Articles Of Timeless Love: Disease

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The weaker sex?

The weaker sex?. Here's a cheerful finding for those who say that males push females around too much: On the molecular level, it appears male genes may have to leave their homes for protection, researchers report.

Home is the X chromosome, which plays a key role in determining the sex of the carrier. A female has two X chromosomes, while a male has one X and one much smaller Y chromosome. Studies in mice and humans show an unusually large number of genes can jump from the X chromosome to non-sex chromosomes, a research team at the University of Chicago reports in the Jan. 23 issue of Science.

Contradicting popular beliefs

That finding contradicts two beliefs widely held by geneticists, explains study leader Manyuan Long, an associate professor of ecology and evolution.

It has been thought that gene traffic is no greater for the X chromosome than for all the other genes, which are called autosomes. That's just not true, Long says.

And standard theory holds that the X chromosome is the site of action for most sex-related genes. The Chicago studies show that many of the genes that leave the X chromosome are involved in male sexual development, and they may go elsewhere to do what they have to do.

Male sexual problem help

At the moment, this is an exercise in pure, basic science. But it might someday provide useful insights into treatment of male sexual problems, since many of the jumping genes are involved in sperm formation, says J.J. Emerson, a member of the research team.

This helps us understand which particular genes are likely to be involved in spermatogenesis, Emerson says. So we can infer that anyone looking for genes involved with sperm formation can look at our genes.

As every schoolboy knows, chromosomes carry the genes that carry the information for production of the proteins that enable a living organism to live and grow.

Growth means the production of new cells, and therefore of new chromosomes. A human, for example, starts as a single cell, which divides to form two cells, which divide to form four, and so on. At each division, a complete set of chromosomes is produced for each new cell.

Production line not perfect

But the chromosomal production line is not perfect. Changes occur - changes that can result in the new traits that are essential for the evolution of life. And those changes can include the transfer of a gene from one chromosome to another.

What we see is that when genes are copied from one chromosome to another, the copying from the X chromosome is excessive, Emerson says. The explanation is that natural selection is responsible for this excess.

Two possible reasons

There are two possible reasons why this occurs, he says, and both of them are based on the weakness of males - at least at the genetic level.

One is that a male carries only a single X chromosome, and therefore it is less likely that a male-helpful gene will be able to do its work. By jumping to an autosome, the male gene increases its chances of being productive.

The other explanation is sexual antagonism, Emerson says. We would expect that female genes would have more of a say on the X chromosome. If so, and they don't care about male genes, in those cases where it would benefit females at the expense of males the only way for a male gene to work is to escape from the X chromosome.

If that explanation is correct, the war between men and women is being waged molecule against molecule. And at that level, it is the male who is weakest. - ( health24.com )

Don't stress this busy holiday season!

Feel Instant Calm. Don't stress this busy holiday season!. Here are 6 quick tips to help you in any tough situation.

6 stress-less tricks

Even though you can flip on the tube and watch Emeril, Guy, Jamie or Tyler whip up a mean meal, off the Food Network it's still women who do the lion's share of the food shopping, cooking and cleanup—especially around the holidays. But you don't have to resign yourself to feeling frazzled. "What distinguishes one person's meltdown from another's indifference is their perception of control over the situation," says Paul J. Rosch, M.D., president of the American Institute of Stress. Try these strategies and you'll be prepared to shrug off any tough situation this busy season throws at you:

1. Tea off

In a study at University College in London, 75 volunteers drank the equivalent of a cup of black tea before completing two stressful tasks. Afterward, their cortisol levels dropped an average of 47 percent, compared with 27 percent for the people who didn't imbibe.

2. Just say " it!"

Swearing reduces stress, according to research published in the Leadership & Organization Development Journal. We don't suggest dropping the F bomb in the middle of an intimate dinner party, but a strategically placed expletive in the privacy of your car, kitchen or bedroom can help you blow off steam.

3. Press the issue

Acupressure is a quick and effective tension releaser—it can reduce stress by up to 39 percent, according to researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. For fast relief, massage the fleshy area between your thumb and index finger for 20 to 30 seconds.

4. Treat yourself

Flavonoids in cocoa relax your body's blood vessels so that arteries can dilate, reducing blood pressure, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found. Look for dark chocolate or cocoa powder, which have more of the stress-busting compound than milk chocolate, and keep it to one serving.

5. Take a YouTube-timeout

Just the anticipation of laughing significantly decreases levels of the stress hormones dopac, cortisol and epinephrine, according to researchers at Loma Linda University in California.

6. Chew the fat

According to a study from the University of Pittsburgh, people with the highest blood levels of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids are happier, less impulsive and generally more agreeable. Boost your mood by adding foods rich in omega-3's—salmon, herring and sardines top the list—to your holiday feasts. Or try a daily supplement of 400 milligrams each of EPA and DHA fish oils.

( msn.com )

Woman Is Allergic to Her Husband's Sperm

Woman Is Allergic to Her Husband's Sperm. Couple Who Wanted to Have Children Had Pinned Hopes on New Treatment. The only thing newlyweds Julie and Mike Boyde wanted was a baby. The couple had already begun planning for a family and started to build a nursery in their Ambridge, Pa., home.

The only thing newlyweds Julie and Mike Boyde wanted was a baby. The couple had already

(ABC News)

But a painful diagnosis shattered their dream of parenthood. They learned that Julie Boyde was allergic to her husband's semen.

So the Boydes tried a revolutionary new treatment they hoped would allow them to have a baby. And although it proved unsuccessful for them, doctors hope it can help other women who have a similar problem.

Julie and Mike Boyde had been friends for years before he had the nerve to ask her out.

"I didn't ask her out until after our first year in college," Mike Boyde, 27, said. "We were just friends the whole way through high school."

The couple became engaged two years later. They married in 2005 and spent their wedding night at a bed and breakfast.

"Before we were always very careful and, you know, used protection, and that time we didn't," Julie Boyde, 26, said. "So, we figured we were married now, so if we got pregnant, we got pregnant."

But then something went terribly wrong.

"Pretty much right after, I knew something was not right because I was in a lot of pain," she said. "The pain that I was feeling was inside, kind of like, somebody was sticking needles up inside of me and like a burning, like really painful burning."

It was a scary moment, she said.

"Was there something wrong with me? Was there something wrong with him," she said.

But the attacks only got worse. Boyde said she was in pain for days, and they wondered if one of them had a disease.

"When … this actually happens, afterward on a scale of ... 1 to 10, it's pretty much close to 10," she said. "And I don't think that that's what a lot of people understand is ... how painful this actually is."

Test after test came back with no explanation for why she experienced pain after sex. Then a friend of hers suggested that she might be allergic to her husband.

"And after they said that, I'm like, you know, it kind of crossed my mind. Could that really be possible? So, I kind of went home that night and did a little research on the computer," she said.

It's possible to be allergic to another person, according to sexual health experts.

"The body recognizes semen as a foreign protein just as it would recognize a peanut allergen or pollen," said Dr. Andrew Goldstein, director of the Centers for Vulvovaginal Disorders in Annapolis, Md. "So you have swelling, you have itching, you have inflammation of the nerve endings."

Boyde said those were the exact symptoms she was experiencing.

Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity

The condition is called seminal plasma hypersensitivity, and an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 women in the United States may have it, Goldstein said.

Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, an immunologist at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center, said, "It can be systemic and present anaphylaxis where individuals have not just localized discomfort. They actually can have hives, soft tissue swelling … and, in the severe situations … they can ... potentially die."

But the diagnosis can be devastating for women like Boyde, who are hoping to get pregnant.

"In a person with a semen allergy, you can have infertility because the body is attacking the sperm, making them inactive, so they are unable to fertilize the egg," Goldstein said.

Due to an agreement with the Catholic school she worked for, in vitro fertilization was not an option for the Boydes. But a revolutionary new treatment offered hope for them and other couples living with this condition.

Bernstein, who treats women who are, essentially, allergic to their husbands, developed a desensitization treatment.

The treatment is similar to receiving an allergy shot, Bernstein said. After determining the three proteins in Mike Boyde's semen that triggered his wife's reaction, the lab created a serum from his semen that is used almost like a vaccine to immunize his wife.

She received her serum injections twice a week for the first two weeks and then once a week thereafter. Each shot was stronger than the previous one.

Despite her fear of needles, Julie Boyde said it was worth it if it could help her start a family.

Although the treatment has worked for other couples, it, unfortunately, did not work for the Boydes.

She continued to have a reaction to her husband's semen and, eventually, stopped taking the shots.

The couple said they are going to wait for their adoption agency to match them with a birth mother.

Julie and Mike's story airs on "Strange Sex" tonight on Discovery Health. / abcnews