Can you choose your child's gender? Yes, you can, but would you do this?

click here for my older post on gender selection.

US Siamese Twins - Kendra & Maliyah Herrin

1) this is a miracle!


• Kendra & Maliyah were born on 26 Feb 2002
• Separated on August 2006
• The girls had been born fused at the midsection, sharing a kidney, a liver, a pelvis, one set of legs and part of their intestines.
• Doctors successfully completed 26 hours of separation and reconstruction surgery.
• They were 4 year-old when separated.
  
• Watch their updates at YouTube :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwyrensj-gI

2) Abby & Brittany Hensel - another conjoined twins (NOT separated)

3) The first Siamese Twins - Chang & Eng

Dolphins slaughtering in Taiji, Japan

I have just watched this documentary 'The Cove'. An exciting film, with powerful message!

It is sad to know that while we are enjoying ourselves watching dolphin shows, the dolphins are suffering, they are not smiling!!. Many die during this captivity. When they can't bear the pain, they can actually commit suicide by stop breathing!

See for yourselves how this intelligent creatures are slaughtered every year in Japan from Sept to Mar. As many as 20,000 dolphins are killed, for meat. Worst still, research shows dolphins meat are highly contaminated with mercury, upto 2ooo ppm (safe level is 0.5ppm).

Dolphin meat is sold as other meat such as 'whale' meat to consumers worldwide, are you consuming dolphin meat at the japanese restaurant? you don't even know. So, pregnant women & children, stay away from the meat!

Stop the killing of dolphins!

you can get the dvd at speedy video at rm16.90, or just download from takepart at The Cove.

read more at this link: The Cove - dolphins slaughter

Spermatogenesis & Oogenesis

Here are some useful diagrams to help you recall spermatogenesis, Oogenesis & the menstrual cycle.


1) Spermatogenesis

• occurs in the testes of the male body at puberty.
• sperms/spermatozoa can survive in the human female body for about 72 hours (3 days).
• the smallest cell in the male body & it can swims by beating its tail.
• formation of healthy sperms require 2-3 oC lower than ideal body temperature.
• each spermatogonium will give rise to 4 genetically different funtional sperms.
  

2) Oogenesis
a)

• Oogenesis is the production of ovum which occurs in the ovary of the female.
• One oogonium will eventually produce one functional ovum/secondary oocyte & polar bodies (which hv no function in fertilisation)
• Ovum/secondary oocyte is the biggest cell in the female body, about 0.02cm in size.
• it couldn't move by itself & can survive for about 24 hours (one day)
• after that, the ovum/secondary occyte is considered too old to be fertilised to produce a healthy embryo.

b) refer to your notes for comparison between oogeneis & spematogenesis.

• In oogenesis, the cell division is interrupted at Prophase I and Metaphase II.

3) The menstrual cycle

• ovulation (the release of secondary oocyte from the ovary) occurs at around day 14.
• 2 groups of hormone that regulate the menstrual cycle are:
  i) pituitary hormone - FSH & LH
  ii) ovarian hormone - oestrogen & progesterone.