EXASPERATED parents struggling with their teen's unfathomable behaviour may wonder if their adolescent is alone in acting so erratically. The answer, say researchers, is that not only do all human teenagers share similar characteristics, but their typical adolescent behaviour is reflected throughout the animal kingdom in creatures as small as insects to as large as whales.

Now the remarkable way human adolescent behaviour is mirrored in animals has been recorded in the new book Wildhood, written after years of research and travel by Harvard University evolutionary biologist Professor Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and science journalist Kathryn Bowers.

The pair studied the four universal challenges every adolescent of every species faces on the journey to adulthood: safety, status, sex, and survival. Here are four of the traits human and animal adolescents share:

1. Risk-taking:

Human teens aren't the only ones who take more risks and underestimate danger. The 'problematic' teenage brain specifically the late maturation of the prefrontal cortex which by adulthood is able to contain impulses is often used to explain higher adolescent rates of accidents, injuries and worse.

Strikingly similar brain biology during adolescence in other species pushes young wolves, possums, bears, and birds to take the risks needed to leave their dens, burrows and nests.

But this comes at a cost. Adolescent animals are disproportionately road-killed. Adolescent whales are more likely to be struck by shipping-lane traffic. And lacking experience recognising and evading predators on their own, adolescent animals have some of the highest rates of becoming prey.

In several species, adolescent animals exhibit behaviours which look risky but are actually adaptations to help them stay safer in the long run. Adolescent stickleback fish, bats, Thomson gazelles, and meerkats sometimes approach their predators instead of fleeing from them. This behaviour, called 'predator inspection', is at times dangerous, but the experience is crucial. The key is finding a way to gain experience while staying safe.

2. Social status:

Popularity, Instagram followers, 'likes' today's teenagers seem obsessed with status, sometimes acting as if it were a matter of life or death. But they aren't alone. For animal species who live in groups, status is a matter of life or death. In animal hierarchies, high status individuals eat more, live in safer places and reproduce more. They even have stronger immune systems and get better sleep.

Animal brains have evolved to signal when status is gained or lost. Like the physical pleasure which rewards animals for actions which increase survival and reproduction eating and having sex 'status pleasure' rewards animals when they rise up the ladder. The building blocks of the emotional centres in the human brain can be found in the brain status networks in fish, reptiles, birds and other mammals.

Status is one of the most powerful forces in the lives of adolescents across the animal kingdom.

3. Romance:

After young humans go through puberty, their bodies are physically capable of creating babies. However, they are many years away from being ready for parenthood. Remarkably, when wild animals go through puberty many will not have sex for years. In some cases, they must learn complex courtship steps, songs, and sequences before they breed.

Across the animal kingdom, music seems to have a powerful romantic impact. Canary and dove songs performed just right can induce ovulation in females. But it takes a lot of practice. Humpback whale adolescent males are invited to join choruses of males who loudly croon complex music that draws females to them. In the beginning, the adolescent males don't sing properly. With years of experience and practice, these whales become more powerful singers.

The songs and sequences of animal courtship are a complex language that takes time and practice to learn properly. Studies of the sexual lives of young wild animals confirm a species-spanning reality: sex is easy, courtship is hard.

4. Self-reliance:

Before they leave home, adolescent wolves go to 'finishing school', a term wolf biologists use to describe the adult hunts they're invited to join.

Leaving home is dangerous for young birds and mammals. While predators are a significant threat, finding enough food is challenging for animals on their own for the first time. In many species, parents provide preparation cheetah mothers disable gazelles and meerkat adults pull out scorpion stingers as practice prey for young hunters-in-training. But some learning can only happen when a young animal is hungry literally a do-or-die situation.

Across the animal kingdom and as in humans, self-sufficiency doesn't happen automatically. Preparation, practice, and hunger transform dependent young animals into self-reliant adults.

More here:
Four scientifically proven ways teen humans and adolescent animals are similar - The Irish News

10 February 2020

Researchers from Kumamoto University in Japan have revealed a potential genetic cause for infertility in a new study published in Developmental Cell.

The work, carried out in mice, reports the identification of a new gene, which appears to regulate the process of meiosis, a specialised form of cell division that occurs in the ovaries and testes, leading to the generation of gametes (eggs and sperm).Most cells in the body replicate through a process of cell division called mitosis whereby a single cell doubles its genetic information and then divides equally to create two copies of the original cell. Meiosis takes this process a step further, proceeding to a second cell division, resulting in the generation of four cells that contain half the genetic material, so that upon fertilisation the new cell has one full set of chromosomes.

In the current study the team used a mouse model to identify the gene meiosin, which appears to drive meiosis. When inactivated the researchers observed a reduced or abnormal production of germ cells in both sexes.

The scientists also observed that meiosin is only expressed at certain times in the testis and ovary, when the switch from mitosis to meiosis is taking place, which makes it unique in comparison to other genes previously thought to regulate the process.

'Our work shows that the meiosin gene is the switch that turns on meiosis, the special type of cell division that creates eggs and sperm,' said Dr Kei-Ichiro Ishiguro lead author of the study.

When investigating further, the researchers revealed that meiosin itself switches on hundreds of other genes, many of which currently have unknown functions.

'We were quite surprised to find so many genes with undefined functions lying dormant in this study. We have high expectations that the processes involved in germ cell formation will be greatly clarified as the role each of these genes plays is discovered,' added Dr Ishiguro.

While meiosin is known to exist in humans, further work will be required to determine the exact role in human fertility.

The improper division of genetic material as a result of abnormal meiosis can result in miscarriages or chromosomal disorders. Although the research is at an early stage,the authors hope that the study will lead to a greater understanding of these issues.

'If it eventually becomes possible to control meiosis, the benefits would be far-reaching for reproductive medicine, agricultural production, and even assisting rare species reproduction,' Dr Ishiguro concluded.

Read more:
Key gene in making eggs and sperm discovered - BioNews

The national debate for or against National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rages on. From tea stalls to shopping malls, from offices to social network, from primetime television to the protests on the street the discussion is everywhere. At the core of this debate is the fast-held belief that millions of immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have illegally entered West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, radically altering the state demographics. A fraction of Indian society passionately believes this is indeed the case and blame the illegal immigrants pampered for vote-bank politics for several socio-economic problems of India and these states specifically. Another major set of Indians the ones who are not so strongly against people of other religions and countries also believe that substantial immigration has taken place. Although this is a post-truth era dominated by alternative facts, it is desirable that people from all sides of the political spectrum have a look at hard evidence.

Immigration from Bangladesh in recent years

The laymans knowledge about millions of illegal immigrants is mostly based on anecdotal evidence and hearsay like it is known.., that vegetable vendor is from and in the border areas. Beliefs and opinions, especially when not substantiated by facts, are hard to change. However, an objective way to understand the subject is to do a testing of hypothesis i.e. you make a hypothesis and then, based on data collection and analysis, you conclude whether the hypothesis is correct or not.

So, in the case of West Bengal, the hypothesis is: If there has been a massive immigration of Bangladeshis (Muslims/Hindus) into the state in recent decades (and they were allotted ration cards, voter cards), that should skyrocket the states population number and substantially deviate its trend from the rest of the country. Do the numbers present in the census and surveys like NFHS agree with this?

If we look at the census data of 1981, 1991, 2001, and 2011 (graph 1 and table 1), the immediate conclusions are: the growth rate of WBs population has distinctly been less than the national average since the 1990s; this decrease is true not only for the whole population, but also for both Hindu and Muslim communities of over the past 2-3 census (Graph 1).

The decadal growth rates for WBs Hindus has been 21.1% in (1981-91); 14.2% in (1991-2001); and 10.8 % in (2001-2011). The corresponding values for WBs Muslims are 36.9% in (1981-91); 25.9% in (1991-2001); and 21.8 % in (2001-2011).

Graph 1 Population growth rates for 1991-2001 and 2001-2011 in India and WB

(Source: 1991, 2001, and 2011 Census; The table on the right showing the numerical values.)

In other words, the two major religious communities of WB are contributing less to the population of India compared to several other states, at least since 1991 for Hindus and since 2001 for Muslims. The states growth rate is less than the national average. This punctures the myth that West Bengal is bursting with a much larger-than-expected population because of Bangladeshi immigrants.

WBs border districts and illegal immigrants

It could be argued that a closer look into the border-districts of WB will show big changes in Hindu-Muslim demographics, as that is where the immigrants have entered. However, no such trend is visible from the census data of these districts. In concurrence with the lucid explanations by professors Subhanil Chaudhury and Saswata Ghosh, the population numbers clearly show that:

i) the 2001-2011 growth rates of almost all districts of WB has decreased compared to the previous decade (Graph 2),

ii) this holds true for Hindus and Muslims (Graphs 3A, 3B).

iii) there is no consistent trend in the border districts that can be explained by massive immigration.

Graph 2: Population growth rates for 1991-2001 and 2001-2011 in districts of WB

(Source:1991, 2001, and 2011 census; Dinajpur was divided into two separate districts, Uttar and Dakshin, in 1992 and so was Midnapore into East and West in 2002. Hence, i) the data of whole Dinajpur was plotted for both Uttar and Dakshin at 1991-2001, and ii) the data of whole Midnapore was plotted for both East and West at 1991-2001 and 2001-2011.)

Graphs 3: Population growth rates for Hindus (A) and Muslims (B) for 1991-2001 and 2001-2011 in districts of WB

(Source: same as in Graph 2)

The growth rate is higher than the state average in three districts which have a significant border with Bangladesh (North Dinajpur, Malda and Murshidabad). But this is less than the state-average in four other border districts (South Dinajpur, Nadia, Cooch Behar, and North 24 Parganas). Among the inward districts, Purulia, Medinipur and Birbhum have higher than average growth rates while Hooghly and Bardhaman have a slower population growth rate.

The striking thing is that the two communities parallel each other: Wherever the rate of growth of Hindus is high, it is high for Muslims; wherever it is less for Hindus, it is less for Muslims (table 2). In other words, there is no high Hindu growth rate, no high Muslim growth rate and no high-along-the-border growth rate. The census the major data source available for such studies just does not show any massive immigration into West Bengal.

Table 2:Growth rates of Hindus and Muslims parallel each other in districts of WB.

(Source: based on an article by S. Chaudhury and S. Ghosh, Anandabazar Patrika, Sept 10, 2015; The values were obtained by subtracting the state average of the community from the value for the district. WB state average (2011-2001) for Hindus is 10.81% and for Muslims is 21.81%.)

What drives the steady decrease of population growth rates for WB?

Briefly, it is increased levels of literacy, especially female literacy and (consequent) women empowerment. These are factors that have been globally recognized as prime drivers that cause a decline in the total fertility rate (TFR, number of children a woman bears) and this state is no exception. The TFR for WB(1.7/1.8 per children per woman) is among the lowest in the country and this applies to both the communities. Graph 4A compares TFR for the states Hindus and Muslims with the corresponding scenario from Kerala, one of the leading states in this regard and UP, one of the lagging states.

Furthermore, demographers (Ghosh, 2018; Haq and Patil, 2016) have noted that the gap between Hindu and Muslim fertility rates has reduced by more than one child (or very close to that) for states like WB, Assam and Kerala. In the case of WB, Hindus have reached replacement levels (<= 2.1 children per woman) in 18 out of the 19 districts, while Muslims follow that trend in 12 districts (Graph 4B). Evidently, the fertility rates of Bengals two major religious communities are converging something the policymakers and the people should both be happy about.

Graph 4A: Comparison of Total Fertility Rates (TFR) for Hindus and Muslims

(Source: TFR data from NHFS-4 for India, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and WB)

Graph 4B: TFR for Hindus and Muslims in districts of WB

(Source: Ghosh, S. (2018) Ind. J. Human Dev. 12, 37-51)

In this context, it is noteworthy that the 4th National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4, 2015-16) for WB had explained, The greatest differentials in fertility is by schooling. At current fertility rates, women with no schooling will have 1.2 children more than women with 12 or more years of schooling (a TFR of 2.5, compared with 1.3).

Truly, the higher the literacy rate of a WB district, the lower its population growth rate, and the higher the percentage of population below poverty line (BPL) the faster its population is growing (graph 6). These data also explain the higher growth rates and TFR of WBs Muslims compared to the states Hindus. Around 80% of WBs Muslims are among the economically most backward, and around 17% of Muslim families are still illiterate.

Graph 5: Correlation of Literacy (left) or Poverty (right)with Growth rate in WB districts(Source:2011 Census and 2006 Sachar Committee report)

Are the neighbouring regions of Bangladesh overpopulated?

No. Rather, the population growth rates and TFRs of Khulna, Rajsahi and Rangpur the three Bangladesh divisions flanking WB are among the lowest in the country (Graph 6). This is also in sync with the well-known fact that Bangladesh has been managing its population growth quite constructively and, in fact, its growth rate is less than Indias. And, in the absence of a bulging population, the reasons for immigration into WB are further reduced.

Map of West Bengal and Bangladesh (source: dmaps)

Graph 6:Population growth rates for 1991-2001 and 2001-2011 in divisions of Bangladesh(Source: BBS; note: Khulna, Rajsahi and Rangpur share border with WB)

What if the undocumented immigrants do not have voter, ration and Aadhaar cards?

That is WhatsApp legend. Neither does any peer-reviewed data indicate that, nor would it make much sense to allow millions to come in for vote bank and yet not give them voter cards. In contrast, the 2019 report of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) pegs immigrants who were born abroad but now resident in India at 5.1 million at present. That is distinctly less than the 6.4 million in 2000 and 7.6 million in 1990. As for migrants from Bangladesh, their number has reduced from 4.37 million in 1990 to 3.1 million in 2019, and obviously, 3 million in 1.2 billion is chump change! The census drop-in report explains, This is due to substantial decline in the number of recent migration and death of earlier migrants due to old age. Immigration certainly is not Indias (or West Bengals) pressing problem. [Please note, these values are not migration happening every year, rather total number of migrant residents].

Does that mean emigration from Bangladesh has stopped? Not really, although a detailed understanding is beyond the scope of this article. However, the recent data does indicate that many more Bangladeshis are moving to other countries than to India. For eg, UN-DESA estimates that, in 2000, there were 1.49 lakh and 97,000 Bangladeshi immigrants in the UK and USA respectively. In 2019, the corresponding numbers have increased to 2.4 lakhs and 2.45 lakhs respectively. In Saudi Arabia, there were around 5 lakh Bangladeshis in 2000; today they are more than 1.2 million. Indians are moving too; at around 17.5 million in 2019, the largest number of international immigrants are from India.

Graph 7:Migrants from neighbouring countries resident in India

(Source: UN)

Muslims have multiple wives, so they have more children: Really?

A popular belief (the infamous hum paanch, humare pachchis) is that most Muslim men have 3-4 wives and this increases their number of children. However, a simple recollection of high school knowledge should be enough to dispel this myth. Briefly, human populations invariably have a natural gender ratio of 1:1 because of the way human reproduction works. The sex of a human child is determined by the fathers sperm male if the sperm had a Y chromosome and female if it carried an X chromosome. Spermatogenesis the physiological process that produces sperms in the testes produces equal numbers of X and Y sperms, and fertilization is a random process i.e. X and Y sperms have equal chance of fusing with an oocyte. This ensures the 1:1 ratio of men: women in human populations, and makes it impossible for most men of any population to indulge in polygamy. Even if we assume that, in a population of 1000 people (500 men and 500 women), 100 men marry 3 women each, it means there will now be 400 unmarried men but only 200 unmarried women. Thus, some men will not be able to find a wife and will not have any children, thereby averaging out the growth of the entire population. The take-home message is that it is scientifically absurd to imagine that any human population could overgrow in such fantasising ways. Period.

To conclude

It is not doubted that people moved in and out, especially in the aftermath of the colossal tragedy of the partition and the political instability that gripped Bangaldesh later. But, the national and international data just does not reflect enough recent movement that can radically alter the demographics of WB. Rather, the census reflects a success story. Contrary to common knowledge, Indias population juggernaut has clearly slowed down. Some states like WB have done better in this regard, others have to buck up. But undoubtedly, since 1991, India has slowly but steadily moved towards solving the major problem of unbridled population overgrowth. In a more scientifically-tempered nation, this would be a cause for self-congratulation. This would also be a pedestal to address the existing lacunae and for harnessing the potential of our demographic dividend; the biggest population now is in the age of 15-63 years now i.e. the working age, availability of jobs would have unleashed a true Indian 21st century. Instead, a lack of scientific outlook towards facts within our society continues to add to faulty perceptions, bluffs and such bitter estrangement among Indians.

Souvik Bhattacharyya is a molecular microbiologist working on bacterial population dynamics at Texas, USA. Anirban Mitra is a molecular biologist and teacher, based in Kolkata.

Excerpt from:
What Does Demography Reveal About Immigration Into West Bengal? - The Wire

Starting a family is an exciting and scary decision at the best of times. For some women and couples, theres the added complication of thinking about assisted reproduction methods such as IVF.

While some women use their own eggs, others might need or want to use donated eggs. In Australia and New Zealand, over 3,000 IVF cycles were performed using donor eggs (or embryos) in 2017 with 707 live births reported.

Donor eggs are used for a number of reasons.

IVF treatments using a womans own eggs have a success rate of only around 30 per cent, so donors might be used to increase the chances of success. Donor eggs might also be needed for surrogacy, or for survivors of illnesses such as cancer.

But when it comes to donor eggs, there are several options.

Women might seek donors in Australia, where the market for donor eggs is intensely regulated and differs significantly per state.

Read more

In Victoria, human eggs can only be gifted from donor to recipient as per Section 17 of the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2008 with other Australian states having similar legislation (albeit in the Northern Territory it is just being drafted).

Australian donors also receive limited compensation with estimates of around $A5000 per cycle, however this varies by clinic.

It can also be quite a challenge to find a potential donor and negotiate a relationship.

Women might not think about becoming a donor unless asked. Many women post on a Facebook group or an online forum hoping to find donors.

In Australia and New Zealand, just over 1,100 treatment cycles were performed from women intending to donate eggs in 2017.

Alternatively, recipients might look overseas for donors or frozen donor eggs, often in markets with much less regulation.

Our research looks particularly at the unregulated market for donor eggs in the US and how agencies find potential donors.

Read more

Unlike in Australia, where eggs must essentially be gifted, in the US theres a big emphasis on donating eggs as a way of earning extra income.

Assisted reproduction has turned into a global business, with some Australians travelling overseas to find donor eggs or embryos.

Donor eggs can also be imported into Australia from the US from organisations like the World Egg Bank. Of the various countries where Australians might look for donor eggs, we focused on the US for comparison, particularly on the recruitment efforts for donors.

In the US, most donor eggs are matched through agencies.

Our research looked at ads from donor egg agencies that were used to recruit egg donors.

These were easy to find but reveal a lot about the industry.

We examined more than 400 ads posted on US classified website Craigslist. Most were listed as job ads, highlighting the way donation is framed as a form of work. Additionally, any compensation for US donors is considered taxable income by the US tax agency.

Similar to adoption or sperm donation, matching considers attributes like eye colour, height, ethnicity and other features. Ads offered to pay more for Ivy League graduates.

Read more

While some ads were more general, others read like a shopping list of attributes, from high standardized test scores and high intelligence to a height of over 56.

These more specific ads often offered more money, and we even saw offers of up to $US100,000.

Money was explicitly mentioned in all of the donor recruitment ads that we analysed (for instance, our couples are willing pay $6000 and up to $15000). But they also marketed egg donation as an altruistic gift (Donating eggs is a gift of love and hope).

The ads featured both aspects of egg donation, though in different combinations and levels.

While the US market has never been as strongly regulated as Australia, there used to be suggested guidelines for paying donors.

These recommended that Total payments to donors in excess of $5,000 require justification and sums above $10,000 are not appropriate.

But in 2015, a group of donors banded together and sued the reproductive industry body, using anti-trust regulation to argue that compensation suggestions were a form of illegal price fixing and they won.

Read more

In the face of this focus on money, one interesting finding from our research was that recruitment ads with a smooth blending of these logics gift and money were more persuasive for the reader.

We suspect that although some agencies might want to simply focus on the money, to attract donors it may be helpful to retain a focus on altruism, given the ethical values of fertility clinics and medical providers performing the actual services, let alone what recipients are seeking.

There are pros and cons to however you choose to find donated eggs.

In Australia, it can be hard to find donors and negotiate a relationship. In the US, browsing through inventories may feel too much like shopping.

But whatever you choose, its important to be informed about the different ways that donor eggs are regulated and what to expect.

Banner: Getty Images

Excerpt from:
Thinking about using donated eggs to start a family? - Pursuit

As physicians, we take an oath first of all to do no harmand to make a mistake in embryo or egg or sperm identification is to do very grave harm indeed. In the fertility field, we see patients at a highly vulnerable point in their lives, and we become the custodians of their hopes.

ORLANDO, Fla. (PRWEB) February 10, 2020

In March of last year, a New York City woman gave birth to twins conceived in vitro after years of infertility challenges. After the birth, the couple were stunned to discover that the IVF clinic had implanted the wrong embryos: the twins were biologically related neither to the couple nor to each other. The parents have filed suit against the fertility clinic, as have the biological parents of one of the babiesvictims of the same mix-up. (1) A mistake like this is simply devastating, says Dr. Mark P. Trolice, M.D., FACOG, FACS, FACE, Director of Fertility CARE: The IVF Center, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. Instead of joy, it brings pain and chaos into the lives of both parents and children.

To prevent such errors, says Dr. Trolice outlines in his recent publication (7) that it is incumbent on fertility practitioners to maintain the highest possible standards of care and accuracy, so as to avoid the kinds of situations reflected by these errors and the lawsuits that inspired them. His own practice, for example, is soon implementing technology for bar code identification of patients along with their egg, sperm, and embryos.

This degree of systems management, says Dr. Trolice, should become standard for the industry, noting that these errors, fortunately rare, are often attributed to human error but should not be considered inevitable. There are also egregious acts, committed by a Canadian fertility doctor whose license to practice was recently revoked. He was caught using the wrong sperm (including, in some cases, his own) in the assisted conceptions of more than 70 children. (2) He is now the subject of million-dollar lawsuits by two former patients. (3)

Meanwhile, the infertility field is expanding rapidly, as is investors interest in it. Research from Piper Sandler projects that the U.S. fertility market will be at $15.4 billion by 2023, up from about $7 billion in 2017. Last October, fertility benefits provider Progyny became one of the first startups in the industry to go public; since then its stock price has increased more than 150%.(4) In addition to market attention, the dramatic possibilities inherent in IVF mix-ups are being explored in popular culture, first in an Australian best-seller that served as the basis for a television series(5), and more recently in an American adaptation on the Fox network.(6)

Dr. Trolice, whose views on the subject are shaped not only by his professional standing but by his own ten-year history as an infertility patient, says, As physicians, we take an oath first of all to do no harmand to make a mistake in embryo or egg or sperm identification is to do very grave harm indeed. In the fertility field, we see patients at a highly vulnerable point in their lives, and we become the custodians of their hopes. We may not always be able to make things better for them, but we canand we mustavoid committing the kind of errors that make things worse.

About Fertility CARE: The IVF Center

Fertility CARE (Center of Assisted Reproduction and Endocrinology): The IVF Center provides patient-centered, evidence-based, and individually customized reproductive care in a comfortable and compassionate setting. This Central Florida IVF clinic, in the Orlando/Winter Park area, consistently earns 5-star patient ratings in online reviews. Established in 2003 by founder and director Dr. Mark P. Trolice, uniquely offers both male and female testing, evaluation, and treatment. Today, the practice encompasses the Center for Male Infertility, headed by a fellowship-trained male reproductive specialist; the Mind/Body Institute, overseen by a licensed clinical reproductive psychologist; and the IVF Laboratory of Central Florida, led by a Board-certified High-Complexity Laboratory Director. Fertility CARE: The IVF Center offers a comprehensive range of infertility tests and treatment options as well as genetic testing, egg freezing, embryo cryopreservation, and other services. For full details, visit http://TheIVFCenter.com.

About The Fertility Doctor's Guide to Overcoming Infertility: Discovering Your Reproductive Potential and Maximizing Your Odds of Having a Baby

The Fertility Doctors Guide to Overcoming Infertility: Discovering your Reproductive Potential and Maximizing Your Odds of Having a Baby is a non-fiction infertility book written by Mark P. Trolice, MD, FACOG, FACS, FACE; Director, Fertility CARE: The IVF Center Professor of Ob/Gyn at the UCF College of Medicine. This book is to be used as a companion guide through every step of an individuals infertility journeya guide that explains the most optimal time to conceive, advises the right time for an evaluation by a fertility specialist, recommends evidence-based diagnostic testing and treatment including IVF, and discusses alternative family building such as egg/sperm donation, surrogacy, and adoption. Buy the book on Amazon or visit Dr. Trolice via his professional website http://drmarktrolice.com

1.Miller, Anna Medaris, A couple is suing a fertility clinic after giving birth to two other couples babies. Heres how that can happen, Insider, July 10, 2019.2.Pfeffer, Amanda, Disgraced fertility doctors clinic broke federal rules as far back as 1999, inspection results reveal, CBC News, January 6, 2020.3.Sperm mix-up charges raise concerns about fertility clinics, CBC News, September 14, 2010.4.Kowitt, Beth, Fertility Inc.: Inside the big business of babymaking, FORTUNE, January 21, 2020.5.IVF, swapped embryos and unimaginable heartbreak: Why The Mothers has made us question everything, Australian Womens Weekly, January 23, 2020.6.VanDerWerff, Emily Todd, Foxs Almost Family aims to build a quirky family dramedy around medical rape, Vox, October 6, 2019.7.Fertility and Sterility. IVF Errors: Is This Only the Tip of the Iceberg? Fertility and Sterility Dialog, Fertility and Sterility, 6 Feb. 2020.

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Excerpt from:
Expert Fertility Doctor Promotes Increasing Measures To Avoid IVF Mix-Ups - PR Web

East Africa has been hit by a locust invasion on an unprecedented scale for several decades. In Somalia and Ethiopia, about 70,000 hectares of agricultural land have already been destroyed. Meanwhile, in Kenya, swarms up to 60 kilometres long and 40 kilometres wide have been observed, causing significant damage to agricultural production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), locusts can eat the equivalent of the food consumed by 80 million people in a single day.

The challenge for the sub-region is to find ways to limit the multiplication of these insects. The challenge for the sub-region is to find ways to limit the multiplication of these insects because Southern Sudan and Uganda are also under threat and can be attacked overnight, says Keith Cressman, a locust invasion specialist for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde. Even more so since a very large number of larval bands have been observed and new generations of these insect pests are expected to hatch in the coming weeks.

West Africa is not threatened, but the situation is such that governments in surrounding countries are also afraid of the consequences and are trying to take measures to deal with them. In Burundi, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock held a press conference on February 4, 2020, to present the strategic axes of his action plan to the populations.

The authorities set up an inter-ministerial monitoring committee and a commission in charge of technical monitoring. Also as part of the response, a campaign to raise awareness among the population on the collection and consumption of locusts was launched. This would reduce the number of locusts to preserve crops in case of attack.

However, these measures are unlikely to be very effective in the face of a phenomenon that experts attribute to climate change on an exceptional scale.

East Africa is one of the areas most affected by climate change. According to specialists, it is caused by an ocean-atmosphere interaction phenomenon called the Indian Ocean Dipole. The climate phenomenon is created by the difference in sea surface temperature between the eastern and western zones of the Indian Ocean. According to scientists, a dipole of such intensity has not been observed for years or even decades.

This climate disruption has created ideal conditions for insect reproduction. During periods of calm known as recessionary periods locusts are generally restricted to the semi-arid and arid deserts of Africa, the Near East and South-West Asia, which receive less than 200 mm of rain per year.

According to Richard Munang, a United Nations Environment Programme expert on climate and Africa, The last five years have been the hottest since the Industrial Revolution. Studies have linked a warmer climate to more threatening locust swarms. Wet weather also encourages locusts to multiply.He also noted that widespread and above-average rains up to 400% above normal hit the Horn of Africa from October to December 2019. These abnormal rains were caused by the Indian Ocean dipole, a phenomenon accentuated by climate change.

Kenya is plagued by locust invasion since late December 2019. The Kenyan government now fears that the threat is spreading to grazing areas. A possibility that would be devastating for pastoralists. And if the locust threat has not been contained by the start of the next planting season, around March, farmers could see their fields destroyed.

To reinforce control, the country has therefore called on private companies, such as Farmland Aviation, which specialises in fertiliser spraying. Kenya now has five aircraft that spray pesticides on locusts. Even if, as Richard Munang reminds us, the impact of these chemicals on the environment and other ecosystems essential to food security cannot be neglected. For example, bees and other insects pollinate up to 70 percent of our food. Not to mention the direct impact of pesticides on human health. If nothing is done, the number of insect pests could be multiplied by 500 by the month of June, said Friday Guleid Artan, from the Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), part of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, quoted by the magazine Science et Avenir.

Ins Magoum

Link:
EASTERN AFRICA: Locusts invasion, another impact of climatic fluctuations - AFRIK 21