( 4:25 PM ) The Rat
SCIENTISTS PHOTOGRAPH GIANT SQUID! Link via IKM.
# Posted by The Rat @ 4:25 PM
( 7:19 PM ) The Rat
INTERESTING L.A. TIMES PIECE about new issues in fetal surgery.
Just a few years ago, fetal surgeries were rare and only a handful of top research hospitals, such as UC San Francisco and Children's Hospital Boston, performed them. That is quickly changing. Six fetal centers have opened across the country in the last four years and as many as 10 other hospitals are considering similar programs, according to several experts. UC San Diego performed its first fetal surgeries earlier this year. Meanwhile, doctors are expanding the type of fetal conditions they are willing to treat. Until recently, doctors typically have intervened only when a fetus' life is at stake because of the risk to both the woman and the fetus. Today, however, more hospitals are performing fetal surgeries in cases where the fetus is not endangered. One new intervention, for example, involves using a laser to cut away relatively common obstructions around a fetus' growing limb, a potentially difficult but clearly non-fatal condition. Doctors also are considering surgeries to repair cleft palates and other cosmetic procedures.
As more hospitals enter the field, a debate is growing among doctors, researchers and medical ethicists. Critics point to a paucity of research about the safety and effectiveness of such procedures; until more studies are done, some are calling for stricter limits. Among their chief concerns: Smaller hospitals with fewer resources and less-experienced physicians are performing the procedures.
Critics say that may increase the risks associated with such surgeries. Several doctors said they are aware of three cases worldwide in which both the woman and her fetus died during surgery. The majority of women who undergo fetal procedures have premature labor, increasing the risk of death for the unborn child. The woman's uterus can rupture, which can require a hysterectomy, or she can have such severe scarring from surgery that she may have trouble conceiving again. And up to 5% of children who are born premature following fetal surgery develop cerebral palsy, doctors said...
# Posted by The Rat @ 7:19 PM
( 7:02 PM ) The Rat
DON ADAMS—who played Maxwell Smart on Get Smart, and also did the voice of Inspector Gadget—has died.
# Posted by The Rat @ 7:02 PM
( 12:52 PM ) The Rat
GASBUDDY.COM.
# Posted by The Rat @ 12:52 PM
( 8:03 PM ) The Rat
The sleepless nights, the daily fights
The quick toboggan when you reach the heights
I miss the kisses and I miss the bites
I wish I were in love again
The broken dates, the endless waits
The lovely loving and the hateful hates
The conversation with the flying plates
I wish I were in love again
No more pain
No more strain
Now I'm sane, but
I would rather be punch-drunk
The pulled-out fur of cat and cur,
The fine mismating of a him and her;
I've learned my lesson but I wish I were
In love again
The furtive sigh, the blackened eye,
The words 'I'll love you 'til the day I die'
The self-deception that believes the lie
I wish I were in love again
When love congeals, it soon reveals
The faint aroma of performing seals,
The double-crossing of a pair of heels
I wish I were in love again
No, no more care
No, no despair
Now I'm all there now
But I'd rather be punch-drunk
Believe me, sir, I much prefer
The classic battle of a him and her
I don't like quiet, and I wish I were
In love again
In love again
In love again.
—Rodgers & Hart
# Posted by The Rat @ 8:03 PM
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