Archive for October, 2019

Pain in cancer may come from compressing or infiltrating nearby body parts, from treatments and diagnostic procedures or from skin, nerve, and the other changes caused by a hormone imbalance or immune response.

The report, states that opioids will continue to dominate as a breakthrough cancer pain treatment, mostly due to available generics and physician familiarity.

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The global Cancer Pain market is valued at xx million US$ in 2018 is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2019-2025.

This report focuses on Cancer Pain volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Cancer Pain market size by analyzing historical data and future prospect. Regionally, this report focuses on several key regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan.

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Table of Content

1 Cancer Pain Market Overview

2 Global Cancer Pain Market Competition by Manufacturers

3 Global Cancer Pain Production Market Share by Regions

4 Global Cancer Pain Consumption by Regions

5 Global Cancer PainProduction, Revenue, Price Trend by Type

6 Global Cancer Pain Market Analysis by Applications

7 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Cancer Pain Business

8 Cancer Pain Manufacturing Cost Analysis

9 Marketing Channel, Distributors and Customers

10 Market Dynamics

11 Global Cancer Pain Market Forecast

12 Research Findings and Conclusion

13 Methodology and Data Source

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Global Cancer Pain Market Report to Share Key Aspects of the Industry with the details of Influence Factors - Market Research Reporting

CRISPR has been making waves with its success in fighting rare genetic diseases, but could it also help turn bacteriums machinery against itself? In the era of superbugs, scientists are hopeful the technology can be a game-changer. Meanwhile, GSK has announced a late-stage study for its new antibiotic to fight urinary tract infections and gonorrhea.

The New York Times:Is Crispr The Next Antibiotic?For decades, scientists and doctors have treated common bacterial and viral infections with fairly blunt therapies. If you developed a sinus infection or a stomach bug, you would likely be given a broad-spectrum antibiotic that would clear out many different types of bacteria. Antiviral drugs help treat viral illnesses in much the same way, by hindering the pathogens ability to reproduce and spread in the body. (Sheikh, 10/28)

Reuters:GlaxoSmithKline Starts Late-Stage Trial For Experimental AntibioticGlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Monday it has begun a late-stage study testing its experimental antibiotic in patients with urinary tract infection and gonorrhoea, a type of sexually transmitted infection. The antibiotic, gepotidacin, is the first of a new class of drugs and is expected to treat the two common infections caused by bacteria - identified as antibiotic resistant threats by U.S. health regulators. (10/28)

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Could CRISPR Technology Rise As A Hero In The Era Of Antibiotic Resistance? - Kaiser Health News

Recently, there has been a shift in societys view of genetic modification and its potential applications in the fight against climate change. This has led to a call for changes in our current policies from farmers and MPs alike. However, due to the Green Partys current stance on this topic, New Zealand is unable to utilise genetic modification for anything that is not laboratory-based.

I am a member of the Emerging Scientists for Climate Action society, which involves students from universities all over New Zealand. We are writing an open letter to the Greens to encourage them to review their stance on genetic modification and the current laws and regulations around genetic engineering. Our overarching goal to tackle climate change aligns with the Greens, and they are in a position to make positive change. We have 155 signatures from emerging scientists (aged under 30) in support.

[Editors note: Deborah Paull is studying for a Masters of Science in Microbiology at the University of Canterbury.]

Genetic modification is a controversial topic, and there is much misunderstanding about its techniques and applications. Genetic modification (aka genetic engineering) uses gene editing technologies and knowledge of genetics to make changes in an organism for a specific outcome. For example, a plant could be genetically modified to grow bigger to produce a higher yield.

Read full, original article: Time to break the stigma on genetic modification, for the sake of the climate

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Young scientists urge New Zealand's Green Party to embrace CRISPR for 'sake of the climate' - Genetic Literacy Project

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.40 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.95 per share. This compares to loss of $1.07 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 352.63%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.81 per share when it actually produced a loss of $1.01, delivering a surprise of -24.69%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates just once.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG, which belongs to the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, posted revenues of $211.93 million for the quarter ended September 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3,252.23%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $0.56 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG shares have added about 39.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 20.6%.

What's Next for CRISPR Therapeutics AG?

While CRISPR Therapeutics AG has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for CRISPR Therapeutics AG was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.98 on $6.58 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$3.85 on $13.83 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Medical - Biomedical and Genetics is currently in the top 29% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportCRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research

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CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates - Yahoo Finance

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company using CRISPR technology to enable the companys powerful discovery engine to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development, today announced two upcoming presentations at leading scientific immuno-oncology congresses. The data demonstrate the capabilities of the companys proprietary CRISPRomics discovery engine, which allows genome-scale, in vivo validated, unbiased drug discovery.

There is a significant need for next-generation immuno-oncology therapies as the majority of cancer patients today experience an insufficient response to PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. The data we will be sharing demonstrate the potential of our CRISPRomics discovery platform to systematically identify and validate new cancer therapies for patients with PD-1 refractory solid tumors, said Frank Stegmeier, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at KSQ Therapeutics. KSQ was founded on the premise that CRISPR-enabled functional genomics can improve on current approaches to drug discovery and, taken together, these poster presentations describing the output of our genome-scale in vivo T-cell screens show that our platform can do this with a high degree of precision and quality, pointing the direction towards promising avenues of drug development.

Presentations include:

About KSQ Therapeutics

KSQ Therapeutics is using CRISPR technology to enable the companys powerful discovery engine to achieve higher probabilities of success in drug development. The company is advancing a pipeline of tumor- and immune-focused drug candidates for the treatment of cancer, across multiple drug modalities including targeted therapies, adoptive cell therapies and immuno-therapies. KSQs proprietary CRISPRomics discovery engine enables genome-scale, in vivo validated, unbiased drug discovery across broad therapeutic areas. KSQ was founded by thought leaders in the field of functional genomics and pioneers of CRISPR screening technologies, and the company is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit the companys website at http://www.ksqtx.com.

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KSQ Therapeutics to Present First Data from its Proprietary CRISPRomics Discovery Engine - Business Wire

First reported consecutive in vivo gene knockout and insertion achieves therapeutically relevant results in an alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency mouse model

Inserted highly active WT1-TCR into the endogenous TCR locus for potential improved treatments for hematological and solid malignancies

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NTLA), a leading genome editing company focused on the development of curative therapeutics using CRISPR/Cas9 technology is presenting one oral presentation and four poster presentations at the 27th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) meeting taking place October 22-25, 2019, in Barcelona, Spain.

We are excited to share progress across Intellias in vivo and ex vivo programs at this important scientific venue, said Laura Sepp-Lorenzino, Ph.D., chief scientific officer, Intellia Therapeutics. Our data shows the complexity of the edits we are able to make with CRISPR/Cas9, while achieving important therapeutically relevant results. We are building on the success of our modular platform now having demonstrated consecutive targeted knockout and insertion genome edits in preclinical studies. Additionally, we presented data from our engineered cell therapy program, which continues to demonstrate the use of CRISPR/Cas9 for combined knockout and targeted integration in human T cells.

Intellia Demonstrates Consecutive In Vivo Genome Editing in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency Mouse Model

Intellias oral presentation highlights its alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) study showing that consecutive dosing of two distinct lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations, in adultmice, achieves two targeted genome editing events, resulting in knocking out the faulty gene and restoring therapeutic levels of normal alpha-1 antitrypsin protein (hAAT). Intellias approach for AATD uses a modular hybrid delivery system combining a non-viral LNP which encapsulates CRISPR/Cas9 with an adeno-associated virus (AAV) carrying donor DNA template. Compared to traditional viral-based delivery of gene editing components, Intellias LNP delivery system can overcome the inherent limitations of immunogenicity to facilitate multiple in vivo gene editing events.

In a mouse model harboring the human PiZ allele, the most severe genetic defect in AATD patients, Intellia first reduced expression of the defective protein using gene knockout. Three weeks following the PiZ allele knockout, Intellia inserted the normal human alpha-1 antitrypsin gene, resulting in stable (throughout 12 weeks of observation), therapeutically relevant circulating protein levels. In the study, a sustained reduction of the circulating PiZ protein levels of >98% was observed for over 15 weeks. This is the first in vivo demonstration of a non-viral delivery platform, enabling a consecutive dosing approach for achieving multiple genome edits in the same tissue of the same animal. Intellias oral presentation, titled In Vivo Gene Knockout Followed by Targeted Gene Insertion Results in Simultaneous Reduced Mutant Protein Levels and Durable Transgene Expression, will be given by Anthony Forget, Ph.D., on October 25, 2019. This presentationwill be available on Intellias website at http://www.intelliatx.com.

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Intellias Poster Presentations

WT1-Specific TCR Engineered Cell Therapy Studies

Intellia presented new in vitro data showing that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing for in locus insertion, combined with endogenous T Cell Receptor (TCR) knockout, leads to significant reduction in mispairing of endogenous and transferred TCR chains. This approach is expected to generate transgenic-TCR (tg-TCR) T cell therapies for hematological cancers and solid tumors. Results demonstrate a highly efficient reduction of >98% in endogenous TCR and chains while reaching >70% insertion rates of tg-TCRs without further purification. The poster titled Engineering of Highly Functional and Specific Transgenic T Cell Receptor (TCR) T Cells Using CRISPR-Mediated In Locus Insertion Combined with Endogenous TCR Knockout, was presented on October 24, 2019, by Birgit Schultes, Ph.D.

Researchers also presented in vitro data showing that a library of WT1-specific TCRs were generated, several of which Intellia is currently evaluating as part of its lead engineered cell therapy program targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). This presentation, Generation of a Library of WT1-Specific T Cell Receptors (TCR) for TCR Gene Edited T Cell Therapy of Acute Leukemia, was presented on October 23, 2019 by Intellias collaborator, Erica Carnevale, Ph.D., IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele.

Primary Hyperoxaluria Study

Intellia showed the continued progression of its modular platform capability using CRISPR/Cas9 to knockout either hydroxyacid oxidase 1 (Hao1) or lactate dehydrogenase A (Ldha), leading to a dose-dependent and persistent reduction of urinary oxalate levels in a Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 (PH1) mouse model. Data shows Ldha gene disruption also decreased LDH enzyme activity in the liver and did not impair the disposition of lactate in either wild type or renally-impaired mice. These results highlight the potential of editing genes in the glyoxylate detoxification pathway using a non-viral delivery approach as a one-time treatment option for PH1. These data were presented as a poster, titled CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene Knockout to Address Primary Hyperoxaluria, by Sean Burns, M.D., on October 24, 2019.

Off-Target Screening Platform

Intellia demonstrated its approach to assess off-target activity to identify highly specific CRISPR/Cas9 guides. Results from targeted off-target sequencing in edited cells showed that biochemical off-target discovery approaches were the most sensitive and accurate. These data were presented as a poster on October 23, 2019, titled In Silico, Biochemical and Cell-Based Integrative Genomics Identifies Precise CRISPR/Cas9 Targets for Human Therapeutics, by Dan OConnell, Ph.D.

About Intellia Therapeutics

Intellia Therapeutics is a leading genome editing company focused on developing proprietary, curative therapeutics using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Intellia believes the CRISPR/Cas9 technology has the potential to transform medicine by permanently editing disease-associated genes in the human body with a single treatment course, and through improved cell therapies that can treat cancer and immunological diseases, or can replace patients diseased cells. The combination of deep scientific, technical and clinical development experience, along with its leading intellectual property portfolio, puts Intellia in a unique position to unlock broad therapeutic applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and create a new class of therapeutic products. Learn more about Intellia Therapeutics and CRISPR/Cas9 at intelliatx.com and follow us on Twitter @intelliatweets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements ofIntellia Therapeutics, Inc.(Intellia or the Company) within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied statements regarding Intellias beliefs and expectations regarding its planned submission of an IND application for NTLA-2001 in mid-2020; its plans to generate preclinical and other data necessary to nominate a first engineered cell therapy development candidate for its AML program by the end of 2019; its plans to advance and complete preclinical studies, including non-human primate studies for its ATTR program, AML program and otherin vivoandex vivoprograms such as its AATD program; develop our proprietary LNP-AAV hybrid delivery system to advance our complex genome editing capabilities, such as gene insertion; its presentation of additional data at upcoming scientific conferences regarding CRISPR-mediated, targeted transgene insertion in the liver of NHPs, using F9 as a model gene, via the Companys proprietary LNP-AAV delivery technology, and other preclinical data by the end of 2019; the advancement and expansion of its CRISPR/Cas9 technology to develop human therapeutic products, as well as maintain and expand its related intellectual property portfolio; the ability to demonstrate its platforms modularity and replicate or apply results achieved in preclinical studies, including those in its ATTR and AML programs, in any future studies, including human clinical trials; its ability to develop otherin vivoorex vivocell therapeutics of all types, and those targeting WT1 in AML in particular, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology; the impact of its collaborations on its development programs, including but not limited to its collaboration withRegeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. or Ospedale San Raffaele; statements regarding the timing of regulatory filings regarding its development programs; and the ability to fund operations into the second half of 2021.

Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on managements current expectations and beliefs of future events, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks related to Intellias ability to protect and maintain our intellectual property position, including through our arbitration proceedings against Caribou; risks related to Intellias relationship with third parties, including our licensors; risks related to the ability of our licensors to protect and maintain their intellectual property position; uncertainties related to the initiation and conduct of studies and other development requirements for our product candidates; the risk that any one or more of Intellias product candidates will not be successfully developed and commercialized; the risk that the results of preclinical studies will not be predictive of future results in connection with future studies; and the risk that Intellias collaborations withNovartisor Regeneron or its otherex vivocollaborations will not continue or will not be successful. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause Intellias actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled Risk Factors in Intellias most recent annual report on Form 10-K as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in Intellias other filings with theSecurities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, andIntellia undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Intellia Contacts:

Media:Jennifer Mound SmoterSenior Vice PresidentExternal Affairs & Communications+1 857-706-1071jenn.smoter@intelliatx.com

Investors:Lina LiAssociate DirectorInvestor Relations+1 857-706-1612lina.li@intelliatx.com

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Intellia Therapeutics Presents In Vivo and Ex Vivo Data at the 2019 Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) - Yahoo...

SUBMITTED EDITORIAL BY HYDROFINITY

Did you know that most hi-vis garments only have a maximum life of 25 washes, with many losing their reflective properties after just five washes? That means if hi-vis clothes are washed twice a week; they will no longer comply with current EN ISO 20471:2013 standards in just 12 weeks.

To ensure workwear and PPE help people stay safe and seen in challenging and dangerous working conditions, items need to be replaced when faded, torn, dirty, soiled, worn, defaced, or not visible from 300m, day or night. When hi-vis tape is damaged or soiled, it fades to a matt, dull colour. If its not reflective or shiny, its time to replace the garment.

Why do reflective strips fade after washing?

It is essential to maintain the cleanliness of high visibility garments. If they are dirty the visibility will be compromised.

Reflection strips are very sensitive to heat and chemistry, but most washing machines need high temperatures and large doses of detergent and other chemistry to remove industrial soiling such as oil and contaminants.

How to maintain long term visibility?

There is a solution for extending the life of hi-vis garments though. The Hydrofinity commercial washing machine - which uses XOrb technology can help reflective strips keep their reflectivity for up to 50 washes, doubling the maximum life of most hi-vis garments!

Rigorous life extension testing that was verified via a third party earlier this year, show hi-vis strips that were washed in the Hydrofinity machine had a significantly higher retroreflectivity score after 50 washes than hi-vis strips washed in a comparison washing machine.

The control sample (which was unwashed) had a retroreflectivity score (CIL/m2) of 346. The sample washed in the Hydrofinity machine had a score of 314 and the sample washed in the conventional machine had a score of 98 after 50 washes.

Mike Ferrand, managing director at Hydrofinity explains why the Hydrofinity machine can extend the life of reflective strips.

The XOrbs used in the Hydrofinity machine provide a gentle agitation which significantly reduces the damage caused to the high-tech fabrics and reflective trim whereas conventional machines tend to rely on aggressive agitation to clean reflective gear.

"Our machine also uses less chemistry and washes at lower temperatures than most conventional machines which helps hi-vis strips keep their reflective properties for longer. We aim to support textile service companies in reducing their spend on new textiles whilst reducing waste.

Case study: Georges, France

Hydrofinity customer, Georges, have 10 Hydrofinity machines across their five sites in France and specialise in the cleaning and maintenance of workwear. They currently process the outfits of 25,000 employees and have plenty of high-profile customers including SNCF, Renault Design and Air France.

Georges recently won the contract to clean the PPE of workers restoring the Notre-Dame Cathedral, this was because they can remove all traces of ash and lead particles whilst prolonging the life of the uniform. To read more about Georges, http://mygeorges.fr/

Originally posted here:
Extending the life of hi-vis garments - Laundry and Cleaning News

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Oct. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MISTRAS Group, Inc. (NYSE:MG) has scheduled a conference call for Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 9:00 am Eastern Time to discuss its results for the third quarter of 2019. A press release with the third quarter results will be issued after the close of market on Monday, November 4, 2019.

The call will broadcast over the Web and can be accessed on MISTRAS' Website,www.mistrasgroup.com. Individuals in the U.S. wishing to participate in the conference call by phone may call 1-844-832-7227 and use confirmation identification code 7277122 when prompted.The International number is 1-224-633-1529.Those who wish to listen to the call later can access an archived copy of the conference call at the MISTRAS Website.

About MISTRAS Group, Inc.

MISTRAS is a leading one source global provider of technology-enabled asset protection solutions used to evaluate the structural integrity of critical energy, industrial and public infrastructure. Mission critical services and solutions are delivered globally and provide customers with asset life extension, improved productivity and profitability, compliance with government safety and environmental regulations, and enhanced risk management operational decisions.

MISTRAS uniquely combines its industry-leading products and technologies - 24/7 on-line monitoring of critical assets; mechanical integrity (MI) and non-destructive testing (NDT) services; destructive testing (DT) services; process and fixed asset engineering and consulting services; and its world class enterprise inspection data management and analysis software (PCMS) to provide comprehensive and competitive products, systems and services solutions from a single source provider.

For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.mistrasgroup.com or contact Nestor S. Makarigakis, Group Director, Marketing Communications at marcom@mistrasgroup.com.

Media Contact: Nestor S. MakarigakisGroup Director of Marketing Communicationsmarcom@mistrasgroup.com1(609)716-4000

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MISTRAS Group Announces Conference Call to Discuss Third Quarter 2019 Results on November 5, 2019 - GlobeNewswire

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, November 6th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.63 per share for the quarter. Sealed Air has set its FY 2019 guidance at $2.70-2.80 EPS and its FY19 guidance at $2.70-2.80 EPS.Parties interested in participating in the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.16. Sealed Air had a negative return on equity of 121.14% and a net margin of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Sealed Air to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

SEE opened at $42.00 on Wednesday. Sealed Air has a 1-year low of $31.29 and a 1-year high of $47.13. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $41.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.72. The stock has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sealed Airs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.60%.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Sealed Air from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. ValuEngine cut Sealed Air from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Co increased their price objective on Sealed Air from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a sell rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $43.46.

Sealed Air Company Profile

Sealed Air Corporation provides food safety and security, and product protection solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Food Care and Product Care. The Food Care segment offers integrated packaging materials and equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, and total cost optimization for perishable food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, and dairy markets under the Cryovac, Cryovac Grip & Tear, Cryovac Darfresh, Cryovac Mirabella, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.

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Sealed Air (SEE) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday - Riverton Roll

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) in collaboration with Lineagen, a Utah-based diagnostic genetic testing and clinical information services company, has developed a new test, called Methylation Specific Quantitative Melt Analysis, for the more accurate and timely diagnosis of Fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome is a common genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.

This syndrome impacts about one in 4,000 children. Approximately 90,000 Australians and over one million Americans are impacted in some way by this syndrome.

A large section of these are women who may not be affected with Fragile X, but carry a DNA premutation in their FMR1 gene, which then impacts their children.

One major problem with Fragile X is that this syndrome is not clinically identifiable at a young age. An average age of diagnosis in Australia is about five years, while in the US, it is over three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Due to delayed diagnosis, impacted children often do not receive the medical care they need in time.

MCRIs associate professor and lead researcher of this international study David Godler said: The impact of delayed diagnosis is significant and potentially preventable not only to the families but also for our health system. This is why we developed our new test, called Methylation Specific Quantitative Melt Analysis (MS-QMA). This is a one step process, to assist in more accurate and timely diagnosis of Fragile X in affected children referred for genetic testing.

This one-step process looks at the number of chemical modifications or marks, called methylation, added to a patients FMR1 gene in Fragile X, that are not usually found in typically developing children without the syndrome.

An increase in these marks cut down the production of a protein called FMRP, which is needed for healthy brain development and function.

For the first time, this study shows that the number of these marks can be increased, even in people without the usual genetic changes seen in Fragile X syndrome (called CGG repeats).

Previously, this was not known, partly as the present standard testing does not involve looking at these marks as part of the initial CGG screen.

The existing regular testing examines these marks through a second separate test, and only on the restricted number of patients suspected with the typical genetic change (CGG repeats) linked with Fragile X, called full mutation, and large permutation alleles. A reason for this is because the second methylation test is expensive.

For this trial, Lineagen and MCRI compared DNA test results of over 300 patients from paediatric clinics in the US and Australia.

As per standard testing, these patients either had Fragile X mutations or did not have mutations.

Although the second group of patients had no Fragile X mutations diagnosed by standard CGG repeat testing, they were diagnosed by doctors as having a kind of intellectual disability with/or without autism.

The genetic testing was performed in associate professor Godlers laboratory at MCRI using MS-QMA on male and female samples blinded by Lineagen.

With the lifting of the blind, all male and female patients with known Fragile X diagnosis received exact diagnosis using MS-QMA.

Godler said: We also identified, for the first time, smaller more common FMR1 alleles that are not usually tested for methylation (a tell-tale sign of Fragile X), that had abnormal methylation signatures in a significant number of affected patients.

These abnormal signatures were confirmed to be present by the current standard confirmatory methylation test performed by Lineagen. These signatures may compromise function of the FMR1 gene, and potentially lead to Fragile X like clinical features, and is an active area of research for my group.

Contribution to the findings also came from researchers of the University of Melbourne, Victorian Clinical Genetics Services, Genetics of Learning Disability in Newcastle, and The Royal Childrens Hospital.

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Researchers develop new test to diagnose the genetic cause of autism - Medical Device Network

SALT LAKE CITY Mental health is blamed for a lot of issues plaguing society these days, but scientists and biologists still know very little about whats happening inside the brain that brings on problems in certain people.

A group of researchers at the University of Utah, however, may now have a clue.

Theyve identified a link between a group of specialized brain cells, called Hoxb8-lineage microglia, and obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety in mice.

Similar to humans, female mice are more susceptible to the anxiety-related diseases, though symptoms were observed in male mice, too. The discovery could lead to the development of drugs better suited to treat and/or prevent anxiety and OCD.

It opens up a new avenue for thinking about anxiety, said Dimitri Trnkner, a lead author of the study and assistant biology professor at the U. Since we have this model, we have a way to test new drugs to help these mice and hopefully at some point, this will help people.

The findings suggest a link between biological sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) and genetics, two major risk factors for anxiety-related disorders in humans, according to the study published this week in Cell Reports.

Until now, it was unknown whether this subset of microglia, which play a crucial role in brain development in the womb, had any other function at all. The new findings build upon previous mice studies conducted by Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi, also a lead author in the new research.

Capecchi had long suspected this subset of microglia was special in some way, but researchers didnt pick up on certain behaviors related to anxiety, such as overgrooming, until this time around its the first study to describe the role of microglia in OCD and anxiety in this way.

We didnt really know what to make of the fact that mice without Hoxb8 appear so normal, until we noticed that they groom significantly more and longer than what would be considered healthy, said Capecchi, a distinguished professor of human genetics at the U.

To test whether sex hormones drove OCD and anxiety symptoms, Trnkner and his colleagues manipulated estrogen and progesterone levels in the mice. They found that at male-levels, the OCD and anxiety behaviors in female mice resembled the male response, and at female hormone levels, the OCD behaviors in male mice looked more like the females severe symptoms, and showed signs of anxiety.

Scientists want to help these people to get their lives back.Dimitri Trnkner

We have a good understanding of how anxiety is produced in people, but cannot do experiments in people, Trnkner said. Of all models, I have great faith that mice are one of the best models, as they are so similar to people.

He said some of the mice had significant hair loss, were more easily stressed out, or lost their natural fight-or-flight response mechanisms without the protective presence of the microglia in their brains.

It shows that the two phenomena are related.

Researchers have long suspected that microglia have a role in anxiety and other neuropsychological disorders in humans because this type of cell can also release substances to harm neurons.

Its surprising to see that (the microglia) are not causing it, but they can protect from it, Trnkner said, adding that researchers and biologists now have an explanation as to why anxiety-related diseases are more common in women.

This news should give hope ... for many reasons, he said.

Science has long tried to find solutions for people who deal with the life-altering mental illnesses, and Trnkner said this puts everyone that much closer to new drugs to treat them, particularly anxiety.

Scientists want to help these people to get their lives back, he said.

Read the rest here:
Utah researchers discover link between certain brain cells and anxiety, OCD - KSL.com

One thing that had been brought up time and time again, as a potential answer to the flood of male dairy calves coming from the expanding dairy industry, is sexed semen.

Again during an IFA discussion held in The Hotel Kilmore, Co. Cavan, last week the topic of sexed semen was brought up by farmers and discussed by both the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc.

Speaking at the event, Teagascs Dr. Pat Dillon the Head of the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Programme agreed with farmers that progress needs to be made on a sexing lab in Ireland as currently, there is none. He said:

We tried to fly the semen over to England to be sexed and it was a disaster. The conception rate was a disaster. So, the lab has to be in Ireland.

He also stated that he feels farmers are underestimating the benefit of sexed semen because they are getting a dairy calf versus a beef calf which, he said: Is of no value.

I think if we can solve the conception rate, it is a no brainer for all dairy farmers to use it; because of the relative difference between what a good dairy calf is worth last year they were worth about 250 and what a male calf is worth.

The differential is big, if the technology works, he added.

While going on to saythat 24% of semen used by dairy herds in the UK last year was sexed and in Denmark, from 2021 only sexed semen will be allowed to be used on Jersey cows.

However, he said that the issue Teagasc has found, with sexed semen, is around the handling of the semen. He stated: The handling is going to influence the performance of sexed semen.

Also shedding some light on the issue, Sean Coughlan, CEO of the ICBF, said: The challenge is we dont have a lab in the country. So, if you want to get significant volumes of semen from bulls you have to ship them to the UK.

That is an expensive process and the AI companies are not fully sure that there is a market for the semen, should they do that. So, there are significant logistical and financial challenges there at the moment.

Responding to the question: Why are the best bulls not being sexed? he said: The actual sexing process costs the same per straw. But, the number of straws you get is three or four times more for conventional semen, than it is for the sexed semen.

So, there is an opportunity cost on the AI companies. One jump from a bull will get between 200 and 250 straws for sexed versus four times as many for conventional.

Another challenge he mentioned was, because sexing cost more than conventional, the cost of discarding those straws if the bull drops or if there is no demand for that bull, is an issue.

That is why there has to be a broader industry solution to the sexing problem; the AI companies cant necessarily do it on their own, he added.

Pat reiterated this, when he said: The AI companies will not send their top bulls over to England to be sexed, in case they cant bring them back.

Aswell, he also agreed that the best genetics need to be available to farmers.

RELATED STORIES

Read more:
Sexed semen: Why is it not there yet? - Agriland

When my sister suffered from Rett Syndrome, an old patterning table and a dubious therapy brought my community together and offered hope.

By: Adriana Knouf

For more than two decades, Sherry Turkle has challenged our collective imagination with her insights about how technology enters our private worlds. The moving essays in the The Inner History of Devices, edited and introduced by Turkle, bring together writings about devices that come supplied with sanctioned ways of understanding them objects ranging from cell phones to prosthetic eyes, from televisions to dialysis machines. By taking time to go further, its authors reveal how what we make is woven into our ways of seeing ourselves, often finding what they did not know they were looking for.

In Adriana Knoufs essay, featured below, a medical device, in its presence and absence, allows her to dream. Faced with her sister Robins illness the gravely debilitating Rett Syndrome Knouf and her family learn of a technique that offers some hope. The family moves Robins limbs rhythmically in crawling and walking movements on a specially built patterning table. While Robin lives, Knouf is immersed in the community around the table. After Robin dies, the tables absence opens a reflective space for Knouf to consider how it shaped her life. With Robin, says Knouf, the volunteers, the discredited therapy method, and the patterning table, we had tried to awaken cognition with care, with the soft sheepskin, the men and women gathered around. But the table has stood in the way of many things, and it takes her time to find her way after Robin and the table are gone. With loss, Knouf is able to re-integrate the past.

Our basement walls were covered with charts, schedules, and sets of instructions. In the southeast corner stood the patterning table. Made when I was eight years old by a friend of the family who lived in a nearby town, the patterning table came up to my chest. Supported on its four corners by thick wooden legs attached with massive bolts, the highly varnished table was strong enough for a 50-to-80 pound person to be moved around on its flat surface. That surface was padded with Naugahyde, which in turn was covered by sheepskin that fitted snugly around the edges.

At this table, every Monday through Saturday, three people (five, if we were training new volunteers) surrounded my sister, Robin. We gently took hold of her fragile arms, legs, and head. With a regular rhythm we moved her extremities in the motions of a crawl: one, turn the head to the left, bring the left arm away from the body and next to the head, bend the left leg next to the torso, and vice versa for the right side; two, keep the head where it was, pull the right arm back next to the body, extend the left leg, and vice versa for the right side; three, repeat as one, but switching left for right; four, repeat as two, but switching left for right. One, two, three, four, the count continued over the course of five minutes, and the patterning session was done, for this hour. The ding of a kitchen timer told us it was time to move on. Next hour we repeated it, on the same table with the same sheepskin cover, with different volunteers. All day this continued, according to the schedules, instructions, and charts that my mom wrote in thick strokes on butcher paper and taped to our recently sheetrocked basement walls. Patterning was combined with breathing exercises, using a mask designed to increase the blood flow to Robins brain.

When I was in first grade Robin was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that may include devastating mental and physical symptoms. It afflicts only girls, most of whom are not expected to live past their 18th birthday. The girls often make rocking motions while sitting, wringing their hands. Many are able to develop some basic level of functioning, such as simple mobility or being able to feed themselves. Robin, however, could do none of these things; she was utterly dependent on us. Even so, there were still the smiles, tears, and frowns of any young girl, and in her eyes you could see thoughts she could not speak.

There were still the smiles, tears, and frowns of any young girl, and in her eyes you could see thoughts she could not speak.

Robins disease led our family to take on a major commitment: a full-time, in-home physical therapy program. Our location, rural Iowa, meant we had to develop everything ourselves. To build the equipment, to schedule the people who came in on a regular basis, week after week, we found volunteers, some local, some from afar.

The patterning table took up a good part of our basement, but at a certain point during Robins therapy we set up another apparatus for her, a jungle-gym-like contraption made by the same volunteer who built the patterning table. The new contraption reached from the floor to our seven-foot ceiling. The height of the jungle-gym bars was adjustable. At certain times the overhead bars were low enough so that Robin could walk her hands along them. When she was stronger, the bars were raised and Robin had to grab onto freely swinging handholds of thick nylon rope that hung from the bars; she wore specially designed Velcro footies that stuck to our short-pile institutional carpeting. The resistance from the Velcro was meant to make it harder for her to lift her foot, while the swinging rope was meant to improve her sense of balance. It was hoped that this would strengthen Robins legs and upper body in preparation for walking on her own.

Our work at the patterning table was based on the Doman-Delacato method. It laid out a series of therapies designed to help brain-damaged children toward better functioning. The method is based on an evolutionary metaphor: The individual develops in their lifetime just as the human evolved over generations. That is, development begins at the fish and reptilian stage (crawling) and moves through to mammals and primates (creeping, with the stomach off the ground). Doman-Delacato reasons that if you pattern a brain-damaged child with the motions that are involved in each of these stages, you will unlock the later stages of development. So the repetitive motions on the patterning table were supposed to teach Robins muscle memory to crawl. Yet she never was able to crawl on her own: She learned only to walk a step or two, lightly aided.

The Doman-Delacato method reasons that if you pattern a brain-damaged child with the motions that are involved in each of these stages, you will unlock the later stages of development.

The Doman-Delacato method has not found empirical support, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a number of warnings about the technique over the years. As a child I never questioned our program. To me, it seemed natural that if we moved Robins arms and legs in a certain manner, we eventually would train her brain to move body parts on its own. And of course my parents, like so many others, seized on the programs marketing and the bits of anecdotal evidence that suggested it worked. The Doman-Delacato method provided hope, but I think back on it now with sadness, regret, anger, and resignation.

Robin began to experience seizures when I was in fifth grade, not unusual for Rett girls who often regress from their developmental plateau. I remember the huge stuffed rabbit that lay on the table the day Robin was rushed to the hospital because of her first, unexpected seizure. The seizures made it impossible to continue with the treatments on the patterning table. Yet the patterning table remained in the basement. We removed the sheepskin, and then the Naugahyde quilting, and used the table as any other flat surface, a place to store papers, books, and mail. Gradually the schedules and charts on the butcher-block paper began to come off our walls, but the patterning table remained, a reminder of what we had done, of what we had tried to do.

Even as a young child, I read the few journal articles our family had about Rett Syndrome. They were over my head, but I persisted in my efforts to figure out what was going on with my sister. I launched into my parents popular science book on genetics. A year or two before I took any proper biology class, I was discovering genotypes, phenotypes, and karyotypes, the genetic bases of diseases such as sickle-cell anemia and Parkinsons. At the time, the Human Genome Project was in its nascent stages and the hope for miracle cures was strong. With the insufficient knowledge I had, and bolstered by the arguments in the genetics book, I believed that finding the gene or genes that caused her disease would lead immediately to gene therapy that would reverse Robins genetic malfunction. Of course you had to have a way to get the genes into the cells, so I eagerly read about techniques to force the existing chromatin to take up new genetic materialretroviruses and exotic electro gene therapy. Then came the problem of how to reverse the damage in existing cells. Neuron regrowth in the brain is meager at best; there, repairing genes would not be enough.

The Doman-Delacato method provided hope, but I think back on it now with sadness, regret, anger, and resignation.

As a middle school student growing up with my sister, I thought these problems surmountable. And I determined that all of this would be my doctoral work: I would find the gene that caused Rett Syndrome and discover the necessary therapies to cure the disease. It was merely a matter of time. The summer before high school, I enrolled in a summer program in molecular biology at the state university, a first chance to work with the tools I had read about: restriction enzymes, plasmids, and ethidium bromide stains. I was in the throes of passion: I pored over books I could not understand; I persuaded other students to work unattended in laboratories full of dangerous reagents. I was in a hurry.

But Robin died in the fall of 1993, just short of her ninth birthday. I sunk into a world of grey and black, my schoolwork the only thing that kept me going. I remember the rush to finish assignments in my high-school biology course that were late because of Robins funeral and the time I took off after her death. I remember the fleeting thought that if I could complete my work faster, I could start college early and be on my way to finding the cure for other Rett girls.

I went to Caltech as an undergraduate to study molecular biology with one sole objective in mind: to find a cure for Robins disease. In high school I had performed in a chamber music group and had notions about attending a conservatory. I devoured literature and thought about being an English major and studying philosophy. But now, stronger than all of these were my memories of Robin and the patterning table. I was driven to discover the gene for Rett syndrome. I saw it as an achievable goal.

Then, on a gray California winter day during my sophomore year, I read that a group of researchers had discovered the gene responsible for Rett Syndrome. I posted the article outside my room. I told all of my friends. I wanted to be among the people in the article. But there was more work for me: turning the genetic discovery into a treatment for Rett patients. Soon after, experience as a research assistant convinced me that I was not suited for the biology workbench. I moved toward cognitive sciences, with its higher-level descriptions of perception, action, and emotion.

The patterning table, long unused even during Robins life, was finally removed from our basement, probably passed on to another family using the Doman-Delacato method. Its absence left a space. I had passed the patterning table and its volunteers in the early morning; I had looked toward it when I came home from school; I had walked to it when it was my turn to be part of the group that moved Robins head, legs, and arms.

The table was more than a focus for our thoughts; it anchored our love for Robin and the energy we put into giving her a future.

Without the steady presence of the table, where would we turn? Where would our efforts be channeled? Without Robins influence, what would be our purpose? The table was more than a focus for our thoughts; it anchored our love for Robin and the energy we put into giving her a future. Like the tables in traditional Midwestern churches or cafes, the volunteers who assembled chatted and gossiped and spoke about their lives. It brought Robin into a community. When Robin was happy and obedient, her attendants gave her praise; when she was cranky and ornery, they understood, but lightly scolded. The patterning table made life coherent, all of a piece. With Robin, the volunteers, the discredited therapy method, and the patterning table, we had tried to awaken cognition with care, with the soft sheepskin, the men and women gathered around.

I originally wrote this in 2005, and in the interim there has been a tremendous increase in research on Rett Syndrome in light of the gene discovery. I have moved away from cognitive science and into media arts and design, yet I still draw upon the scientific, social, and emotional experiences written about here in my work. Finally, this was written from the perspective of an assigned-male-at-birth person, however I have recently come out as a transgender woman. The experiences with Robin, the volunteers, and my family have all contributed to making me the woman that I am.

Adriana Knouf is an Assistant Professor of Art + Design in the Department of Art + Design in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

See the original post here:
The Patterning Table That Changed My Life - The MIT Press Reader

Spanish Fork Jud Harwards first hemp crop dangles from his hay barn rafters, drying as it saturates the air with an eyebrow-raising cannabis aroma.

Though he hasnt sold much of it yet, the Utah County farmer is proud of how his 10-acre experiment turned out. Paging through pre-harvest cellphone photos, he shows off his neatly lined plants, some with stalks soaring above shoulder-height and crowned with what he calls the filet mignon of hemp buds.

As part of Utahs industrial hemp vanguard, he relied mainly on his instinct to coax the temperamental crop into flourishing. Little guidance was available, and there were few examples to follow. He was never sure if he was doing it right or wrong.

Its on the fly, says Harward, whos been farming sweet corn and hay for decades. Every day was new.

This legal sea-change coincided with the rising popularity of cannabidiol, or CBD oil, a hemp extract marketed for numerous purported health benefits and beautifying properties. The craze has spawned everything from CBD deodorant to CBD hamburgers, and with estimates that the U.S. market could grow to $20 billion by 2024 some Utah entrepreneurs saw a hemp license as a golden ticket.

In a time of financial struggle for farmers, some in Utah ripped up their hay fields and tossed out their lettuce plants to replace them with the new cash crop. David Lee, Harwards partner in the hemp venture, said hes heard of people mortgaging their farms for funds to get in on the business.

But any get-rich-quick hopes rapidly faded, and Harward said some threw in the towel because of crop failure. Three hemp cultivators separately said it felt like theyd strayed into the agricultural Wild West where reliable information was hard to come by and sketchy consultants and suppliers ran rampant.

They saw an opportunity and some doe-eyed entrepreneurs here in Utah, said Tom Paskett, executive director of the Utah Cannabis Association.

Ruston Peterson has grown hydroponic lettuce out of a greenhouse in Annabella for about a decade. Without a local market for his greens, hes had to drive most of his produce to Salt Lake City for sale, a commute that became tiring.

So, earlier this year, he decided to try his hand at industrial hemp. He shut down his lettuce operation in about a week and began growing hemp starts for a larger cultivator south of him.

People assured him that the cannabis plant is a weed and would grow anywhere. Peterson, along with many others, was about to have a different experience.

There are tons of ways to lose at this game, he said. And everybody, I think, found that out this year.

Some growers, he said, just saw money in their eyes and were victims of their own zeal, determined to plant even though theyd already missed the growing window. And even for people who did everything by the book, nature took its toll, with withering heat stunting one of Lees hemp grows in southern Utah and a September frost claiming plants in fields near Harward Farms.

And then there was the states mandated pre-harvest test to make sure the hemp plants didnt contain an illicit amount of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.

The states Department of Agriculture and Food ordered the destruction of 16,323 plants this year after finding theyd tested hot, or above the 0.3% limit. While that was less than 1% of the states total harvest, the department estimates, it was a setback for the farmers who lost their expensive plants.

Its absolutely doable,"Rigby said. "But is it easy? No.

The difficulty in distinguishing hemp from marijuana, which look and smell the same, also created confusion for local police and passersby at the states hemp farms.

Michelle Finch, a hemp grower for Hansen Plants in Benjamin, said she found people snooping around her greenhouse, drawn by the cannabis scent. And Harward said he had to erect signs around his hemp crop to ward off thieves, who he suspects were passing off the plant as marijuana to gullible buyers.

For the states experienced farmers, cultivating hemp wasnt like growing hay or corn or wheat or anything that they were used to. The cannabis plants were finicky.

You have to be there. You have to baby it, Peterson said.

In Harwards case, he decided to spoon feed the hemp plants fertilizer. He sprayed molasses on them to give them a kick of sugar. And he and other farmers painstakingly harvested them by hand rather than by machine. Learning the ins and outs of the crop was no simple task because, in the nascent and chaotic industry, the farmers didnt know who they could trust.

"There's a lot of crooked people," Harward said. "Rip 'em off Ralph kind of guys."

Paskett said hes also heard from a number of farmers who complained they were taken for a ride by consultants or hoodwinked by out-of-state seed banks. Its possible that some cases could lead to legal action, he said, but thats a heavy lift for farmers who are already financially underwater because they took out a loan to buy seeds.

His group is stepping in to advocate for hemp farmers in some of these situations and has done some investigating and vetting of these suppliers.

We dont want these farmers who took the leap of faith and then got hosed to wash their hands and be done with it forever, he said.

The consequences for picking the wrong business partner can be disastrous, according to farmers.

Hemp plants carry sex chromosomes, and only the female varieties are preferred because they contain cannabinoids in much higher concentrations. Farmers carefully cull through their fields to uproot the male plants so that they dont pollinate the rest of the crop lowering the CBD content in the surrounding females.

To maximize their yield, farmers often sought after feminized seeds that yield mostly female plants. But many of them feel they were sold a bill of goods.

Peterson bought a batch of seeds that was marketed to him as feminized. To his dismay, when the plants grew up, about half of them were males.

So it was three days-worth of work or more because we had to pull plants, Peterson said.

The same thing happened to Amber Berry, who tried growing hemp with her husband near Cedar City. They, too, thought they were getting good seed and ended up with a disappointing blend of male and female plants.

I think everybody jumped in thinking they were going to get rich the first year, said Berry. But theres a reason the value is there. Its not easy to grow, its not easy to do. And I think a lot of people have been let down that way.

Planting an acre of wheat costs about $400 an acre, Harward estimates. Hay is more like $600 an acre, and corn is a little more expensive at $1,200 an acre.

But the price tag for growing hemp dwarfs the others it can easily cost farmers $15,000 an acre, he said. And Harward would guess hes spent more like $20,000 an acre on his crop, if you count the cost of drying the plants and stripping the leaves and flowers off the stems to prepare for CBD extraction.

Tyson Hinkins of Black Dragon Ranch landed one of the states hemp licenses, but the front-end costs were so high that he decided against planting the crop this year.

I was scared, said the Ferron hay farmer, whod been looking to grow hemp with his father, state Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville.

So, hes waited to see how the first year plays out for other Utah farmers.

Berry already anticipates she and her husband wont turn a profit this season; theyll probably try again next year, but on a smaller scale. Even for Harward and Peterson, both of whom had a successful hemp harvest, the battle isnt over. The key to recouping their costs will be careful timing and finding the right buyers, they say.

Since the passage of the 2018 farm bill late last year, the total licensed acreage for hemp cultivation has shot up by more than 455% nationwide, according to Forbes. And the ballooning hemp supply has pushed down prices, especially now that the harvest is coming in.

The price of the oil is rock-bottom, said J.R. Carter, who co-owns Rooster Valley Botanicals in Salina, a company that extracts CBD from hemp. Its the lowest its been all year.

CBD oil that was selling for about $4,500 a liter last year is going for about $800 per liter now, he said. Carters strategy is to hold onto the majority of his oil until the glut subsides and the prices rebound.

That is, if he can discover a doorway into the market, something he and many Utah hemp growers are struggling to do.

I got flower at my house, but I havent had anybody buy it, Peterson said.

Until he does sell it, he wont know if his hemp experiment was worthwhile. Harward is in the same situation, searching for hemp buyers and still wondering if his first-year venture will pan out.

Our long-range goal, he said, is to get through today.

Read more:
Utah hemp farmers find success and struggles in their first year of growing - Salt Lake Tribune

Artificial Intelligence, by Melanie Mitchell (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Without shying away from technical details, this survey provides an accessible course in neural networks, computer vision, and natural-language processing, and asks whether the quest to produce an abstracted, general intelligence is worrisome. Although recent advances are staggering, Mitchell emphasizes the limitations of even advanced machines. A program called AlphaGo has bested one of the worlds best Go players, but its intelligence is nontransferable: it cannot think about anything except Go, let alone steal someones job. Mitchells view is a reassuring one: We humans tend to overestimate AI advances and underestimate the complexity of our own intelligence.

The Accusation, by Edward Berenson (Norton). In 1928, after a young girl went missing in the town of Massena, New York, the towns Jews were accused of killing her, a theory that became the focus of the police investigation. This was the first and only time that the so-called blood libel, which flourished in medieval Europe, gained traction in the United States. Berenson, a historian whose great-grandparents were among the first Jews to live in Massena, explores the origins of the blood libel and traces its circuitous route to upstate New York. He shows how the particular contours of racism at the time allowed this long-buried idea to surface, and describes the ensuing debate among American Jews over the challenge of claiming a place in their new home.

Frankissstein, by Jeanette Winterson (Grove). This novelistic homage to Frankenstein weaves together the life of its author, Mary Shelley, and a merrily slapstick plot set in the present. While Mary, on the shores of Lake Geneva, in 1816, imagines a man whose desire to seize the divine power of creation unleashes a monster, a transgender doctor named Ry (formerly Mary) falls under the spell of a Gospel Channel scientist with a secret laboratory, where they are joined by a sex-toy entrepreneur, an evangelical Christian, and a scoop-hungry journalist. Refracting the past through the present, Winterson links automation, A.I., cryonics, and sexbots to the human yearning to transcend the aging, mortal bodies that we are born into.

Red at the Bone, by Jacqueline Woodson (Riverhead). Anatomizing the consequences of an accidental pregnancy, this multivocal novel uses the sweet-sixteen celebration of the resulting child, Melody, as its centerpiece. Gradually, Melodys perspective, and those of her parents and grandparents, map the pressures surrounding her birthher fathers upbringing as the child of a single mother and the class tensions the pregnancy unleashes in her mothers family, members of the black lite. Melodys mother leaves her behind to attend Oberlin and conceals her motherhood from her new friends, straining the parental relationship. The novel subtly explores the ways in which desire can reconfigure our best-laid plans, and its expansive outlook suggests how easily, in African-American life, hard-won privileges can be dissolved.

Read the rest here:
Briefly Noted Book Reviews - The New Yorker

Texas governor Greg Abbott(Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Wednesday night that the Texas Attorney Generals Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services are looking into a case involving a custody battle over a seven-year-old boy who is said to be transgender by his mother.

On Tuesday, a Texas jury denied Jamess father, Jeff Youngers, request for sole conservatorship, ruling that he must continue parenting with Jamess mom, who has been encouraging Jamess social transition against his fathers wishes.

Jamess mother, Dr. Anne Georgulas, who is a pediatrician, separated from Younger several years ago after James and his brother were born, and was given exclusive rights and duties, while Youngers custody rights were limited.

Georgulas has said that seven-year-old James began to show signs of identifying as a girl when he asked for a girls toy from McDonalds, began imitating the female characters from Disneys Frozen, and started asking to wear dresses.

After being referred to a LGBT family therapist, Georgulas was advised to begin affirming James by calling him Luna, as well as socially transitioning him at school. Medical records presented by the boys pediatrician list James as Luna Younger, female, and included a recommendation to visit GENecis clinic at Childrens Hospital Center, which offers hormone therapy and puberty suppression.

Georgulas legal team has brought several therapists and counselors as witnesses, all of whom testified that James told them that he was a girl and wanted to be called Luna.

Younger has contended in court that James is happy to present as a boy when they are together, referring to himself as James and wearing male clothing.

He has also argued that the situation violates one of the two requirements for gender dysphoria in the DSM-V, the current manual used by the American Psychiatric Association. In addition to displaying characteristics related to gender expression, such as clothes, pronouns, etc., the patient must display distress. Witnesses who testified in the case including those who diagnosed James with gender dysphoria said that he has not displayed any such distress, according to the Texan.

Conservatives, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, voiced their concerns about the case on Twitter ahead of Abbotts announcement.

Georgulas legal representation told the Daily Caller in a statement Wednesday that a completely distorted and untrue version of events in this case has been circling the media . . . The pleadings in this case are available online, including, but not limited to, the Courts prior annulment proceedings and the numerous findings of fraud that the Court made in this case against Mr. Younger.

The lawyers said that Georgulas case is being viciously attacked and threatened by complete strangers based on false and untrue statements.

The judge presiding over the case is expected to read the final ruling and order on Thursday, which may force Younger to call his son Luna, and attend classes on transgenderism. He could also be barred from taking his son outside the home dressed as a boy.

On Thursday, Judge Kim Cooks ruled that Jeff Younger is entitled to a say in his sons gender-transition process.

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Texas Gov. Announces Investigation Into Custody Battle Over Boys Gender Transition - National Review

I was a cigarette smoker for 30 years until my doctor told me that I needed to quit immediately. So I started vaping. It sure made it easy to walk away from tobacco. But can I use nicotine vapes safely? Jordan B., Milwaukee

The reason it was easy to go from cigarette to vape is because you were substituting one nicotine source for another. And that's no way to reduce your health risks.

Nicotine is an addictive drug that is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders, decreased immune response, harm to reproductive health and DNA mutation that leads to cancer. Plus, the American Heart Association says that vapers who think vaping nicotine can help them stop using cigarettes are likely to continue smoking cigarettes while they vape that's called "dual use."

Vaping anything has never been safe. The only studies that say there's no harm associated with e-cigarettes are those funded by the vaping (tobacco) industry. The Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris of Marlboro and Virginia Slims fame) recently acquired a 35% stake in Juul. It's an old, familiar bag of tricks. Remember the '50s ad slogan that said, "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette"?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that as of this writing more than 1,080 people have developed lung illnesses and at least 19 people have died from vaping. Those numbers could be just the tip of the iceberg. Lung damage from vaping isn't associated only with THC; nicotine also has been a cause. According to Mayo Clinic doctors, vaping-induced lung injury "looks like a toxic chemical exposure, a toxic chemical fume exposure or a chemical burn injury." That's because vaping is a delivery system for flavorings, ultrafine particles, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds.

So go to http://www.heart.org and type in "5 Steps to Quit" (it includes vaping). For more comprehensive program, talk to your doctor.

I've been waking up grumpy lately, and I don't know why. I'm usually fine by midday. What can I do when I wake up to set myself up for a good mood in the morning? Chondra B., Chicago

Lots of people wake up feeling grumpy at least a couple of days a week. In fact, one shower company in Great Britain did a survey and found that six out of 10 Brits wake up in a bad mood. The shower company's solution? Take a shower!

Well, we agree, but to maintain that good mood throughout the morning and the day that follows you need to provide your body with the nutrition it needs to smoothly regulate your hormones, gut function and brain power. That means eating a nutritious breakfast. Your best bet is to put together a protein- and fiber-filled first meal of the day.

A great choice is oatmeal, muesli or granola (100% whole grains) with nonfat yogurt and lots of strawberries, blueberries and/or raspberries. Whole grains digest slowly and steadily raise levels of your feel-good hormone serotonin. They also help to keep your blood sugar stable, which improves mood.

Fresh berries deliver polyphenols, which can help you moderate your stress response and improve heart health. For variety, you can try grapefruit, oranges and melons (honeydew and cantaloupe).

Low-fat yogurt can deliver about a third of your daily requirement for calcium, which is good for your blood pressure and (along with magnesium) can have an anti-anxiety effect.

To mix up your morning menu, you might also try these foods that deliver mood-enhancing benefits: whole-wheat avocado toast; an egg-white omelet with vegetables; a green smoothie; or almond oatmeal. All those recipes and more are available at sharecare.com or doctoroz.com.

Other mood enhancers: Go to bed an hour earlier and get up an hour earlier. Get plenty of physical activity (sex counts); that'll stimulate the release of oxytocin, which increases your happiness. All these choices may help you see a turnaround in your morning mood.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen at youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.

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Oz & Roizen: The respiratory effects of vaping - Online Athens

An incomplete miscarriage is when a person experiences bleeding and severe cramping and may pass some pregnancy tissue at home. When an ultrasound is done, the gestational sac may not be visible, but there may remain pregnancy tissue. In that case, treatment options to remove the remaining tissue will be discussed. A complete miscarriage means all of the tissue has been passed and an ultrasound reveals no tissue remains in the uterus. This scenario would not require additional medical treatment because the uterus has fully released all pregnancy tissue.

After 20 weeks, pregnancy loss is no longer officially considered a miscarriage. But White believes that stillbirth, ectopic pregnancies, and molar pregnancies belong in the discussion.

Stillbirth is the birth of an infant who has died in the womb after surviving at least 20 to 28 weeks. Ectopic pregnancy is when an egg implants outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube. Molar pregnancy is when the fetus never grows and theres hypergrowth of the placenta. In all of these cases, the pregnancy ends before term, often risking the mothers health.

The first signs of miscarriage are spotting and cramps. Anytime you experience spotting, especially if youre spotting before your first ob-gyn appointment, its important to call your doctor. I would never tell a patient bleeding or spotting in pregnancy is normal. Its not uncommon, but its not normal, says McConnell. You may notice that any symptoms you might have had with pregnancylike exhaustion, tender breasts, and nauseadisappear.

If your pregnancy hasnt been confirmed by an ultrasound, a doctor will take one to ensure the bleeding doesnt indicate an ectopic pregnancy. If you dont yet have an ob-gyn or your doctors office is closed, go to the emergency room to have an ultrasound done. Its possible that at some point you will miscarry on your own [before an appointment], says White. Thats the hard thing. Sometimes youll be in a position to know its happening, and other times it starts on its own and you end up passing tissue before you can even get in to see your doctor.

Miscarriages dont always happen on their ownmost of the time they require medical treatment. Depending on timing, necessity, and cost, youll have one of three treatment options: expected management, medication, or a surgical procedure.

Opting for expected management is essentially letting nature run its course, giving your body the space to expel the fetal tissue on its own. This can take weeks80% of people will pass the pregnancy tissue within eight weeks of the cervix's being open, according to White.

With this method you will most likely experience heavy bleeding and severe cramping; your doctor may recommend ibuprofen or acetaminophen to mitigate the pain. (In pregnancy, acetaminophen is typically the only medication approved, but if youre miscarrying, its safe to take other pain-relieving medications.) Expected management means you can miscarry at home, which may make it more comfortable.

If you decide to have your miscarriage at home but dont want the limbo of waiting for your body to miscarry naturally, your doctor may prescribe you a medication called misoprostol, one of the medications commonly referred to as the abortion pill. You will still experience bleeding and cramping, but the miscarriage would take place within one to two weeks.

The third option is the quickest: a dilation and curettage procedure, also called a D&C. In this procedure the doctor will dilate the cervix to manually remove the tissue from the uterus. General or local anesthesia is given for the procedure, and spotting and light cramping may persist for a few days after.

The physical side of recovery can take up to three weeks. After a treatment its common to bleed for two to three weeks and experience cramping over the first 48 hours, with it calming down in the following days. Your doctor may say the pregnancy is over, but when youre still managing symptoms for two to three weeks, it may not feel like it, White says. I tell people if you push it too hard [with work or exercise], you may increase your bleeding. Its okay, but it might make you uncomfortable and want to slow it down. See how your body reacts and then slowly ramp it up.

In general, your menstrual cycle should return within six weeks, and hormonal changes, like pregnancy acne, should balance out within three months. If you experience ongoing heavy bleeding or severe cramping, you should contact your doctor immediately.

As far as trying to conceive again, White recommends waiting two weeks, to be on the conservative side. You dont always feel like having sex, but at the same time having sex can also be really life-affirming, she says.

The aftermath of miscarriage, like grief itself, is different for everyone. Some people are ready to try again soon after, and others, like me, bury their grief for months. The absolute last thing a person experiencing miscarriage needs is someone telling them how to feel. Theres no right or wrong way to move forward.

Rachel Wells is a writer based in Nashville, covering the intersection of reproductive rights, mental health, and sexual violence. Follow her on Twitter @rachelwells and on Instagram @rachelwells1.

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Miscarriage Signs, Causes & Treatment: What to Expect - Glamour

We have to be able to have more nuanced and frank discussions about health care for transgender people (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

I was 18 years old when I first came out as transgender.

Id been harbouring it for as long as I can remember, but wasnt properly able to articulate it until then. I simply didnt know that it was a thing, or that there were other people like me.

Even when I did tell everyone and started living as myself, there was still a lot of shame, secrecy and fear about being transgender. One of the biggest fears surrounding it was the possibility of regret, or regretting undergoing hormone therapy and genital surgery.

Some people thought that I was simply a gay man who was a bit confused, and that Id end up regretting this all later on if I went through with it. I knew I wasnt a gay man, and I was fortunate enough to be raised in an environment where I could have easily come out as one. That just wasnt me. For me (and for transgender people in general) it was never about who I was attracted to, or my sexual orientation.

It was about who I was and who I knew myself to be. Being able to medically transition was life-saving for me.

The discussion around regretting transitioning has been rearing its head recently. Various stories about individual cases have been used as an example, casting doubt on healthcare for transgender people.

A recent story hit the headlines where a person claimed there are hundreds of people wanting to detransition but there are no numbers that indicate this.

The use of increase in referrals to medical transitioning is often used with statistics that sound quite high, but they are never put into context of the general population.Even with increased numbers of referrals, the number of trans people are still just around one percent of the population in the UK. More referrals simply means there are more people seeking this type of health care. It doesnt mean that everyone who is referred undergoes a medical transition.

Getting access to these types of services is actually really difficult, and people have to wait several years for a single appointment at a gender identity clinic. So claims that someone can just enter a clinic and get hormones and surgery quite easily simply arent true.

I would never diminish or question someones experience who says they regretted their medical transition. There are those who do, and they deserve to be believed. But their stories and experiences should never be used to advocate against health care that has benefitted the lives of thousands of people across the UK and beyond. It should never be used as a reason not to allow people to transition.

One of the comparisons I have to this is when women who have regretted having an abortion are used to advocate against them. Its an illogical argument, as the benefits of safe abortions outweigh the possibility of regret, much like with transgender health care.

Medically transitioning is life-saving for some transgender people. The number of people who experience regret with transgender related surgery is actually really low according to recent research in the Netherlands (between 0.3 and 0.6 percent) and much lower than regret rates for various surgeries such as knee arthroplasty or cosmetic procedures.

When it comes to any surgery, there is always the risk of regret and there will always be people who regret surgeries for a multitude of reasons.

A large portion of people who experience regret about medically transitioning do so because of the social rejection they face when they come out as transgender.

Research done at the gender clinic in the Netherlands showed that between 1972-2015, a total of 14 people experienced regret. Half of them said it was because of social rejection or the fact they identify as non-binary and not as a trans woman or a trans man.

Trans people face stigma and discrimination in their day to day lives and are often rejected from their families, lose their jobs or experience bullying and violence for simply being trans. For some this is simply too much, and they feel they have no choice but to retreat and conform to societys expectations of them.

Another reason people might regret genital surgery is because they simply arent satisfied with the results. Like with any surgery, there are things that can go wrong. Genital surgery is far from perfect, especially surgery for transgender men and trans masculine people.

For some it was a journey they had to take that ultimately wasnt the right one for them. People can only make choices based on the knowledge they have at any given time, so of course there will be people who had to go on a journey to discover who they are. It doesnt always necessarily mean they arent trans or that the journey they went on was wrong, but something they felt they needed to do.

Such binary terms as in, blanket regret versus no regret, do the whole topic a disservice, ignoring the nuances of our gendered experience.

By allocating more resources into transgender health care, whether that be with increasing the quality of psychological care and hormone treatments or making advancements in genital surgery, regret rates will inevitably decrease. By fighting against stigma and prejudice that keeps trans people from living their lives in peace as who they know themselves to be, regret rates will also decrease.

The vast majority of people reap the rewards of medically transitioning. I went from being seen as a depressed, shy and reserved teenager to being an active, social and outgoing person. I started participating in life with enthusiasm, I started to tend to my hobbies, I did better at school. I became someone who was finally excited for life.

The change was so apparent to those around me. My family were finally able to get to know me properly, and even family members that had been quite prejudiced towards transgender people had a real change of heart. They saw that I was finally happy, so how could that be a bad thing?

I now have a partner whom I love very much, we live in a nice little house together, and we talk about having kids and getting a cat or another dog. We have hopes, fears, and aspirations about the future but the difference is that now I dont have to worry about not being myself.

So lets not forget the bigger picture here, and the thousands of people that benefit from being able to medically transition and undergoing genital surgery. This doesnt mean were not going to talk about those that experience regret.

We have to be able to have more nuanced and frank discussions about health care for transgender people, without regret being used to jeopardise the well-being of people who need transgender related health care.

Only that way can we truly create well-rounded solutions and health care that minimises the chance of regret, and allows everyone the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest.

As themselves.

MORE: Sades son praises her support as he completes transition from woman to man in emotional message

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Don't believe what you read about transition regret - Metro.co.uk

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You have to surrender to it, British comedian Dawn French proclaimed last year of menopause. "I promise that, afterwards, theres life."

Disturbed sleep. Thinning hair. Anxiety. Mood swings. Memory loss. Weight gain. Or, for some women, nothing much at all.

Despite being a fundamental biological transition affecting half the world's population, the symptoms of menopause have been deemed, traditionally, "secret" women's business. Now it's starting to become more a part of the conversation.

In Britain, women are gathering at pop-up "menopause cafes" to swap notes on their experiences. Workplace policies to cater for menopausal employees are up for discussion too: Britain's Labour Party wants to mandate them for large organisations, and a major media company introduced one in October.

What is menopause and what is it with a "peri" in front? What happens to women experiencing it? What happens afterwards? And is there a male equivalent?

On average, a woman in Australia will have 400 to 500 periods in her lifetime. Menopause is when the periods stop. The word itself stems from the Greek pausis ("pause") and men ("month"), meaning the "end of monthly cycles".

Women are on a path to menopause from birth. A baby girl has more than a million eggs in her ovaries. Steadily, as she ages, they deplete. By the time puberty hits, only about 300,000 remain, and so it goes, through her adult life.

[Menopause] represents the end of a womans reproductive life, says Martha Hickey, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne. Specifically, menopause is the final menstrual period a woman experiences it is a one-off event. All women will go through menopause. It is inevitable."

(In a reproductive life spanning decades, the average Australian woman will have two or fewer babies.)

Menopause is considered a normal part of ageing when it happens after the age of 40. But some women can go through menopause early, either as a result of surgery such as hysterectomy, or damage to the ovaries such as from chemotherapy. When menopause happens before 40, regardless of the cause, it is called premature menopause.

The average age of menopause is about 51 but it can happen sooner, with most women experiencing symptoms in the lead-up which brings us to perimenopause.

Comparing notes on perimenopause: there's a lot to talk about. Credit:Illustration: Dionne Gain

Technically speaking, the symptoms women experience in the lead-up to menopause are actually perimenopausal. Peri, a Greek word for "around" or "near" menopause refers to this transitional state.

Perimenopause is when a woman's ovaries begin to make less oestrogen and the body responds. It's a phase that lasts until menopause and, on average, begins when a woman is 47, although it can last from a year to a decade.

As the body makes less oestrogen, the pituitary gland produces higher levels of signalling hormones follicle-stimulating and luteinising hormones in an effort to keep the ovaries producing eggs and to make oestrogen and progesterone levels "normal".

This can lead to ovulation occurring twice in a cycle, the second time during a period, which can lead to high hormone levels. In other cycles, ovulation might not occur at all.

Some women describe perimenopause as a time of hormonal chaos akin to a second-wave puberty. Symptoms also include hot flushes, changes in libido, mood swings, memory problems, vaginal dryness and a higher risk of osteoporosis. Periods can be less regular, lighter or heavier, last longer or be briefer.Womens' experiences vary greatly some barely register anything.

"It's what's called the menopause transition when those symptoms start," Professor Hickey says. "That can go on for a number of years and the end of that transitional period is a year after the final menstrual period."

Genetic factors play some role in timing. If your mother and other close female relatives had an early or late perimenopause, it's likely you will too. But various studies also point to lifestyle factors, such as smoking, being linked to early onset while other studies have pointed to alcohol consumption delaying perimenopause.

Credit:IStock

After a woman has had 12 consecutive months of amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) she is said to be postmenopausal.

Perimenopausal symptoms ease but health risks related to the loss of oestrogen rise. This includes a decrease in bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis, where bones become thin and fragile. It also includes weight gain, which can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Women are advised to keep active, which also releases endorphins that improve mood, and to do strength training to increase blood flow and strengthen the heart.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) as it's now known, is currently the most effective type of treatment available for perimenopause symptoms; more than 300,000 Australian women and about 12 million women in Western countries are using it. But it has been linked with breast and ovarian cancers.

"All medications carry risk and benefits," Professor Hickey says. "A benefit of HRT is that it's really good for symptoms. A risk is that it does increase the risk of cancer. I don't think we should beat around the bush about that. But it varies by the type of hormone therapy you take and it might vary depending on how long you take it for."

The risks are greater, for example, for users of oestrogen-progestagen hormone therapy than for oestrogen-only therapy. A large study by the Institute of Cancer Research in London found that women who took hormone therapy for five years were 2.7 times more likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not. Recent research also suggests that, in some cases, the danger can persist for more than a decade after treatment stops.

Another study found that women using hormone therapy for between one and four years have a 60 per cent higher chance of developing breast cancer compared with those who have never used it.

The report's authors, who examined 58 studies across the world, found that of 108,647 women who developed breast cancer at an average age of 65, almost half had used hormone therapy.

When asked if women should avoid hormone therapy due to the increased risk of cancer, Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips, the founder of the Peter MacCallum Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Management Clinic, has said the decision should be made on a case-by-case basis.

"Some women will find, short-term, it can help relieve their symptoms," she saidearlier this year.

Professor Phillips warned, however, that women who had been on hormone therapy for a year should have their treatment reviewed, adding there were alternatives for treating symptoms including weight loss, moisturisers for vaginal dryness and avoiding caffeine or alcohol.

The 'grandmother theory" is one explanation for menopause in humans.

Apart from humans, most mammals stay fertile until the ends of their lives. There are a few exceptions: killer whales, short-finned pilot whales, belugas and narwhals can live for decades beyond their reproductive years. Guppies also appear to go through a fish version of menopause.

But long postmenopausal lifespans are an aspect of biology that appears to be at odds with natural selection. Why do women suddenly stop having periods when they still have at least a third of their lives to live, during which they could be producing offspring?

Some experts, including Professor Hickey, believe high death rates of mothers during childbirth throughout history emphasised the importance of grandmothers in rearing future generations, unhindered by more children of their own. This is known as the grandmother theory.

Not really but andropause can affect men older than 40. Andropause is the gradual reduction of the male sex hormone (testosterone) with increasing age. Its symptoms include sexual dysfunction, weakness, fatigue, insomnia, loss of motivation, mood disorders and reduction of bone density. Though the symptoms aren't as severe as those of menopause, they can last for as long as 15 to 20 years.

An egg surrounded by sperm.Credit:Alamy

Although eggs succumb to menopause, pregnancy is still possible using a donor egg. During perimenopause, ovulation can occur, meaning a woman can conceive naturally, even if she is using hormone therapy.

When UK based former magazine editor Lynnette Peck and her friend Paula Fry first began to experience symptoms of perimenopause they found they had no safe space to share their feelings on the matter. In a bid to open up dialogue, they started a secret Facebook page in 2017.

Word got around quickly. Soon they had more than 700 members and then Feeling Flush was born; a public online community for women across the world to connect.

"We wanted women, including ourselves, to have places to share information and educate each other and have a moan," Ms Peck says.

"Women mostly ask us about hormone replacement therapy and the pros and cons. We are not medical experts so we point them to people who are. There is now a conversation. It was hidden before. Here in the UK, even political parties and huge brands are getting involved."

Professor Hickey notes that women make up almost half of the workforce in Australia and two-thirds of the voluntary sector. They continue to look after children across generations and are often the primary carer for parents.

Our society has a big a focus on youth and the preservation of youth and menopause is a maker of age in women and ageing in women is not a topic we still have very much discussion about," Professor Hickey says.

"It's quite likely that women who experience menopause may not have been informed fully about what to expect. It's quite possible a lot of men don't know very much about menopause at all."

Last week, British free-to-air television Channel 4 launched a menopause policy to support women experiencing perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, anxiety and fatigue by giving them access to flexible working arrangements and paid leave if they feel unwell.

It's a shift Professor Hickey wants in Australia. She would like to see menopause treated as a "diversity issue" with workplaces actively supporting women experiencing it.

"Pregnancy would be a similar example: only women get pregnant, and we've learnt to adapt, and I think we need to take a similar perspective to menopause."

Melissa Cunningham is The Age's health reporter.

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What is menopause and perimenopause? - Sydney Morning Herald

Exercise is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy, functional body, but there is also a time and place for letting ourselves rest.

I'm a personal trainer and many people are shocked to find out that I dont exercise every single day. Ive found that my workouts are much more enjoyable and effective when I can look forward to a relaxing day off. It can help boost your mental morale, kind of like what a Friday does at work. Its also important physically: Allowing your body time to rest is a necessary part of an effective training routine. These days give you time to heal from the stress youve placed on your joints and muscles, prevent fatigue and burnout, and can even help you break through the difficult plateaus you may be facing.

Just how many rest days we need each week is not a one-size-fits-all model. One study found that it took 72 hours of rest or 3 days between strength training sessions for full muscle recovery, while research from the ACE Scientific Advisory Panel says that a recovery period could be anywhere from two days up to a week depending on the type of exercise. This number will vary based on certain factors like your fitness level, age and type of exercise and intensity of your workouts. So knowing your own body and its limits is essential to determining the amount of work and rest days you need each week.

In addition to scheduled rest days, there are other times when it may be best to sit it out. Here are some scenarios when you should consider hanging up your sneakers and giving your body a little R & R.

When your workload feels like its never ending and your schedule is overloaded with juggling work and family commitments, the stress starts to take a toll mentally and physically. While exercise can be a stress-reliever it isnt always. This is an important time to really listen to your body. When you exercise, youre working hard to raise your heart rate. This puts added stress on the body and leads to your overall stress-load increasing. For some people, this can actually exacerbate symptoms. Especially if making it to the gym is another thing youre trying to squeeze into an already jam-packed day.

On the other hand, exercise is one of the most common recommendations for stress reduction, as it stimulates the production of endorphins which make you feel good after a workout. And, it does work for many people. So if you do find that exercising works for you as a stress release and you feel better afterwards, then go for it. On particularly stressful days, you may want to consider swapping intense workouts for those that help your body wind down and relax like yoga or walking or jogging outside.

Its common knowledge that sleep is essential, but yet, many people still don't prioritize it. If you arent getting enough sleep, hitting the hay (instead of hitting the gym) may be the best way to prioritize your health. Look at it this way: If youre sleep deprived your body isnt performing as highly as it could be. Exercising when you're running on empty also increases your risk of injury. So if youre exhausted, the best thing you can do for your body is to get a good night of rest and get back in the gym the next day.

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Insufficient sleep is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity, reduced levels of a hormone associated with appetite suppression (leptin) and increased levels of a hormone associated with hunger (ghrelin)," says Lisa Cottrell, a licensed psychologist board certified in behavioral sleep medicine at Aurora Health Care. "Insufficient sleep and chronic sleep deprivation can increase activation of the sympathetic nervous system (activating the 'fight or flight' response) and affect cardiovascular systems, inflammation, immune responses and metabolism.

In this way, getting to bed an hour or two earlier can be just as beneficial (if not more so) for not only your overall health, but your waistline, as hitting the gym. If youre exhausted and burnt out, take it as a sign that your body needs some TLC and let yourself rest.

If you arent feeling your best, the gym might not be the best place for you. But how sick is too sick to workout? One general rule I always share with my private clients is that if the pain is coming from above the neck, its okay to workout. If the pain is below the neck, skipping the gym is a good idea. The exception to this rule is if youre running a fever. If you have a fever, exercise should be off the table. The work youll be putting in wont be as beneficial because of the increased dehydration youll be facing.

Dr. Gustavo Ferrer, MD, founder of the Cleveland Clinic Florida Cough Clinic, advises that if you have a runny nose, nasal congestion, and/or a sore throat, exercising is OK. You may consider reducing the intensity of the exercise. If you exercise for one hour, cut to 1/2 hour during those days, he says. He does recommend avoiding the gym and exercise for the first few days of a viral infection like the flu and the common cold not only for your own health, but also because this is the period when you are contagious to others. Also avoid the gym if you have shortness of breath, severe cough, fever or wheezing, says Dr. Ferrer.

You may need to take some time off after a really intense workout, especially if you wake up the next day feeling extreme soreness or muscle fatigue.

Gregory Marcolin, PT, director of Physical Therapy at OceanView Rehabilitation, explains that the dull ache, soreness, and/or sickly sensation that you feel in your muscles following the performance of a new or restart of an exercise routine (specifically strength training) is referred to as Delay Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS. This is typically experienced within the first or second day following the workout session, he says. Although the exact cause for this sensation at a physiologic level is not fully understood, it is believed that a type of strengthening for the musculature known as eccentric or lengthening of a muscle while under stress may cause micro-trauma to the muscle fibers. The soreness that is experienced is the body repairing the muscular fibers in order for growth to occur for the future. Rest is needed in order for the body to repair the damage (however small) that has occurred.

Pushing through soreness and exercising, instead of giving your body adequate rest, can be detrimental in a few ways. First, your body may take longer rest periods in order to heal, says Marcolin. There may be an inhibition of essential nature hormone production that is required to heal and improve muscular strength/function such as Human Growth Hormone (HGH), he explains. You also may increase your risk of injury: Musculature is simply soft tissue that has the ability to perform amazing things throughout the body. However, with continued breakdown of these fibers due to excessive and prolonged DOMS, further injury such as tearing can occur, Marcolin explains.

If youve just completed a race or another strenuous athletic feat youve been training for, its time to take some time off and celebrate. Its always a great idea to factor in how much youve pushed your body when youre calculating your recovery time. You can think of it as: The more stress youve put on your body during the workout, the longer you should give yourself to recover.

But just how much time should you give yourself? Marcolin says that theres not a clear-cut period of rest thats recommended, and that a recovery period varies from person to person. However, following long periods of extensive exercise, the body's metabolic system may be stressed to its limit, therefore it is advised for anywhere from a minimum of 3-7 days of complete rest, hydration and sleep. Active recovery is also recommended as it helps increase blood circulation needed for recovery." Walking, swimming, and light jogging are all activities that will get your blood pumping and help your muscles heal, without putting additional stress on the body.

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5 times when you should skip your workout and take a rest day - NBC News

Is it the food that makes people fat or the hormonal drives that make food nearly impossible to resist.

LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) October 26, 2019

An October 13 article on Yahoo News reports on the increasingly alarming rate of obesity in the United States. According to the article, while no U.S. state had an obesity rate above 15 percent in 1985, all 50 states now have a population that is over 20 percent obese. The article cites quite a few reasons for this rise, including eating out more often (restaurant food tends to be significantly higher in calories), poor diets lacking in nutritious foods, and a lack of exercise caused by lifestyles that have become increasingly sedentary. Los Angeles-based weight loss center Dr. Feiz and Associates says that, while obese individuals should naturally be making a concerted effort to eat better and exercise, failing to lose enough weight to defeat obesity is not a sign of poor willpower and its definitely not a character flaw. Instead, the clinic holds the bodys own mechanisms as a primary offender in preventing people from achieving sustained weight loss. So far, the clinic notes, certain weight loss procedures have proven to be highly effective in circumventing hormonal efforts to keep obese people forever obese.

The primary chemical enemy of dieters, the medical group explains, is a hormone known as ghrelin that is believed to be responsible for creating sensations of hunger in the body. When an individual loses a large amount of weight, particularly if this loss occurs at a rapid pace, the body sends false alarms that the individual is not receiving enough calories and enters into a survival mode of sorts trying to induce us to eat more calories as if a famine was coming soon. The clinic notes that these hormonally induced feelings feel essentially the same as real hunger and, over time, typically wear down even the most disciplined and strong-willed individuals. Dr. Feiz and Associates notes that there is no countervailing biological process in place that tries to reduce our food consumption when we are too heavy.

Dr. Feiz and Associates says bariatric surgery offers a significant boost in the fight against obesity. The clinic cites sleeve gastrectomy, which removes roughly 75%-85% of the stomach, as a prime example of weight loss surgery that can help patients lose and maintain their weight without being as radically invasive as older procedures. This surgery is particularly effective in that it removes an area in the stomach that appears to be responsible for ghrelin production alongside making overeating physically uncomfortable. The clinic says that by dramatically reducing hormonal hunger, patients are finally able to sustain their weight loss once they are no longer plagued by incessant hunger pangs. Dr. Feiz and Associates note that patients who come out of the sleeve gastrectomy typically lose significant amounts of weight and even more important are able to stave off the return of obesity over the long term.

Readers can learn more about weight loss surgery by visiting Dr. Feiz and Associates at https://www.drfeiz.com/ or by calling 310-855-8058.

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Obesity Rates May Be Increasing but so Is the Ability to Fight It, Says Dr. Feiz and Associates - PR Web

As autumn transforms into winter, the number of available hours of daylight slowly dwindles. Some areas of Alaska and Canada see only about three or four hours of daylight per day in the winter months. Conversely, those who live in Key West, Florida, the southernmost point of the contiguous United States, may enjoy around 10 hours of daylight.Fewer daylight hours can adversely affect mood and productivity. Seasonal affective disorder, often referred to as SAD or the winter blues, has been recognized and included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. Clinicians say that, as days become short and dark, a predictable set of symptoms of SAD may emerge. Individuals with SAD may experience a host of symptoms, including difficulty waking in the morning; diminished energy levels; a tendency to eat more; an inability to concentrate; and depression.The Cleveland Clinic advises that approximately half a million people in the United States suffer from winter SAD, while 10 to 20 percent may suffer from more mild forms of winter blues. The Canadian Mental Health Association states that between 2 and 3 percent of Canadians will experience SAD in their lifetime. Another 15 percent will experience a mild form of SAD that leaves them only slightly depressed. Similar symptoms can occur for those people who live in cloudy regions or high latitudes.Evidence strongly suggests SAD is linked to sunlight. This lack of sunlight may trigger production of melatonin in some individuals. Melatonin is a hormone made in the pineal gland that regulates sleep onset and sleeping patterns.

A combination of self-care strategies as well as professional medical treatment may help those with winter blues or more severe SAD. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that these strategies can help people coping with SAD. Get out of the house into sunlight or brightly lit spaces early in the day when the sun is out. Increase time spent outdoors. Take a break midday and enjoy lunch outside or take a walk, even if its chilly. Try to spend time with other people and chat with friends and relatives. Avoid overloading on carbohydrates like cookies and candies. Talk to a doctor about using light therapy, which is the first line of SAD treatment, according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Consider cognitive behavioral therapy or talk therapy with a licensed mental health provider. He or she also can make recommendations about the use of medication to alleviate symptoms if other treatments do not provide results.There are many ways to mitigate the symptoms of winter blues.

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Beating the winter blues - Weyburn Review

As the transgender movement continues to develop, the cultural sentiment has moved rapidly toward acceptance and affirmation. While some believe the affirmation campaign is a step in the right direction, others are concerned that a rush to champion hormones and gender reassignment surgery while ignoring other potential drivers of gender dysphoria could ultimately do more harm than good.

The affirmation of gender dysphoria has even gained steam among the youth population. According to a study published in 2017 from The Williams Institute, an estimated 0.7 percent of youth ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender in the United States. This is approximately 150,000 young people.

Despite the increasing social acceptance of transgenderism by Hollywood and the mainstream press, there is a segment of the trans population that is feeling regret, and seeking to detransition.

Walter Heyer, a former male-to-female transgender individual, runs a website called Sexchangeregret.com. The website serves as a contact point for Heyer to help those who are seeking to detransition.

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to speak with Heyer about his life and his work. In part one of this two-part interview, Heyer speaks about the circumstances that led to his own gender dysphoria, his transition to female-identifying, the childhood trauma and comorbid disorders uncovered in the transgender population with whom he interacts, and more.

DW: Could you walk me through your early story about how you developed your dysphoria?

HEYER: Yeah. At four years old, my grandma was a seamstress and was making dresses. Thats where she made her money. Its 1944, and so Im the kid thats being babysat by grandma, and I was curious about what she was doing, and just kind of watched her as the women came in and out of the house. That curiosity got her to make me a purple chiffon dress. And then she put it on me, and that was my little dress as a four-year-old. She thought I looked very cute, and today we would probably call it affirming. That curiosity and what occurred later, this affirmation process, led me to become confused about whether I should have been a girl or a boy. In 1944, we didnt have any names for it, and I was just struggling with who I was. It took a long time for me to go to sleep at night. I struggled for a long time.

My dad and mom found out about it because it was a secret for two and a half years. I was at grandmas, and then when my dads teenage brother found out, who was adopted, he thought I was good game to be sexually molested because I was wearing this purple dress at grandmas. When I told my parents I was being sexually molested, they said that couldnt be true because Fred said he didnt do it.

So, you start off life before youre nine years old with some of these confusing events, and Christine Jorgensen came along in the 1950s, and when I saw that news story, I thought, Well, that must be me. That must be what I am. The association without having any other knowledge and information, I assumed that that was me.

I continued to cross dress and think that I was born in the wrong body throughout my life. Never really stopped as a teenager. I took on a secret name, Crystal West, and didnt tell anybody about it. As time went on, I continued to cross dress all the way through high school and early college. Still confused, still struggling. Then I got married in my early twenties because, like so many people who identify as transgender, Im not homosexual. The ones that I work with, probably over 90% of them are not homosexual; theyre just people confused about their gender identity, but their sexual identity is still heterosexual. So, I married, had kids, worked on the Apollo space mission, and at American Honda Motor Company.

I went to a gender therapist in San Francisco at the age of 40 to 41, and he diagnosed me with gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder and he was the author of the original standards of care that are in place today. His name is Paul Walker. He was kind of the number one guy in the country on diagnosing and treating these disorders. So, I thought that was pretty radical and talked to my wife about it, and over the next couple of years I started on hormones. In April of 1983, I underwent gender reassignment surgery while I was an executive with American Honda Motor Company. They terminated me when I notified them of my new identity, and I became homeless not long after that. I was divorced and broke and struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, then began to crawl my way back.

I lived for about eight years as Laura Jensen, female, in the San Francisco area. I studied psychology at UC Santa Cruz as a way to try to get myself back. Id been living with a family in Pleasanton, California, because I had no real source of income for a long time.

When I saw and studied psychology at UC Santa Cruz, I realized that people who identified as transgender were also suffering from many disorders that no one ever talked about things like separation anxiety and body dysmorphia and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, social adjustment disorders. Just a pretty big laundry list of things that people who identified as transgender carried with them that were typically not addressed during the pre-surgical evaluation.

I then started going for therapy and realized that no one could actually land on anything specific. One therapist said that I had dissociative disorder; the other one said I didnt. No one could come to a solid agreement. They just felt that the sexual molestation that occurred when I was young, the cross-dressing, all precipitated into me having difficulty identifying with who I was, electing to identify with my transgender identity. I eventually through therapy and actually going to church in Foster City, California kind of walked my way out of that, and detransitioned in 1990, and have been restored back to my sanity since 1990. Now, Ive been married for 22 years to a real woman, and Ive been clean and sober for 33 and a half years.

DW: So those two things the chiffon dress and the sexual abuse you believe were the primary contributors to your developing gender dysphoria?

HEYER: Yeah, and the people that Ive known for a long time and work with even today, find thats what it is. The people that I work with today, 45% to 50% of them were sexually abused as children, and they ended up identifying as a transgender later on. These are the ones that are also detransitioning.

DW: Can you explain the idea of comorbidities and past trauma as it relates to transgenderism?

HEYER: Yeah. Well, comorbidity is just a fancy word for additional disorders. These are things like schizophrenia, which some studies say that theres a certain portion of people who identify as transgender have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These disorders typically werent there prior to identifying as transgender, but often times these disorders develop as a result of identifying, cross-dressing. A portion of them are disorders like autogynephilia and transvestic fetish disorder. Autogynephilia and transvestic fetishism are two pretty major factors that people dont talk much about, and thats men who cross dress and look at the mirror, and what they see in the mirror becomes the object of their own sexual affection, that becomes their sexual arousal. And so theyre typically not homosexual, they dont need a partner, its just looking at themselves, they become complete sexually.

The person with transvestic fetish usually attaches himself sexually to one particular type of clothing, whether its shoes or whatever, and they become sexually aroused by those garments or female clothing. So, these are typically not transgenders; theyre actually people with other disorders, but they identify as transgender.

You also have people who are just cross-dressers, and transvestites. Then you have the drag queens, many of whom dont have bottom surgery. They just are flamboyant, over-the-top homosexuals who identify as drag queens. But most of those groups, actually, are not transgender; they just identify as transgender when they have these other issues that we call comorbidities.

DW: Why do you believe people identify as transgender when what theyre experiencing is rather just a set of comorbidities?

HEYER: I dont think it plays well when somebody sees you cross-dressing, and you tell them, I have autogynephilia because I get sexually aroused by looking in a mirror. Its just a lot more socially palatable to tell people, Im transgender, without going into the details of what that means.

And people who have dissociative disorders, your bipolar disorder, or whatever you just throw all of these things into a basket, toss a blanket over it, and call it transgenderism, when, if you take the blanket off and begin to look deep into these things, you can see what the underlying comorbidities are but we typically dont do much of that. I do it all the time, 100% of the time, with the people who contact me after theyve had a failed transition, and want to de-transition and we dig into, Well, lets find out why you transitioned. 100% of the time, the people that Ive worked with over the last ten years can come up with a situation, an event, that caused them to transition, whether its from female-to-male or male-to-female. So, they can identify it usually after the fact when the transition failed, which usually occurs between five and 15 years.

DW: Has there ever been someone you helped who didnt either have a comorbidity or a past trauma?

HEYER: No.

DW: Back to your story, you transitioned when you were about 42, right?

HEYER: Yeah, thats right.

DW: What were the years like while you were transgender?

HEYER: Well, I worked for FDIC and banking; I worked for the postal service. I was also at the same time studying psychology at UC Santa Cruz. Thats when I started looking into the books and finding comorbidities. So my life was fairly reasonable. I had a decent job. When I wanted to work, I could work, and I lived in San Francisco part of the time, I lived in L.A. part of the time, and in Pleasanton, California, part of the time. I was clean and sober. So I would call it unremarkable, except that I was really learning a lot about what they were doing in terms of identifying people who are transgender actually having other issues. So I was kind of beginning to crack into that in the late 1980s.

DW: Can you tell me about your detransition experience? What first ignited it, and then the process of going through that detransition?

HEYER: Well, a series of things happened and it took probably a year and a half maybe to come all the way back. I think once I had begun to look into this idea of comorbidities, and begun to explore that I was working actually in a psych hospital in L.A. on the unit as part of my schoolwork. I was called a chemical dependency technician in a lockdown psych unit. There was a psychiatric doctor there and hes the one who began to talk to me about the comorbidities and other issues. I told him where I was trying to go with this, and he recommended I go see a therapist that he knew. I went and saw that therapist, and several other ones. It took me a lot of convincing through psychotherapy from many different people that it would be safe for me to detransition, and that I wouldnt have this gnawing feeling that Id made a mistake and needed to come back.

So, once I had resolved all those early childhood issues and could rectify what had happened, then it was relatively easy for me to realize that not only am I one of the ones that had gone through this unnecessarily, but that there were probably others and thats when I built the website sexchangeregret.com. The first year, we had 700 people come to the website. In 2015, we had 356,000 people come to the website. Today, we get 25,000 or 30,000 people a month. So many people are struggling. Somebody in the U.K. wrote an article recently they are detransitioning and said theyve found hundreds of people, and thats the same thing I reported. I myself have worked with hundreds of people who are detransitioning, but its kind of a taboo subject. Nobody wants to hear about it; nobody wants to believe it. But this thing runs its course between five and 15 years.

Strangely enough, theres a Dr. Charles Ihlenfeld who worked at the Harry Benjamin Gender Clinic in New York in 1979 as an endocrinologist, had administered hormone therapy to 500 people who had transitioned over a six year period, and he said in New York in 1979 that he was leaving the practice of administering hormones to these individuals, and going to become a psychiatric doctor so that he could actually help them because he said, and I quote, Giving them hormones and changing their genders, it is causing too much unhappiness and too many of them ended in suicide.

In part two of this interview, which you can read here, Heyer discusses the shockingly high suicide rate among the post-op transgender population, the dangerous consequences of youth transitions, the future of the trans movement, his relationship with his ex-wife and kids, and more.

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INTERVIEW (Part I): Former Transgender Walt Heyer Talks About His Detransition, The Dangers Of 'Affirmation,' And Childhood Sexual Trauma - The Daily...

She is the mother of thousands of children across Scotland, but Ellen Drew knows having a baby is never easy.

The lead embryologist at Dundees Ninewells Hospital has experienced first-hand the heartbreak of spending years trying to start a family only to discover you cant conceive. It is a dilemma that faces one in seven couples struggling to fall pregnant.

This week marks National Fertility Awareness Week when BBC Scotland will air Making Babies, a documentary about the ups and downs of IVF.

The programme follows three couples on their exciting yet agonising journeys through fertility treatment, from the stress of daily hormone injections to countless scans, not to mention the anticipation and tears that come along the way.

IVF isnt always successful, as Ellen can attest to. She said: IVF doesnt work more often than it does. Its an intense process and there are no guarantees it will be successful. Even if patients have a top grade embryo, its still quite likely not to work.

Putting that across to people is one of the hardest parts of the job.

With over 30 years experience in the industry, Ellen has helped make thousands of babies and turned countless couples dreams of having a child into reality.

When we manage to make a baby, its just incredible, she said. Even in all these years, I dont think Ive ever taken a new baby in my arms and not shed a tear or two. You see the heartbreak and pain these people go through trying to have a baby and how much they want it and its such a privilege to be able to help them when we can.

In an ironic twist, Ellen herself is one of those people. The mum of four endured secondary fertility problems after having her first child.

And becoming a patient in her own ward was an eye-opening experience.

My husband and I wanted a baby for quite a while, but struggled to conceive, the 53-year-old explained. I didnt ovulate very well and realised very early on that we would likely have problems conceiving.

By the time we got married, I hadnt used contraception for a year.

The natural conception and arrival of Sam (now 22) was a welcome relief.

But when Ellen and Rob tried for a sibling, life had other plans.

The second baby really wasnt coming, then we discovered I wasnt ovulating, she said. I was prescribed HCG medication, but that didnt work. Then hormone injections, which werent successful either. Eventually I had to move onto IUI treatment, basically having Robs sperm inserted into my womb to increase the chances of conception. To be honest, I thought it would never work. Every month, I would have two weeks of hope I might be pregnant, and then my period would arrive.

I found the whole experience pretty brutal and not being able to talk about it was hard. I would have patients going through treatment, crying and telling me going through fertility treatment was so hard and I couldnt understand what it was like and I would just have to swallow and say, No, I cant imagine. I didnt want anyone at work to know, it was all a big secret.

I would bring the sperm sample into work and prep it, then a colleague and I would sneak off and she would insert it into my womb.

However, when she did fall pregnant, it didnt go quite as planned.

Ellen said: When I found out I was pregnant, I was ecstatic. When we discovered it was twins, I was shocked. The morning sickness, especially with twins, was horrendous but I would have put up with anything for another child, and it wasnt half as bad as the treatment, or the waiting to get pregnant.

Ellen, who lives in Dundee, had just returned to work after maternity leave with twins Josh and Jake (now 17) when she got the bombshell news that she was pregnant again with fourth child, Johanna.

I still wasnt using contraception, she said. To be honest, I hadnt used any for so long that the thought never crossed my mind. One day I arrived at work and realised I couldnt remember when I had last had a period. I did a pregnancy test and it was positive.

A scan showed I was about nine weeks. It was crazy. Id gone from spending my whole life trying to get pregnant and being prepared to be a parent to it happening naturally when I least expected it. We werent even trying. My husband saw me upset one night and asked what was wrong.

He joked: Dont tell me youre pregnant with twins again? I said Its not twins. To my surprise he was delighted. He told me not to worry, it would all be okay and it was a blessing.

And it was. After Johanna (now 15) was born, Ellen went back to work and Rob gave up his IT job to become a stay-at-home dad.

Im really good at planning and organising, and Rob is great at doing. Its the perfect marriage, she said. A few years ago, the couple decided to add to the chaos by becoming foster parents. They now foster three children.

We moved into this big house and decided we would let some of it out to students, but I didnt like the idea of people we didnt know living with the kids. So we came up with a plan. We are pretty good parents so why not extend that to more children?

Now were a big family, and were a great team. I always wanted a noisy house with lots of children and thats exactly what Ive got. And I am surrounded by babies at work. I honestly have no idea how many babies I have helped to make but its certainly into the thousands.

I do miss that side of the job. Now I manage, guide and direct, and try to develop the service. And, while it has improved tenfold, theres still so much I want to do. I vowed to leave the service after 40 years, so that leaves a decade to get through my list.

As for childrenI think seven is enough so no more for me. But I eagerly await the grandchildren.

Amy Wanless, from Edinburgh, did a week of work experience at Ninewells in Dundee when she was 22, while preparing to study for a Masters in clinical embryology at Leeds University.

She told Ellen that finding out as a teenager she was an IVF baby herself had led to her career choice, and she wanted to work at Ninewells as that was where her parents had their fertility treatment.

Ellen checked the records, and came back to tell Amy she had made her.

Amy, now 27, said: It was a really lovely surprise as not many people get the chance to meet the person who made them, if its not their parents.

If you think about it, Ellen is the very first person who will ever have seen me, and that blew my mind. I asked, Should I start calling you Mum?, and we both laughed.

I know the chances of something like this happening are so slim, and I feel really lucky to have met Ellen.

Shes been a complete inspiration.

Amy is seeking a career in fertility medicine. After graduating, she worked for a spell as an IVF technician at a Glasgow clinic.

Shes hoping to complete the specialist training required to become a clinical embryologist.

She added: I feel very proud to be an IVF baby and Id love to be able to help other couples have children, in the same way that Ellen helped my parents.

Its a very special thing to be able to give someone the gift of a family.

It was her own experience of infertility that led BBC producer Laura-Jane McRae to work on the Making Babies documentary.

Last year, she posted a heart-wrenching video of herself talking about IVF on BBC social media page The Social.

And it prompted such a reaction that she decided to open up on the subject by filming couples going through the process.

Once my husband Findlay and I had been trying to conceive for about 18 months, we were referred to the Assisted Conception Service, said Laura-Jane.

We have what is called unexplained infertility, which means the doctors cant find a clear reason why its not working.

After lots of tests, the doctor said, You have a healthy womb, you have great sperm. You should be making babies, but we dont know why youre not.

It can be incredibly frustrating and we have tried everything, but when you cant find the problem, its hard to find a solution.

Laura-Jane, 35, from Glasgow, and Findlay have gone through two rounds of fresh cycle IVF and two rounds of frozen IVF. Sadly, none of the attempts have been successful.

In the early days, trying to have a baby was all-consuming. There were babies everywhere I looked.

Meeting so many people who have gone through IVF, I realised were not alone and its more normal than not normal. Im now grateful for what I have an amazing husband and a fantastic life. Having a baby would be a bonus, but were so lucky already.

IVF is largely a taboo subject. Few people understand how hard a process it is and what is involved.

I thought we would ace IVF, but then came to the realisation there is potential failure at every point.

So hopefully this documentary can open the largely taboo subject up and help people understand a bit more.

Were taught from an early age how to prevent unwanted pregnancy, but were never taught how difficult it can be for some couples to get pregnant.

Its not easy for everyone, but at least in Scotland we have the gold-star package of three rounds of IVF.

Not everyone is that lucky.

Were taking a break for now, but will definitely use our last round.

We dont know if it will be third time lucky, but well certainly give it a try.

Making Babies, BBC Scotland, 10pm, Tuesday

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Fertility specialist Ellen Drew talks about her career, starring in new show Making Babies and her own struggles with conceiving - The Sunday Post