5 million test tube babies in world

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Read Time:2 Minute, 8 Second

Leana Sibalo: In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) has given the world about five million new people since the first test tube baby was born in England 34 years ago, according to an estimate released on Monday.

As the initial controversy over man's scientific manipulation of nature has faded, about 350,000 babies conceived in petri dishes are now born every year, said the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

That represents about 0.3 percent of the 130-million-odd babies added to the world population annually.

"Millions of families with children have been created, thereby reducing the burden of infertility," said David Adamson, chairman of the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART).

IVF, which involves placing an egg and sperm together in a petri dish for conception, and a sub-category known as ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) where the sperm is inserted with a micro-needle directly into the egg, have become commonplace.

But it has proven controversial over the years, with some fearing it paved the way for so-called designer babies whose characteristics are chosen by parents.

The Vatican considers it immoral because of the wastage of a large number of embryos, and the procedure has been criticised for allowing women to have children until a much older age.

The five million milestone "justifies all the legal and moral battles, the ethical debates and hard-fought social approval," said Simon Fishel, a member of the team that helped conceive the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown, born in 1978.

The birth estimate was done by ICMART for the 28th annual meeting of ESHRE which opened in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday.

It was based on the number of IVF and ICSI treatments recorded worldwide up to 2008, and estimates for the years thereafter for which confirmed figures are not yet available.

The data showed that about 1.5 million IVF and ICSI treatments are now administered around the world every year — more than a third of them in Europe.

Success rates have stabilised, with about a third of fertilised embryos implanted resulting in a live birth.

ESHRE said there was a trend in Europe to implant fewer embryos at a time, causing a drop in multiple births which carry a higher risk of complications for the mother, a lower baby birth weight, and developmental difficulties. The number of triplets has fallen below one percent, said the statement, "and for the first time, the twin delivery rate was below 20 percent."

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Test-tube baby pioneer Sir Robert Edwards dies

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Sir Robert Edwards The world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, has led the tributes to the pioneer of IVF, who has died aged 87.

Prof Sir Robert Edwards was knighted in 2011, five decades after he began experimenting with IVF.

His work led to the birth of Ms Brown at Oldham General Hospital in 1978. She said he had brought “happiness and joy” to millions of people.

IVF is used worldwide and has resulted in more than five million babies.

Prof Edwards died in his sleep after a long illness.

Ms Brown said: “I have always regarded Robert Edwards as like a grandfather to me.

“His work, along with Patrick Steptoe, has brought happiness and joy to millions of people all over the world by enabling them to have children.

“I am glad that he lived long enough to be recognised with a Nobel prize for his work, and his legacy will live on with all the IVF work being carried out throughout the world.”

‘Immense impact’

The University of Cambridge, where Prof Edwards was a fellow, said his work “had an immense impact”.

 Born in Yorkshire in 1925 into a working-class family, Prof Edwards served in the British army during World War II before returning home to study first agricultural sciences and then animal genetics.

Building on earlier research, which showed that egg cells from rabbits could be fertilised in test tubes when sperm was added, Edwards developed the same technique for humans.

In a laboratory at Cambridge in 1968, he first saw life created outside the womb in the form of a human blastocyst, an embryo that has developed for five to six days after fertilisation.

“I’ll never forget the day I looked down the microscope and saw something funny in the cultures,” Edwards once recalled.

‘Remarkable man’

“I looked down the microscope and what I saw was a human blastocyst gazing up at me. I thought, ‘We’ve done it’.”

“Bob Edwards is one of our greatest scientists,” said Mike Macnamee, chief executive of Bourn Hall, the IVF clinic founded by Prof Edwards with his fellow IVF pioneer Patrick Steptoe, a gynaecological surgeon.

Prof Martin Johnson, one of his first students, said: “Bob Edwards was a remarkable man who changed the lives of so many people.

“He was not only a visionary in his science but also in his communication to the wider public about matters scientific, in which he was a great pioneer.

“He will be greatly missed by his colleagues, students, his family and all the many people he has helped to have children.”

Prof Peter Braude, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at King’s College London, said: “Few biologists have so positively and practically impacted on humankind.

“Bob’s boundless energy, his innovative ideas, and his resilience despite the relentless criticism by naysayers, changed the lives of millions of ordinary people who now rejoice in the gift of their own child.”

Edwards was too frail to pick up his Nobel prize in Stockholm in 2010, leaving that job to his wife Ruth, with whom he had five daughters.

He remained a fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, until his death.

His work was motivated by his belief, as he once described it, that “the most important thing in life is having a child.”

“Nothing is more special than a child,” he said.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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19yr Old Raped by 4 Women

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Toronto police are looking for four female suspects who they say allegedly sexually assaulted a 19-year-old man.
The incident happened during the early morning hours of Sunday, March 31, after the man met the four women at a nightclub near King Street and University Avenue.

The man left the club with the women who offered to drive him home, according to a written statement from Toronto police. "The complainant was instead driven to a parking lot where he was sexually assaulted by all four suspects," said the statement.

After the suspects let go of the man, they were seen leaving the area in a vehicle that resembled a silver Honda SUV. Detective Constable Thomas Ueberholz with the Toronto Police Sex Crimes Unit said that his division does get complaints of sexual assaults on males by females. "Although the majority generally is females that are victims or complainants, it is not completely unusual for a male to be the victim of a sexual assault," he said. A 2003 report from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics showed that men comprised eight per cent of adult victims of sexual assaults that were reported to police.
Male victims of sexual assault are just as likely as female victims to report the crime to police, according to the report. Nicole Pietsch, co-ordinator of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres, said that male victims, like female victims, can encounter stigmas when seeking help.
It is not completely unusual for a male to be the victim of a sexual assault "Other men will say for example, "Oh, he’s so lucky," like that was actually a positive thing when it wasn’t," Ms. Pietsch said.
"I think that that just feeds into the myth that sexual violence is something the victim wants."

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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CALIFORNIA: Matthew Warren, 27, commits suicide

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The youngest son of evangelical pastor Rick Warren committed suicide Saturday after a long battle with mental illness.

ABC News reported Warren sent an email to the congregation of his Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, expressing his grief and sorrow at the loss of his son, Matthew, 27.

The author of the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life,” said the tragedy happened in a moment of despair after a fun family night together.

“But only those closest knew that he struggled from birth with mental illness, dark holes of depression, and even suicidal thoughts. In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided,” Warren wrote.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Overheated laptop-triggered fire, Killed 1

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A couple lost their 25 year old son in a fire at home on June 4th. The son who had graduated with MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison two weeks earlier had come home for a while. He had lunch with his dad at home and decided to go back to clean up his hostel room. His father told him to wait, to meet his mother, before he went back for a few days. He decided to take a nap while waiting for his mom to come back home from work. Some time later their neighbors called 911 when they saw black smoke coming out of the house.

Unfortunately, the 25 years old died in the three year old house. It took several days of investigation to find out the cause of the fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by the laptop resting on the bed. When the laptop was on the bed cooling fan did not get the air to cool the computer and that is what caused the fire. He did not even wake up to get out of the bed because he died of breathing in carbon monoxide.

The reason I am writing this to all of you is that I have seen many of us and also our brothers& sisters sons&daughters friends&family using the laptop while in bed. Let us all decide and make it a practice not to do that. The risk is real. Let us make it a rule not to use the laptop on bed with blankets and pillows around. Please educate as many people as you can.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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President Obama congratulates Uhuru on election victory

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President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto today received   a congratulatory message from America’s President Barrack Obama on their election in last month’s general elections.   In the congratulatory message that was delivered to the President-elect    today at his KICC office by America’s Ambassador to Kenya Mr Robert Godec,     President Obama said the electoral process and the peaceful adjudication   of disputes that ensued are testaments to the progress Kenya has made in  strengthening its democratic institutions.    

Mr Obama said,” Now that your election has been confirmed, you have the  opportunity to build on the promise of Kenya’s Constitution and solidify  its place as a vibrant and prosperous democracy centered on the rule of law”.  The American President further noted that since Kenya’s independence in 1963, the United States and Kenya have been strong partners united by a     shared commitment to democracy, security and opportunity.  “Together we have faced many problems and solved many challenges and our  cooperation has benefited both of our peoples” he added.   During the meeting, President-elect Uhuru said Kenya regards the US as a  valuable development partner and ally in addressing regional challenges  especially terrorism, insecurity, money laundering and piracy.  

The President-elect said he looked forward to strengthening ties and cooperation between Kenya and the US for the mutual benefit of the two  countries. President-elect expressed his government’s commitment to nurturing a  philosophy of constructive engagements in which diplomatic contacts would be between the democratically elected leaders. He further emphasized that his government looked forward to continued  cooperation with the US and the international community in general in the consolidation of peace in Somalia in order to ensure the country does not  become a breeding and training ground for terrorists who pose a security     threat to Kenya, the region and the world at large.

In attendance during the talks were outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister prof     Sam Ongeri, Permanent Secretaries Thuita Mwangi and Mutea Iringo among     senior government officials.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Cops Stun Pregnant Woman With Taser (VIDEO)

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Cops Stun Pregnant Woman  – It started as a minor altercation over alleged damage to a car, but this incident in a Best Buy parking lot quickly escalated and ended with two people — including a pregnant woman — getting stunned with a Taser by police.

According to an arrest report filed by Springfield, Ill., police, Lucinda White, who is eight months pregnant, called police after getting into a fender-bender in the parking lot on March 30. The driver of the other vehicle was questioned by police, and White’s boyfriend, Frederic Thomas, became upset after he denied there was damage.

In the police report, which was posted by the website Springfieldleaks.com, it stated that Thomas began yelling and cursing at the driver. The officer, R.T. Kuhn, wrote that he told Thomas to calm down or he would be arrested, but Thomas persisted and then resisted arrest, “swinging his arms and hands wildly” at the officer’s “head and upper body.” A struggle between Kuhn and Thomas ensued, and the officer called for back up.

In a cell phone video of the incident posted to YouTube March 31, White can be seen in close proximity to officer Kuhn and Thomas as they struggle between parked cars. One officer, identified as “Higginson” in Kuhn’s report, runs up and uses a Taser on Thomas. White protests verbally and then resists as Higginson tries to arrest her. He then appears to deploy a Taser on the woman.

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About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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North Korea Moves Missiles, South Korean Markets Roiled

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North Korea has placed two of its intermediate range missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them on the east coast of the country in a move that could threaten Japan or U.S. Pacific bases, South Korean media reported on Friday.

The report could not be confirmed. But any such movement may be intended to demonstrate that the North, angry about joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises and the imposition of U.N. sanctions, is prepared to demonstrate its ability to mount an attack.

The North has said the nuclear conflict could break out at any time on the Korean peninsula in a month-long war of words that has prompted the United States to move military assets into the region.

The tension with North Korea has roiled South Korean financial markets, and top finance officials in Seoul warned they could have a long-term impact on markets.

In North Korea itself, there was no intensification of the strident rhetoric about impending war as the country marked a national holiday. And some analysts said the tone of recent statements, however bitter, was most probably aimed at securing concessions and was unlikely to lead to armed conflict.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, quoting a senior military official familiar with the matter, said: “Early this week, the North moved two Musudan missiles on the train and placed them on mobile launchers.”

There were unconfirmed media reports on Thursday that the North had moved missiles to the east coast, although it was not clear what kind of missiles had been deployed.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry declined to comment.

Speculation centered on two kinds of missiles neither of which is known to have been tested.

One was the so-called Musudan missile which South Korea’s Defence Ministry estimates have a range of up to 3,000 km (1,865 miles, the other is called the KN-08, which is believed to be an inter-continental ballistic missile, which is again untested.

MARKET JITTERS
In Seoul, officials from economic ministries, the central bank and regulatory agencies held emergency talks and promised swift and strong action should the markets lose stability. News of the talks and the central bank involvement boosted investors’ expectations of an interest rate cut next week.

South Korean shares slid, with foreign investors selling their biggest daily amount in nearly 20 months, hurt after aggressive easing from the Bank of Japan sent the yen reeling, as well as by the tension over North Korea.

“In the past, (markets) recovered quickly from the impact from any North Korea-related event, but recent threats from North Korea are stronger and the impact may therefore not disappear quickly,” Vice Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho told a meeting.

North Korea threatened to strike U.S. military bases, including those on the American mainland, and to shut down a joint industrial complex with the South while denying entry to the complex by South Korean workers this week.

The South’s new unification minister said the government was willing to pull out workers from the Kaesong industrial complex if it became dangerous, though he said the situation was not that serious for the moment.

The threats from North Korea’s 30-year-old leader Kim Jong-un, though not unusual from the reclusive state, have followed the imposition of new U.N. sanctions in response to North Korea’s third nuclear test in February. Reaction to the threats in markets has until now been muted.

The increasingly tense standoff with North Korea could not happen at a worse time for the government of the South’s new president, Park Geun-hye, whose first steps in office included a sharp cut in growth forecasts.

Park, in office for just over a month, has ordered her cabinet to draw up what is likely to be a large supplementary budget to lower budget revenue projections and add new spending plans aimed at jump-starting faltering domestic demand.

“The market usually doesn’t get jittery over North Korea threats. But this time is different, because they look willing to sacrifice Kaesong, which has never happened before,” said Park Hyung-joon, macroeconomics team leader at Meritz Securities.

Some U.S. analysts expressed a degree of alarm over the intensification of the threats.

“The rhetoric is off the charts,” said Victor Cha, former director for Asian affairs at the White House National Security Council and now senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic Studies in Washington.

“We don’t understand this new guy at all. And if the North Koreans move to provoke the South, the South is going to retaliate in a way we haven’t seen before.”

Other analysts said a degeneration into conflict was unlikely.

“We do not believe that North Korea intends to attack South Korea, pre-emptively or otherwise, in the current cycle of threat projection,” the U.S.-based Nautilus think-tank said in a study published on Thursday.

“Rather, these statements are opportunistic, and express its authentic strategy which is extortionate. The North’s nuclear forces are intended to compel their adversaries to change their policies towards (North Korea), not to deter unprovoked external attack—except when such an attack might actually be in motion.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Kanye West Upset About Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush Phone Calls?

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Read Time:1 Minute, 21 Second

 

“There’s a big smile on Kim Kardashian’s face these days — and it’s all because of Reggie Bush!” declares OK!

Huh?

According to the tabloid, the exes “secretly got in touch recently to talk about babies.”

Kardashian and Kanye West are expecting their first child, while Bush’s girlfriend Lilit Avagyan is also pregnant.

“They have had several phone calls after he reached out to congratulate her on her pregnancy,” an “insider” tells OK!, adding, “With his own baby on the way, they had a lot to talk about.”

But OK! says West “wasn’t happy” about the contact.

The tab’s source explains, “He isn’t thrilled that Reggie has been trying to rekindle his friendship with Kim. When they first started dating, Kanye didn’t want to start a relationship until he knew she was over her exes.”

OK! claims Kardashian “doesn’t want anyone telling her who she can be friends with.”

“Kim thinks Kanye’s being paranoid and can’t believe he wouldn’t trust her!” says the mag’s source.

As much as we’d like to believe OK! isn’t just trying to stir up trouble between Kardashian and West for the thousandth time, it looks like the magazine’s losing streak continues here.

A source close to the situation tells Gossip Cop there’s been no argument between the couple over Bush

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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Pregnant Kim K and baby daddy Kanye West set to split?

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MediaTakeOut.com : just got word this morning that a major news publication will shortly be reporting that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have split! According to our snitch, the pub reportedly has a high level snitch who is saying that the pair has agreed to split – but are not going to announce anything until after this season of Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, and after the Kanye's album release this summer.

 
The word is that he couple is scared of all the bad press that they'd receive if they split so soon. As for the "baby" . . . we'll see what happens.
 
I don't necessarily believe this but here's more. Kanye is on a self-imposed exile in Paris…so while Kim is pregnant, they live in different continents. Also, on Easter Monday Kim Kardashian took an 11 hour flight to visit Kanye in Paris. They were photographed on several outings with sour faces each time. Two days later, she was back in the US.
Also, in a recent interview while promoting Tyler Perry's Temptation, Kim talked about her pregnancy and described herself as being alone. I hope we are all just reading too much meaning into what's going on between them. I hope they make it.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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