By Marlen Garcia, USA TODAY
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Jordyn Wieber made herself at home Saturday with two American greats in gymnastics: Mary Lou Retton and Nastia Liukin.
Wieber, 13, of DeWitt, Mich., became the second-youngest Tyson American Cup women's champion and was immediately congratulated by past American Cup champs Liukin and Retton at the Sears Centre, located about 25 miles northwest of Chicago.
"I feel very honored to be one of these people now," Wieber, who is 4-10½, said. "I really look up to them. That was really exciting."
OLYMPICS REWIND: Relive gymnastics from the Beijing Games
Wieber scored 60.2 to beat fellow American Bridget Sloan, who scored 59.6. Kim Bui of Germany finished third with 56.0. In the men's competition, Germany's Fabian Hambuechen beat American David Sender 90.65-90.45 for the title. American Joey Hagerty finished third (89.55).
Liukin won this meet twice, in 2006 and last year at 18, a prelude to her Olympic all-around title in Beijing last August. Retton, the 1984 Olympic all-around gold medalist, won this meet three times from 1983 to 1985. Both were honored guests Saturday. Liukin has resumed training but doesn't expect to compete until later this year.
Wieber has a long road ahead to become an Olympian with the London Games three years away, but she has established herself firmly as the sport's rising star.
She is still too young to compete at the senior level in world qualification meets. The minimum age requirement for that is 16, which means Wieber will spend this year and next competing in the junior division.
Wieber, who will turn 14 in July, is the reigning junior national all-around champion and will be eligible for her first world championships in 2011.
"It's all about pacing … making sure she enjoys it," her coach, John Geddert, said. "We're in no hurry."
She is the youngest American Cup champion since Tracee Talavera of the U.S., then 13, won in 1980. Talavera was a member of the 1984 Olympic team.
"Truly amazing" is how Liukin described Wieber's skills. On vault, Wieber, only an eighth grader, executed a Yurchenko mount with 2½ twists. Only about three women's gymnasts in the world tried that vault last year, including American Shawn Johnson, the Olympic silver medalist in all-around.
Wieber took a step on the vault landing but the difficulty made her the highest scorer at 15.75. To put the difficulty in perspective, consider that Sender, 23, the men's runner-up, performed the same vault.
"I didn't start doing that vault until I was 18 or 19," Sender said. "She's obviously a very talented little girl. I'm excited to see how she'll do in the next four years."
Wieber also was the meet's highest scorer on balance beam and the uneven parallel bars. She scored second-highest on floor exercise behind Sloan.
"She's a machine," Sloan said.
Her debut with senior-level gymnasts, televised by NBC, was no doubt a hit.
"We've never had a doubt that she's a competitor," Geddert said. "We were wondering if the big stage would change any of that. … You never know once TV cameras get in your face, if that's going to change anything. I'm happy to see it doesn't
Saturday, February 21, 2009
NETFLIX IS CONSIDERING OFFERING A STREAMING-ONLY IN 2010
Netflix is considering offering a streaming-only pricing tier as soon as next year, according to comments made by CEO Reed Hastings in a report by Bloomberg.
The streaming-only membership could be popular among those with Netflix-enabled devices (such as the Roku Netflix Player, Xbox 360, and LG BD300) who want streaming access without the full cost of a Netflix membership. Netflix hasn't said how much the streaming-only tier would cost, but we'd assume it would be less than the current entry-level $9-a-month unlimited plan.
On the other hand, we're still on the lookout for Netflix to start charging a premium on customers who use the streaming service in addition to DVD rentals. The company has already introduced premium pricing by charging Blu-ray renters an extra dollar a month, and it feels like it's only a matter of time before heavy streamers pay a premium as well--or at least for premium content. In other words, keep on streaming while the streaming's free, because it may not last forever.
(Sources: Bloomberg via Engadget
The streaming-only membership could be popular among those with Netflix-enabled devices (such as the Roku Netflix Player, Xbox 360, and LG BD300) who want streaming access without the full cost of a Netflix membership. Netflix hasn't said how much the streaming-only tier would cost, but we'd assume it would be less than the current entry-level $9-a-month unlimited plan.
On the other hand, we're still on the lookout for Netflix to start charging a premium on customers who use the streaming service in addition to DVD rentals. The company has already introduced premium pricing by charging Blu-ray renters an extra dollar a month, and it feels like it's only a matter of time before heavy streamers pay a premium as well--or at least for premium content. In other words, keep on streaming while the streaming's free, because it may not last forever.
(Sources: Bloomberg via Engadget
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
YOU MAKE ME LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN
BEHIND the scenes at the first group rehearsal of the latest production of The Vagina Monologues, there's a steady hum of laughter and nervous chatter. Gail Porter, given the task of performing 17 orgasms per night, jokes that she's terrified she will make a fool of herself. Michelle McManus, the veteran of an Irish production of the show, reassures her that it's an audience favourite. "They'll love you," she insists. "You'll get a standing ovation."
Karen Dunbar quietly surveys the room, but once she loosens up proves funny and thought-provoking in equal measures. Kaye Adams slips straight into interview mode, grilling her castmates – most of whom are mates, only Porter and McManus have never met – about their reactions to the script. LR: Hang on, asking questions is my job! Let's talk about everyone's comfort levels with the material. Kaye, I read that you're really uncomfortable with it? KA: I was
KA: I was much more uncomfortable before I'd read the script. I have got a reputation for being Miss Jean Brodie, which is not unfounded. But it doesn't feel like an excuse to say naughty words for the hell of it. It did take me back to remembering the radical feminism of the 1980s and some of the ideas around at the time. You can see where it comes from.LR: Are you saying it feels dated? KA: No, but when you put it into now, you obviously interpret it differently. I have to say the famous orgasm piece was vaguely coming my way. GP: It was given to you!KA: I welshed on that. I just could not carry that off. I'm quite an inhibited person, I would be crap at it. KD: I thought Kaye would be brilliant at the orgasm monologue.KA: Yeah, but you've never liked me!KD: My feelings were very similar to Kaye's. I thought, 'Ah, please don't let this be fanny jokes.' But when I read the material I thought, 'These are brilliant.' Of course they've got to be, (the show] couldn't have been sustained for so long had it not been a really, really good piece of work. I found the material challenging. One of (my] monologues is called Cootchie Snorcher. It's about a rape. With my profile, (the worry is] how do you put that across without being funny? It's weird for me, standing up in a full theatre and thinking, 'Please don't laugh at this.' MM: I don't have an issue with the content. I hang out with a big group of single girls and this is how we talk. The issue for me is that couldn't perform it in front of my parents. My mum's really liberal, but that's a whole part of my life I do without her being there. I see her on a Sunday when I go to chapel and redeem myself and have Sunday dinner!GP: I'm getting used to it now that I've met everyone; I was quite apprehensive. And I'm (still] a little nervous because I haven't done it before, and I'm from Edinburgh, so all my mates are coming. I've got these 17 orgasms to have at the end and I'm thinking, 'My God, I hope I can pull this off'. They will slate me for evermore if I have really crap orgasms. LR: Is your boyfriend coming? GP: No. We don't talk about sex. I go, 'You want a shag?' and that's it. I read some bits to him and he gets quite uncomfortable. As far as he's concerned his mum's only had sex twice, to produce two kids. KD: You can feel the nervousness in the theatre. When I did it last summer I felt a degree of responsibility to say to the audience, 'It's all right, you're going to have a ball.'LR: What's that nervousness about? KD: There's still a generation that feels sexuality isn't to be talked about and certainly not in company. They even go to the doctor's and say, 'Problems down below.'KA: We appear to talk about sex so much more now, but it's different from sexuality and how women feel about their bodies. There's an impression that we're all so liberal and uninhibited, but that's a kind of smokescreen. GP: When I gave birth to my daughter I got piles and thought my arse was falling out. I had no idea.
LR: My mom taught me the biology, but she didn't say anything about pleasure. Gail, Kaye, what will you tell your daughters when they ask? GP: Honey is six and I've gone through quite a lot in front of her. She asks me things, including what I'm doing here. I said it's a story about noonies, because that's what she calls it. She went, 'Oh, all right. Can I watch television now?' I am trying to explain that when she gets older, she will get hair in places – she just thinks she'll grow into a massive version of me. She doesn't get the whole hair thing. LR: Will you explain that she will also get orgasms?GP: I'll probably leave that until she's seven! But yeah, I want her to be a happy chappie. My mum didn't even tell me about having periods! I thought I'd shit myself. I was really distraught and embarrassed. The shame-based idea is where the majority of us have come from and we're only just beginning to subvert that, mainly with humour. KD: The first port of call to talk about stuff is laughing it up. We need to say that sex is also phenomenal and life-giving. It's great to have a laugh, but we have a long way to go. LR: In an interview, Eve Ensler (creator of The Vagina Monologues] said that female power was rooted in female sexuality. What does everyone think about that? KA: We make too much of promiscuity. But the kind of sexuality that Ensler is talking about is a more profound awareness. I think that a woman who is truly confident and comfortable with her sexuality will be a very powerful individual. But it is a potential Achilles heel for an awful lot of women. They appear totally on top of their game, but could be absolutely felled by one comment from some dodgy wee guy walking along the street.
KD: 'I wouldn't shag you, you honker!'KA: It's interesting the way it can destabilise women who should have every reason to be utterly confident. KD: When I did the show before, it wasn't until about half-way through the run that I found myself examining my own ideas about myself and… oh, let's say it: my own vagina. Isn't that weird? I hesitated. I wouldn't hesitate to mention any other part of the body, but I hesitated there. It's almost like I'm going against all the things I believe in, but when I'm talking about myself…KA: I don't think it's a bad thing to have a sense of privacy. It is intimate.TS: It's the piece of our body we keep covered, to reveal (only] to certain people.KD: We f***ed up seriously somewhere, that we turned the most beautiful thing in the world – sex between two people that love each other – into a power struggle, into shame, into guilt, into remorse.TS: Because it's the most profound relationship you can have with somebody, it's going to always be a problem and cause debate and upset. To be wanted and enjoyed – or rejected – we all take it so personally that I think we're always going to be f***ed up about it.KD: I agree, but there must've been a time when we weren't. MM: I don't think there was ever a time when women sat around talking about their vaginas.
KD: I agree, but there must've been a time when we weren't. MM: I don't think there was ever a time when women sat around talking about their vaginas.KD: Maybe they were sitting outside the cave with their legs splayed, saying, 'Where is he with that f***ing mammoth?' KA: You don't always want to broadcast or make available to everyone something precious and valued – if that's what sex is – but that doesn't mean you are messed up about it. MM: The Vagina Monologues works so well because we do have these natural barriers (about what we discuss]. It's probably one of the only occasions when most of these women will ever hear the word 'c***' spoken or sung, and also hear about orgasms and rape camps in Bosnia. KA: Karen said that it made her reflect. I suppose that's what we hope the audience will do. Laugh it up on the night and the next day start to connect a little bit more about themselves and their feelings.• The Vagina Monologues is at the Edinburgh Playhouse, Greenside Place, until Saturday (0844 8471 660; or go to www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk). A percentage of ticket sales from the show will be donated to Scottish women's charities.The Cast:KAYE ADAMS (KA): A broadcaster and journalist, she is best known for hosting TV show Loose Women.
KAREN DUNBAR (KD): A regular on Chewin' the Fat, she had her own sketch show on BBC Scotland. She performed a sell-out solo show at last year's Edinburgh Festival and starred in Cinderella at the King's Theatre in Glasgow. MICHELLE MCMANUS (MM): She won Pop Idol in 2003 with more than 6.5 million votes and since then has made numerous television and stage appearances, most notably in a special edition of You Are What You Eat with Gillian McKeith. GAIL PORTER (GP): The television presenter's credits include Fully Booked, The Big Breakfast, Live & Kicking, Top of the Pops and Dead Famous.TIMOTHY SHEADER (TS): The show's director.LEE RANDALL (LR): Yours truly.
Courtesy: Lee Randall
THE SCOTSMAN
Karen Dunbar quietly surveys the room, but once she loosens up proves funny and thought-provoking in equal measures. Kaye Adams slips straight into interview mode, grilling her castmates – most of whom are mates, only Porter and McManus have never met – about their reactions to the script. LR: Hang on, asking questions is my job! Let's talk about everyone's comfort levels with the material. Kaye, I read that you're really uncomfortable with it? KA: I was
KA: I was much more uncomfortable before I'd read the script. I have got a reputation for being Miss Jean Brodie, which is not unfounded. But it doesn't feel like an excuse to say naughty words for the hell of it. It did take me back to remembering the radical feminism of the 1980s and some of the ideas around at the time. You can see where it comes from.LR: Are you saying it feels dated? KA: No, but when you put it into now, you obviously interpret it differently. I have to say the famous orgasm piece was vaguely coming my way. GP: It was given to you!KA: I welshed on that. I just could not carry that off. I'm quite an inhibited person, I would be crap at it. KD: I thought Kaye would be brilliant at the orgasm monologue.KA: Yeah, but you've never liked me!KD: My feelings were very similar to Kaye's. I thought, 'Ah, please don't let this be fanny jokes.' But when I read the material I thought, 'These are brilliant.' Of course they've got to be, (the show] couldn't have been sustained for so long had it not been a really, really good piece of work. I found the material challenging. One of (my] monologues is called Cootchie Snorcher. It's about a rape. With my profile, (the worry is] how do you put that across without being funny? It's weird for me, standing up in a full theatre and thinking, 'Please don't laugh at this.' MM: I don't have an issue with the content. I hang out with a big group of single girls and this is how we talk. The issue for me is that couldn't perform it in front of my parents. My mum's really liberal, but that's a whole part of my life I do without her being there. I see her on a Sunday when I go to chapel and redeem myself and have Sunday dinner!GP: I'm getting used to it now that I've met everyone; I was quite apprehensive. And I'm (still] a little nervous because I haven't done it before, and I'm from Edinburgh, so all my mates are coming. I've got these 17 orgasms to have at the end and I'm thinking, 'My God, I hope I can pull this off'. They will slate me for evermore if I have really crap orgasms. LR: Is your boyfriend coming? GP: No. We don't talk about sex. I go, 'You want a shag?' and that's it. I read some bits to him and he gets quite uncomfortable. As far as he's concerned his mum's only had sex twice, to produce two kids. KD: You can feel the nervousness in the theatre. When I did it last summer I felt a degree of responsibility to say to the audience, 'It's all right, you're going to have a ball.'LR: What's that nervousness about? KD: There's still a generation that feels sexuality isn't to be talked about and certainly not in company. They even go to the doctor's and say, 'Problems down below.'KA: We appear to talk about sex so much more now, but it's different from sexuality and how women feel about their bodies. There's an impression that we're all so liberal and uninhibited, but that's a kind of smokescreen. GP: When I gave birth to my daughter I got piles and thought my arse was falling out. I had no idea.
LR: My mom taught me the biology, but she didn't say anything about pleasure. Gail, Kaye, what will you tell your daughters when they ask? GP: Honey is six and I've gone through quite a lot in front of her. She asks me things, including what I'm doing here. I said it's a story about noonies, because that's what she calls it. She went, 'Oh, all right. Can I watch television now?' I am trying to explain that when she gets older, she will get hair in places – she just thinks she'll grow into a massive version of me. She doesn't get the whole hair thing. LR: Will you explain that she will also get orgasms?GP: I'll probably leave that until she's seven! But yeah, I want her to be a happy chappie. My mum didn't even tell me about having periods! I thought I'd shit myself. I was really distraught and embarrassed. The shame-based idea is where the majority of us have come from and we're only just beginning to subvert that, mainly with humour. KD: The first port of call to talk about stuff is laughing it up. We need to say that sex is also phenomenal and life-giving. It's great to have a laugh, but we have a long way to go. LR: In an interview, Eve Ensler (creator of The Vagina Monologues] said that female power was rooted in female sexuality. What does everyone think about that? KA: We make too much of promiscuity. But the kind of sexuality that Ensler is talking about is a more profound awareness. I think that a woman who is truly confident and comfortable with her sexuality will be a very powerful individual. But it is a potential Achilles heel for an awful lot of women. They appear totally on top of their game, but could be absolutely felled by one comment from some dodgy wee guy walking along the street.
KD: 'I wouldn't shag you, you honker!'KA: It's interesting the way it can destabilise women who should have every reason to be utterly confident. KD: When I did the show before, it wasn't until about half-way through the run that I found myself examining my own ideas about myself and… oh, let's say it: my own vagina. Isn't that weird? I hesitated. I wouldn't hesitate to mention any other part of the body, but I hesitated there. It's almost like I'm going against all the things I believe in, but when I'm talking about myself…KA: I don't think it's a bad thing to have a sense of privacy. It is intimate.TS: It's the piece of our body we keep covered, to reveal (only] to certain people.KD: We f***ed up seriously somewhere, that we turned the most beautiful thing in the world – sex between two people that love each other – into a power struggle, into shame, into guilt, into remorse.TS: Because it's the most profound relationship you can have with somebody, it's going to always be a problem and cause debate and upset. To be wanted and enjoyed – or rejected – we all take it so personally that I think we're always going to be f***ed up about it.KD: I agree, but there must've been a time when we weren't. MM: I don't think there was ever a time when women sat around talking about their vaginas.
KD: I agree, but there must've been a time when we weren't. MM: I don't think there was ever a time when women sat around talking about their vaginas.KD: Maybe they were sitting outside the cave with their legs splayed, saying, 'Where is he with that f***ing mammoth?' KA: You don't always want to broadcast or make available to everyone something precious and valued – if that's what sex is – but that doesn't mean you are messed up about it. MM: The Vagina Monologues works so well because we do have these natural barriers (about what we discuss]. It's probably one of the only occasions when most of these women will ever hear the word 'c***' spoken or sung, and also hear about orgasms and rape camps in Bosnia. KA: Karen said that it made her reflect. I suppose that's what we hope the audience will do. Laugh it up on the night and the next day start to connect a little bit more about themselves and their feelings.• The Vagina Monologues is at the Edinburgh Playhouse, Greenside Place, until Saturday (0844 8471 660; or go to www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk). A percentage of ticket sales from the show will be donated to Scottish women's charities.The Cast:KAYE ADAMS (KA): A broadcaster and journalist, she is best known for hosting TV show Loose Women.
KAREN DUNBAR (KD): A regular on Chewin' the Fat, she had her own sketch show on BBC Scotland. She performed a sell-out solo show at last year's Edinburgh Festival and starred in Cinderella at the King's Theatre in Glasgow. MICHELLE MCMANUS (MM): She won Pop Idol in 2003 with more than 6.5 million votes and since then has made numerous television and stage appearances, most notably in a special edition of You Are What You Eat with Gillian McKeith. GAIL PORTER (GP): The television presenter's credits include Fully Booked, The Big Breakfast, Live & Kicking, Top of the Pops and Dead Famous.TIMOTHY SHEADER (TS): The show's director.LEE RANDALL (LR): Yours truly.
Courtesy: Lee Randall
THE SCOTSMAN
YOU MAKE ME LIKE A NATURAL WOMAN
KAREN DUNBAR (KD): A regular on Chewin' the Fat, she had her own sketch show on BBC Scotland. She performed a sell-out solo show at last year's Edinburgh Festival and starred in Cinderella at the King's Theatre in Glasgow. MICHELLE MCMANUS (MM): She won Pop Idol in 2003 with more than 6.5 million votes and since then has made numerous television and stage appearances, most notably in a special edition of You Are What You Eat with Gillian McKeith. GAIL PORTER (GP): The television presenter's credits include Fully Booked, The Big Breakfast, Live & Kicking, Top of the Pops and Dead Famous.TIMOTHY SHEADER (TS): The show's director.LEE RANDALL (LR): Yours truly.
Courtesy: Lee Randall
THE SCOTSMAN
Courtesy: Lee Randall
THE SCOTSMAN
Fish study proves “the pill” is NOT man’s best friend.
Feb 17, 2009
Brown, KH, IR Schultz, JG Cloud, and JJ Nagler. 2008. Aneuploid sperm formation in rainbow trout exposed to the environmental estrogen 17α –ethynylestradiol. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science doi:10.1073/pnas.0808333105.
ContextWhat did they do?What did they find?What does it mean?ResourcesMore new science from EHN
Synopsis by Michael D. Laiosa and Wendy Hessler
darthservo/Flickr
Sperm from rainbow trout exposed to the synthetic estrogen in birth control pills can have the wrong number of chormosomes.
Researchers report that very minute quantities of the hormone found in the birth control pill alter sperm development in rainbow trout by changing the number of chromosomes, which can lead to lower survival and long-term health problems in the offspring. This error in cell division is called aneuploidy. In people, aneuploidy is the largest known source of spontaneous miscarriage. Importantly, it highlights the need to develop new, and use existing, green chemistry technologies to better clean effluent released from water treatment facilities.
Context
Aneuploidy is the scientific term for having an abnormal number of chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell. The disorder affects humans and other animals that reproduce sexually, including fish.
The chromosomal disorder occurs in nearly 5 percent of all human pregnancies and is the leading cause of miscarriage worldwide. Although most aneuploid pregnancies fail naturally, some babies are born and do survive. Anueploidy is the number one reason for congenital birth defects - such as Down's syndrom and Turner syndrome -- and mental retardation (Hassold 2007).
Normally, human cells contain two copies -- a pair -- of each of the 23 chromosomes found in people - for a total of 46. Each parent contributes one copy through either the egg or the sperm. When a sperm fertilizes an egg, the chromosomes from the egg pair with the like chromosomes in the sperm.
Aneuploidy, though, occurs when the egg or the sperm contribute either more than one or no chromosomes. Instead of a pair, the affected chromosome ends up having three copies -- called trisomy -- or just one copy -- called monosomy. The vast majority of people born with the condition are trisomy.
Although sperm with the wrong number of chromosomes can cause aneuploidy, most disorders in people can be traced back to the mother’s eggs, which form when she is in the womb. It is well established that the risk for miscarriage and aneuploidy increases with a woman’s age.
Presently, the causes of anueploidy are poorly understood, particularly because of the difficulty in studying how eggs and sperm form in both humans and experimental animal models.
Recent studies -- specifically those led by Dr. Patricia Hunt at Washington State University -- show that environmental contaminants may contribute to aneuploidy conditions. In their research, bisphenol A (BPA) causes a 10-fold increase in aneuploidy in the eggs of female mice that were exposed to the chemical while they were developing in the womb (Hassold 2007). BPA is an estrogenic chemical widely used in the manufacture of plastics, epoxy resins and carbon papers.
Average sperm counts worldwide appear to have declined by nearly 50 percent since 1940. Infertility and reproductive problems have risen during the same time period. While there may be many reasons, -- including aneuploidy caused by environmental factors -- exposure to environmental contaminants generally, and endocrine disruptors in particular, may be a major contributing factor.
Environmental estrogens (like BPA) are widespread in US rivers, lakes and other waterways (Kolpin 2002). Sources include flushed pharmaceuticals, runoff from agricultural fields and industry effluent.
Millions of women take oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancies. The estrogen hormone 17-beta-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is an active ingredient in birth control pills. The hormone can end up in the environment after passing through wastewater treatment plants.
Animal studies and observations of wildlife provide sufficient clues to warrant concern about health effects from environmental estrogens. Male reproduction seems expecially vulnerable. Exposure is linked to intersex (born with both male and female characteristics) conditions, lower sperm counts, genital tract malformations, increased sperm and egg death and embryonic mortality.
Prior fish studies found sperm problems lead to lower survival in trout offspring that were exposed to environmental estrogens, including EE2. Sperm chromosome damage was not investigated as a possible cause until now.
What did they do?
Scientists exposed juvenile rainbow trout to 10 nanograms/liter (10 ppb) of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) for 50 days. The synthetic hormone is the active ingredient in most formulations of the birth control pill. Importantly, 10 ppb is a relevant dose, because it is nearly identical to reported levels in contaminated rivers or streams.
The fish were exposed when they were maturing into adults and beginning to make sperm.
After 50 days, sperm was collected. Some of it was used to fertilize eggs from females that were not exposed to EE2. The remainder of the sperm was analyzed, and the number of chromosomes was scored to determine the frequency of aneuploidy.
Aneuploidy was identified through fluorescence -- a technique using colored probes that “stick” to particular chromosomes. The probes can be seen with a special microscope. In this study, chromosome #20 appeared green, and the Y chromosome appeared red. The scientists then counted the number of red and green dots in each sperm cell.
Normal sperm cells have one red and one green dot. If a cell had more than one of each color or if a cell was lacking one of the two colors, then the cell was determined to be anueploid.
Reprinted from Brown et al. 2008.
Normal sperm cell (A) and aneuploid sperm cells (B,C,D).
What did they find?
Exposure to minute quantities of EE2 caused nearly a 25-fold increase in the frequency of aneuploid sperm in fish maturing to adults.
In a normal, unexposed fish, only about 1.2 percent of the total sperm are considered aneuploid. This is the exact frequency of aneuploid sperm found in most humans.
More than half -- 58 percent -- of the embryos derived from eggs fertilized with sperm from the exposed males contained an abnormal number of chromosomes.
Among the aneuploid embryos, 42% were hypodiploid, (containing fewer than the normal number of chromosomes), and 16% were hyperdiploid (more chromosomes than normal).
What does it mean?
For the first time, scientists demonstrate that rainbow trout exposed to the active ingredient in the birth control pill have nearly a 25-fold increase in the frequency of sperm containing abnormal numbers of chromosomes. Such defective sperm can affect egg fertilization, embryo development and offspring survival.
Prior studies find that juvenile male fish exposed to EE2 during sexual maturation father embryos with lower survival rates. Up until this study, there was no explanation for these findings. Now, the reason for the reduced survival in those studies may be because EE2 causes aneuploidy in the developing sperm, the authors assert.
How EE2 causes aneuploidy is not known, but the environmental consequences are clear. First, minute quantities of environmental estrogens have adverse affects on reproduction in wildlife populations. Second, males appear to be acutely sensitive to these environmental estrogens, even at very minute quantities. Third, pharmaceuticals that humans often consider harmless, do end up on our public waterways and at levels which clearly affect wildlife.
The possible impacts on humans who use the same water -- whether for drinking, recreation, agricultural irrigation or other purpose -- remain to be determined.
Women taking oral contraceptives excrete EE2, and wastewater treatment facilities fail to effectively remove it from the effluent. Thus, increasing levels of the estrogenic contaminant is found in some public water supplies. Levels approaching 8 parts per billion (ppb), or nearly equal to the amount the fish were exposed to in the present study, have been measured in several North American waterways used for irrigation, recreation and drinking. Consequently, male fish are not the only ones exposed or possibly alarmed by the findings of this work.
Nevertheless, there are new developing green chemistry technologies that may be able to facilitate the removal of environmental estrogens from waste water treatment plants and public water supplies (Collins 2002). Scientists and policy makers need to come together to decide where and how investments should be made to mitigate this threat to wildlife and potentially to humans.
Resources
Collins, TJ. 2002. TAML oxidant activators: a new approach to the activation of hydrogen peroxide for environmentally significant problems. Accounts of Chemical Research 35(9):782-90..
Hassold, T, H Hall and P Hunt. 2007. The origin of human aneuploidy: where we have been, where we are going. Human Molecular Genetics 16 Spec (2):R203-8.
Courtesy: Environmental Health News
Feb 17, 2009
Brown, KH, IR Schultz, JG Cloud, and JJ Nagler. 2008. Aneuploid sperm formation in rainbow trout exposed to the environmental estrogen 17α –ethynylestradiol. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science doi:10.1073/pnas.0808333105.
ContextWhat did they do?What did they find?What does it mean?ResourcesMore new science from EHN
Synopsis by Michael D. Laiosa and Wendy Hessler
darthservo/Flickr
Sperm from rainbow trout exposed to the synthetic estrogen in birth control pills can have the wrong number of chormosomes.
Researchers report that very minute quantities of the hormone found in the birth control pill alter sperm development in rainbow trout by changing the number of chromosomes, which can lead to lower survival and long-term health problems in the offspring. This error in cell division is called aneuploidy. In people, aneuploidy is the largest known source of spontaneous miscarriage. Importantly, it highlights the need to develop new, and use existing, green chemistry technologies to better clean effluent released from water treatment facilities.
Context
Aneuploidy is the scientific term for having an abnormal number of chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell. The disorder affects humans and other animals that reproduce sexually, including fish.
The chromosomal disorder occurs in nearly 5 percent of all human pregnancies and is the leading cause of miscarriage worldwide. Although most aneuploid pregnancies fail naturally, some babies are born and do survive. Anueploidy is the number one reason for congenital birth defects - such as Down's syndrom and Turner syndrome -- and mental retardation (Hassold 2007).
Normally, human cells contain two copies -- a pair -- of each of the 23 chromosomes found in people - for a total of 46. Each parent contributes one copy through either the egg or the sperm. When a sperm fertilizes an egg, the chromosomes from the egg pair with the like chromosomes in the sperm.
Aneuploidy, though, occurs when the egg or the sperm contribute either more than one or no chromosomes. Instead of a pair, the affected chromosome ends up having three copies -- called trisomy -- or just one copy -- called monosomy. The vast majority of people born with the condition are trisomy.
Although sperm with the wrong number of chromosomes can cause aneuploidy, most disorders in people can be traced back to the mother’s eggs, which form when she is in the womb. It is well established that the risk for miscarriage and aneuploidy increases with a woman’s age.
Presently, the causes of anueploidy are poorly understood, particularly because of the difficulty in studying how eggs and sperm form in both humans and experimental animal models.
Recent studies -- specifically those led by Dr. Patricia Hunt at Washington State University -- show that environmental contaminants may contribute to aneuploidy conditions. In their research, bisphenol A (BPA) causes a 10-fold increase in aneuploidy in the eggs of female mice that were exposed to the chemical while they were developing in the womb (Hassold 2007). BPA is an estrogenic chemical widely used in the manufacture of plastics, epoxy resins and carbon papers.
Average sperm counts worldwide appear to have declined by nearly 50 percent since 1940. Infertility and reproductive problems have risen during the same time period. While there may be many reasons, -- including aneuploidy caused by environmental factors -- exposure to environmental contaminants generally, and endocrine disruptors in particular, may be a major contributing factor.
Environmental estrogens (like BPA) are widespread in US rivers, lakes and other waterways (Kolpin 2002). Sources include flushed pharmaceuticals, runoff from agricultural fields and industry effluent.
Millions of women take oral contraceptives to prevent pregnancies. The estrogen hormone 17-beta-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is an active ingredient in birth control pills. The hormone can end up in the environment after passing through wastewater treatment plants.
Animal studies and observations of wildlife provide sufficient clues to warrant concern about health effects from environmental estrogens. Male reproduction seems expecially vulnerable. Exposure is linked to intersex (born with both male and female characteristics) conditions, lower sperm counts, genital tract malformations, increased sperm and egg death and embryonic mortality.
Prior fish studies found sperm problems lead to lower survival in trout offspring that were exposed to environmental estrogens, including EE2. Sperm chromosome damage was not investigated as a possible cause until now.
What did they do?
Scientists exposed juvenile rainbow trout to 10 nanograms/liter (10 ppb) of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) for 50 days. The synthetic hormone is the active ingredient in most formulations of the birth control pill. Importantly, 10 ppb is a relevant dose, because it is nearly identical to reported levels in contaminated rivers or streams.
The fish were exposed when they were maturing into adults and beginning to make sperm.
After 50 days, sperm was collected. Some of it was used to fertilize eggs from females that were not exposed to EE2. The remainder of the sperm was analyzed, and the number of chromosomes was scored to determine the frequency of aneuploidy.
Aneuploidy was identified through fluorescence -- a technique using colored probes that “stick” to particular chromosomes. The probes can be seen with a special microscope. In this study, chromosome #20 appeared green, and the Y chromosome appeared red. The scientists then counted the number of red and green dots in each sperm cell.
Normal sperm cells have one red and one green dot. If a cell had more than one of each color or if a cell was lacking one of the two colors, then the cell was determined to be anueploid.
Reprinted from Brown et al. 2008.
Normal sperm cell (A) and aneuploid sperm cells (B,C,D).
What did they find?
Exposure to minute quantities of EE2 caused nearly a 25-fold increase in the frequency of aneuploid sperm in fish maturing to adults.
In a normal, unexposed fish, only about 1.2 percent of the total sperm are considered aneuploid. This is the exact frequency of aneuploid sperm found in most humans.
More than half -- 58 percent -- of the embryos derived from eggs fertilized with sperm from the exposed males contained an abnormal number of chromosomes.
Among the aneuploid embryos, 42% were hypodiploid, (containing fewer than the normal number of chromosomes), and 16% were hyperdiploid (more chromosomes than normal).
What does it mean?
For the first time, scientists demonstrate that rainbow trout exposed to the active ingredient in the birth control pill have nearly a 25-fold increase in the frequency of sperm containing abnormal numbers of chromosomes. Such defective sperm can affect egg fertilization, embryo development and offspring survival.
Prior studies find that juvenile male fish exposed to EE2 during sexual maturation father embryos with lower survival rates. Up until this study, there was no explanation for these findings. Now, the reason for the reduced survival in those studies may be because EE2 causes aneuploidy in the developing sperm, the authors assert.
How EE2 causes aneuploidy is not known, but the environmental consequences are clear. First, minute quantities of environmental estrogens have adverse affects on reproduction in wildlife populations. Second, males appear to be acutely sensitive to these environmental estrogens, even at very minute quantities. Third, pharmaceuticals that humans often consider harmless, do end up on our public waterways and at levels which clearly affect wildlife.
The possible impacts on humans who use the same water -- whether for drinking, recreation, agricultural irrigation or other purpose -- remain to be determined.
Women taking oral contraceptives excrete EE2, and wastewater treatment facilities fail to effectively remove it from the effluent. Thus, increasing levels of the estrogenic contaminant is found in some public water supplies. Levels approaching 8 parts per billion (ppb), or nearly equal to the amount the fish were exposed to in the present study, have been measured in several North American waterways used for irrigation, recreation and drinking. Consequently, male fish are not the only ones exposed or possibly alarmed by the findings of this work.
Nevertheless, there are new developing green chemistry technologies that may be able to facilitate the removal of environmental estrogens from waste water treatment plants and public water supplies (Collins 2002). Scientists and policy makers need to come together to decide where and how investments should be made to mitigate this threat to wildlife and potentially to humans.
Resources
Collins, TJ. 2002. TAML oxidant activators: a new approach to the activation of hydrogen peroxide for environmentally significant problems. Accounts of Chemical Research 35(9):782-90..
Hassold, T, H Hall and P Hunt. 2007. The origin of human aneuploidy: where we have been, where we are going. Human Molecular Genetics 16 Spec (2):R203-8.
Courtesy: Environmental Health News
AMY FISHER TAKING UP STRIPPING
The inevitable has finally happened: Amy Fisher is hitting the pole.
The Long Island Lolita - who went to prison for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head and recently started a porn Web site featuring herself - plans to tour the country as a high-paid stripper.
"I love to dance, and I'm an exhibitionist," the 34-year-old Fisher tells avn.com. "I am going to take this road until my fans tell me, 'Dear, please put your clothes back on. You're too old.' "
Courtesy: FOXWes.com
The Long Island Lolita - who went to prison for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head and recently started a porn Web site featuring herself - plans to tour the country as a high-paid stripper.
"I love to dance, and I'm an exhibitionist," the 34-year-old Fisher tells avn.com. "I am going to take this road until my fans tell me, 'Dear, please put your clothes back on. You're too old.' "
Courtesy: FOXWes.com
Monday, February 16, 2009
SAMANTHA WHO
Exclusive: Angie Harmon terrorizes 'Samantha Who?'
Jan 22, 2009, 11:20 AM by Michael Ausiello
Categories: Samantha Who?
Now I have another reason to lament ABC's decision to bench Samantha Who? in favor of expanded episodes of The Bachelor: The oh-so-groovy Angie Harmon is joining the cast!
Sources confirm to me exclusively that the Women's Murder Club survivor has been cast in the potentially recurring role of Gigi, the infamous (and crazy) ex-wife of Sam's current honey, Funk (Billy Zane).
What's so infamous about her? Let's just say Ms. Cuckoo Puffs plays a critical role in the show's mythology. And it's Awe. Some.
Unfortunately, now that ABC has delayed Samantha's return, I'm unable to give you even a rough air date for Harmon's debut. I can tell you she's not slated to show up until the show's season finale. The net is expected to announce a new return date for the show in the coming days, so stay tuned.
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Jan 22, 2009, 11:20 AM by Michael Ausiello
Categories: Samantha Who?
Now I have another reason to lament ABC's decision to bench Samantha Who? in favor of expanded episodes of The Bachelor: The oh-so-groovy Angie Harmon is joining the cast!
Sources confirm to me exclusively that the Women's Murder Club survivor has been cast in the potentially recurring role of Gigi, the infamous (and crazy) ex-wife of Sam's current honey, Funk (Billy Zane).
What's so infamous about her? Let's just say Ms. Cuckoo Puffs plays a critical role in the show's mythology. And it's Awe. Some.
Unfortunately, now that ABC has delayed Samantha's return, I'm unable to give you even a rough air date for Harmon's debut. I can tell you she's not slated to show up until the show's season finale. The net is expected to announce a new return date for the show in the coming days, so stay tuned.
if (imageCredit) {
document.write("Photo Credit: " + imageCredit);
}
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