everyone who ever tried to prove anything listened to idiots like Smolin, we'd have nothing. We'd still be living on a flat earth. We'd never have been on the moon. We wouldn't know the joy of Twinkies.

Now, it is one thing to go against something and speak out against it. It is another to speak out and then backtrack after you are fired upon by the subject's supporters. Smolin, sadly, is a great mind, but apparently not a great debater. The book makes some "esoteric" claims that I simply cannot believe aren't just downright derogatory towards ST. The point of his book, he states, is to merely say that String Theory isn't the ONLY answer to the great question of how everything is connected, but just one. Trying to play it down, I believe. Well, that sure isn't how it reads, Mr. Smolin. For someone who's written numerous technical papers, some even on String Theory itself, you seem to need to go back and take a few English classes and learn what some of us call "tone".

He has even stated that some of his closest friends are string theorists. To me, that is a claim similar to a person accused of racism stating they have "lots of black friends".

An Albatross

No, not the band.

The bird.

You know, the bird that scientists are using to get data on the weather and water conditions for the North Pacific Ocean?

Yes, it is true. Scientists have decided, that out of all the birds around the Pacific ocean, the albatross is the best choice. Why, you might ask? They are great in the air, using wind gusts and the like to fling their bodies across wind currents with ease. The albatross makes flying look like a piece of cake. The albatross is also excellent in the water, feet being webbed like that of a duck, and are pretty solid on land as well. That said, they usually live and nest around water, preferring to call islands home as they hunt the pelagic for food. The perfect specimen to do an oceanographer's dirty work for him, collect the dirty facts that satellites cannot achieve or collect.

The number of species of Albatross is of constant debate. The common number you hear for number of species is 21, but it ranges from 13 to 24. Who knows. Scientists disagreeing, now that's a new one. They are also thought(Sibley-Ahlquist) to have descended second in line from a Cretaceous creature known as a Tytthostonyx.

The funny thing is, while the albatross is seemingly a golden candidate to act as vessel for this research, the cold hard fact is that almost all of the species of this particular bird are currently threatened with extinction. Now, I ask you, when a scientist says "Well, if we use the actual bird in question," this same oceanographer collecting data on the Pacific, "that is endangered, we can better determine how to stop the extinction of the species by monitoring its contact with fishing boats and other human threats."

Excuse me, isn't that kind of a cop-out? Is that like saying, "hey, let's do genetic research on the last 2 hippos on earth so that we can better determine why their life expectancy is so short and they're not reproducing?"

Seems to defeat the purpose, does it not? Interfering with these birds is probably the last thing they need in order to survive. Less commercial fishing? Yes. Duh. The entire ocean needs that. Over-fishing the Gulf has caused a population overflow of jellyfish, thus killing a ton of the fish population there(look it up). We definitely do not need John Q Researcher to tell us commercial fishing of our oceans is killing species.

We might be human, but we aren't complete idiots.

As for the band, rock on. An Albatross's "We are the lazer viking" was a great one.