Breakthroughs Today

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT Harvard obstetrician-gynecologist Nawal Nour reported to the Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology (2008 issue): “The origins of FGC are a mystery.” The World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) jointly issued in 1997 a statement defining female genital cutting (FGC) or female circumcision as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons.” [1] Amnesty International estimated in October 1997 that more than 130 million women worldwide had FGC, with over 2 million procedures being performed each year. According to a UNICEF report [2] in 2005, 80% or more women in Africa had FGC including such countries as at the top: Guinea (99%), Egypt (97%), Mali (92%), Sudan north (90%), Eritrea (89%), and Ethiopia (80%). Ranked below Ethiopia in FGC prevalence are B

Microsoft Corporation founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates released, during his keynote address at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference in Long Beach, California, a swarm of "malaria-carrying" mosquitoes before an elite group of technology tycoons, politicians and Hollywood stars in an attempt to send a wake up call for the rich to take an active role in help irradicate malaria around the world, especially among impoverished countries. He shortly informed the panic-stricken audience that the mosquitoes are malaria-free. ( Click here for more detail. )

Breakthroughs 2009 June 24 Turning Back the Weight Dial June 17 Anticipating Swine Flu War June 10 Best Places to Live Up to 100 Years June 3 Scales of Pandemia May 27 Swine Flu Facts May 20 Living 100 Years Anywhere Article users-- Cebu Informer (newslink); The Global Filipino (newslink) May 13 The Widow-Maker May 5 Disease of Passion April 29 The Curse of Polygamy April 23 A Way of Ending April 15 The Buzz Cut Article users-- Hugh Pages (newslink); Aywoh BizCentral ; April 8 Threats to a Healthy Faith Article users-- Hello Davenport, Local Davenport Crime News ; Hugh Pages (newslink) April 1 Celebrating Truths and Pranks Article users-- Spas Listings, Garden of Eden News sidebar ; Wow Cebu, Sunstar News Feeds ; March 25 The Function of Spiritual Unity Article users-- The Global Filipino ; Spiritual Healing ; March 18 Looking for Happiness March 11 Taming the Accursed Breath March 4 The Art of Movement February 25 Female Circumcision Article users-- Bellwave,

By Daniel J. DeNoon WebMD Health News Published as "CDC Warns of Drug-Resistant Flu Bug Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Bug Spreading in U.S." A flu strain now spreading in the U.S. is resistant to the flu drug Tamiflu, the CDC today warned in an official health advisory to doctors. Flu is a dangerous and sometimes deadly disease. But the Tamiflu-resistant strain isn't any more or less dangerous than other flu strains. The Tamiflu-resistant virus is the flu bug most commonly seen so far this year. It's been detected in 12 states so far, mostly in Hawaii and Texas. Tamiflu resistance wasn't unexpected. What was surprising was the rapid rise of Tamiflu resistance in this particular flu bug. Last year, about 11% of type A H1N1 flu bugs were resistant. So far this year, 49 out of 50 H1N1 viruses have been resistant. Even so, it's still very early in the flu season. There's no way to know whether the Tamiflu-resistant flu bug will be this year's predominant cause o

Varmus Christopher Forbes.com 12/29/08 14:00:05 GMT The sex industry traces back to 500 B.C., when traders from the Greek port of Miletus sold olisbos, an early version of the dildo. Today, the business of sex (including pornography) now runs into the tens of billions of dollars. (No official estimates are available; Wall Street analysts don't tend to track this stuff.) And while print and video sales are ebbing, as more free adult content has become available online, sales of un-reproducible sexual aids are still healthy. "Of course, there's concern about the economy, but right now our sales are growing," says Michael Trygstad, founder of Wet, a lubricant manufacturer in Van Nuys, Calif. "We've grown 30% this year alone. We've had to completely automate our factories to meet the tremendous demand. People are deciding to stay at home and engage in inexpensive entertainment.'' Slick marketing--and the ability to shop anonymously online--helps, too

Agence France-Presse Reported as "Huge dinosaur discovery in China: state media" Paleontologists in east China have dug up what they believe is one of the world's largest group of dinosaur fossils including the remains of an enormous "platypus", state press said Tuesday. Paleontologists have discovered 15 areas near Zhucheng city in Shandong province that contain thousands of dinosaur bones, the Beijing News reported. "This group of fossilised dinosaurs is currently the largest ever discovered in the world... in terms of area," the paper cited paleontologist Zhao Xijin of the China Academy of Sciences as saying. In one area measuring 300 metres (990 feet) by 10 metres, more than 3,000 bones were found, the report said. Since digging began in March scientists have discovered more than 7,600 bones. Included in the find was the largest "platypus" -- or "duck-billed dinosaur" in Chinese -- ever discovered measuring nine metres high wit

Published in the infoBayArea.com As " Poinsettia: Flore de Nochebuena" A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy."I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly. Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel. As she approached the alter, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the