Biology

Arthritis

2012-07-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Rheumatoid arthritis affects the synovial membrane that encases the joint (Synovium) makes her swelling, which in turn causes severe pain in the joint, you may end up with a distorted form of the joint. May find people who are suffering from symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, in some cases, the difficulty in the implementation of even the simplest acts, such as opening a bottle or walking.

And affects rheumatoid arthritis, overall, more women than men, more than double to three times, and usually appears between the ages of 40 and 60 years. But it may affect young children and the elderly, as well.

There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, yet. But possible to live a long life and active disease with rheumatoid arthritis, if the adoption of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis manner, which includes the protection of the joints and lifestyle change.

Symptoms

Pain in the joints
Swelling in the joints
Arthritis sensitivity to touch
Redness of palms and Tormanma
The emergence of a solid lump under the skin in the arms (Romatwedih nodules - Rheumatoid nodules)
Fatigue
Sclerosis in the morning feeling lasts 30 minutes, at least
Fever
Weight loss

Marburg Virus

2012-07-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Picture from: SPL

Marburg virus. Computer artwork of Marburg virus particles (virions). This tubular RNA (ribonucleic acid, coloured spheres) virus causes Marburg haemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates. Symptoms of the rare and often fatal disease include fever, muscle pain, rash, diarrhoea and haemorrhage. The virus was first documented in 1967 when there were simultaneous outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever in laboratories in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade in Yugoslavia. The outbreak was traced to vervet monkey tissue used in research.

Evolution of the Planetary System

2012-07-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Picture From: SPL

Astronomers have found that certain white dwarf stars have atmospheres which are very rich in the rocky elements (such as silicon) which comprise Earth-like planets. A white dwarf is the core of an initially much larger star, whose outer layers have been lost when the star expanded to become a red giant. Astronomers suspect that as the star expands, it perturbs the orbits of any planets around it, perhaps leading to collisions. Repeated collisions grind down the planets into smaller and smaller pieces of rubble until the star, now a white dwarf, is surrounded by a disc of dust and hot gas. This image depicts the various stages in this process. At the top we see the planetary system it its youth. In the middle, the star has become a red giant and some planets have started to collide. And in the last frame, we see the resultant disc surrounding the white dwarf.

Gardenia plant

2012-07-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

Picture From: SPL

Gardenia plant. 18th-century journal page illustrating a Gardenia plant with a double flower. The anatomy of the flowering parts is annotated and illustrated across bottom. This page is from volume 51 (1759-60) of the journal 'Philosophical Transactions', published by the Royal Society of London.

Cancerous tumor weighed 23 kilograms of the stomach of an American woman

2012-07-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Surgeons removed in the state of "New Jersey" America and the cancerous tumor was growing rapidly and reached its weight to 23 kg of the woman's stomach, which had been put off treatment for more than a month, covered by health insurance for inflation until the tumor in this way.

Daobera said David, who led the surgery for women aged 65 years: "She was a lady skinny abdomen is huge, I mean it seemed as if they were pregnant with triplets."

I felt women's pain in the abdomen by about eight weeks she went to the hospital, and took her body swell quickly, and said Daobera, she sought treatment on the fourth of June or days after the festival her sixty-fifth, the age at which the eligible for the U.S. program for health care for adults , and added: "The reason it did not go by this is that they did not have health insurance."

And found Daobera and his team, that the tumor which apparently originated from fatty tissue around the intestine covered many of its members had to remove the internal and with the utmost caution and deliberation during the operation, which lasted five hours.

Sunlight protects against cancer of the pancreas

2012-07-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Sunlight protects against cancer of the pancreas

By 49% compared to persons with less sensitive skin

Recent Australian study demonstrated that exposure to sunlight protects against cancer of the pancreas.

The study made by the researcher Rachel Nyali from the Institute of Queensland Medical Research in Australia that the risk of pancreatic cancer decreased in people who have a history of cancer, skin as well as those born in areas with a high level of UV radiation or persons who are allergic to the sun.

The present study in addition to the many conflicting information on the impact of sun exposure on human health and vitamin D received by the body from the sun and the risk of cancer.

Nyali has supported a study of data that suggests that exposure to the sun gives the protectionist impact of cancer of the pancreas.

The researcher said that many of the studies on biology, including those conducted in Australia suggested that people who live in sunny areas always have a lower risk of pancreatic cancer.

While other studies of vitamin D to indicate that exposure to sunlight protects against cancer of the pancreas and that persons who have a high level of vitamin D are more susceptible to disease.

The experiment was conducted between 2007 and 2011, and included 714 people from the area of Queensland Australian who has been compared with a comparison of 709 people assimilated in age and gender.

The researchers found that those most sensitive to the sun have a lower risk of pancreatic cancer by 49% compared to persons with skin less sensitive to the sun.

The researchers also found that the risk of pancreatic cancer less than 40% among people who have a history of skin cancer or other skin diseases arising from exposure to sunlight.

Source

Argus II artificail retina

2012-07-11T03:17:00.000-07:00

Argus II artificial retina. Researcher holding an Argus II retinal implant electrode array. This 60-electrode array measures 3 by 5 millimetres. Developed by US company Second Sight, it is designed to be implanted in the retina of blind people. Images from an external camera pass to a video processing unit, to an antenna, and then to the retinal implant which stimulates the retina to provide some vision. Users of this implant are able to perceive contrasts between light and dark areas. Photographed at the Institut de la Vision, in Paris, France. Argus II was approved for sale in Europe in 2011.

HIV Life Cycle

2012-07-11T02:15:00.000-07:00

a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body's cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy.
AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s and now affects millions of people. The cause is a virus (called the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV) transmitted in blood and in sexual fluids, and although the incubation period may be long and treatment can slow the course of the disease there is currently no cure or vaccine. In the developed world the disease first spread among homosexuals, intravenous drug users, and recipients of infected blood transfusions, before reaching the wider population. This has tended to overshadow a greater epidemic in parts of Africa, where transmission is mainly through heterosexual contact.

And in this picture we are showing you the life cycle of the HIV virus in details.

Acinetobacter baumannii

2012-07-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Picture from: SPL

Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria, coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). This bacterium has developed resistance to a number of antibiotics and is increasingly seen in opportunistic infections in hospitals. It typically infects the lungs, leading to a form of pneumonia. It can develop resistance to antibiotics even as they are being used to treat an infection. Because of this, and because it is generally found in weakened patients, the mortality rate for infections with A. baumannii is high. In healthy individuals, however, it is a normal part of the skin flora. Magnification: x11,000 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Reduce the hours of sit prolong life

2012-07-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

Reduce the hours of sit prolong life

Stop the leg muscles for the activity causing disturbances in sugar and fat

A study published in the journal "British Medical Journal"showed that the reduction of sitting hours per day to three hours and below would prolong the life of man.

The study, based on investigations conducted in 2005 and 2006, then in the years 2009 and 2010, and included a broad sample of Americans who are over 18 years.

The researchers divided the sample according to the daily sitting hours (less than 3 hours, 3 to 6 hours, and more than six hours), and according to the hours sitting in front of TV (less than two hours, between two hours and 4 hours, more than 4 hours).

The study concluded that "sitting or watching TV for a long time can shorten the life expectancy of the individual in the United States."

The researchers pointed to the "causal relationship" between the hours supposed to sit down and life expectancy, without scientific proof of that.

The several studies have indicated that lack of physical exertion increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and increase mortality in general.

He explained lead researcher Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk from the University of Louisiana that "some studies show that in the sitting position, the leg muscles are not active at all, what is causing unrest in the proportion of sugar and fat in the blood."

The WHO recommends the exercise of at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, to maintain good health.

Breast Feeding improves lung function

2012-07-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

A recent study conducted by researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom that breastfeeding improves lung function in children at the age of school entry, especially if they were mothers living with asthma, so as published in the journal "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine" the number of the month of Feb. .

The researchers study and analysis of data for 1458 children, born between 1993 and 1997 in the UK, and assessed the duration of breastfeeding and symptoms of breathing and some measurements of lung function such as "FVC" and "" FEV1 at the age of school entry, and the results showed that children born to mothers infected with asthma improved lung function have dramatically when continued breastfeeding for more than six months.

The study added that this is not the findings of other researchers, adding that breastfeeding may have a direct impact in helping the growth of the lungs, and contrary to what came of these results with previous studies that breastfeeding may be harmful to children born to mothers infected with asthma.

source

Replication Fork

2012-07-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Picture from: SPL

DNA replication. Coloured Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM) of human DNA from a HeLa cancer cell, showing a stage of DNA replication. The strand of DNA is coloured yellow. It has formed into a Y-shaped molecule termed a replication fork, where the DNA has unwound into two single strands. Normally, DNA consists of two tightly wound spiral strands. During replication, a "bubble" region forms which enlarges to form a replication fork. It is here that daughter strands form as the parent DNA acts as a template for the construction of a new matching strand. In this way the sequence of bases (or genetic nformation) along the DNA molecule is replicated.

New type of black hole discovered

2012-07-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

Picture from: National Geographic

After nearly three years of spying a superbright object nearly 300 million light-years away, astronomers with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and SWIFT telescope recently announced the discovery of HLX-1, the first representative of a new type of black hole. (See black hole pictures.)

(Related: "New Class of Black Hole Found? [2009].")

Until recently, black holes were thought to come in only two sizes: Small stellar varieties that are several times heavier than our sun, and supermassive black holes that pack the gravitational punch of many million suns—large enough to swallow our entire solar system.

Notorious for ripping apart and swallowing stars, extra-large black holes live exclusively in the hearts of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way.

The new middleweight black hole is between these two types—equal to the matter of about 90,000 suns.

New Black Hole Relics of the Early Universe?

An international team, who discovered HLX-1 "almost by accident" in 2009, noticed the object was pumping out copious amounts of x-rays and radio flares—not from within the core of its host spiral galaxy, but some 12,000 light years beyond.

"Our observations from 2009 and 2010 showed that HLX-1 behaves similarly to the stellar [low] mass black holes, so we worked out when we should be expecting to see radio flares from HLX-1, and when we made more observations in August and September 2011, we did," said study leader Natalie Webb, of the Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements in France.

The origin of these intermediate black holes may lie in centers of globular clusters, where hundreds of thousands of stars are densely packed together by gravity.

Alternatively, the middleweights may be true ancient relics of the universe, formed by the very earliest stars, said Webb, whose study appears tomorrow in the journal Science.

(Read more about the origins of the universe.)

"At the dawn of the universe, very massive stars may have existed—maybe as much as ten thousand times the mass of our sun—and these stars would have  a very short lifetime and end their lives as intermediate mass black  holes," Webb said.

Middleweights May Explain Black Hole Giants

The very existence of middleweight black holes may also be key in solving how their supermassive cousins formed. (Read about NASA's new "black hole hunter.")

For instance, Webb suspects the middleweights may in fact be the supermassive black holes' progenitors.

These giants may either form when a single intermediate black hole gobbles enough matter to grow into a supermassive black hole with at least a million solar masses.

Or, a number of intermediate black holes "merged in the early universe to form the supermassive black holes we see today," Webb said.

Either way, without further surveys, it's impossible to tell how common middleweight black holes are across the universe.

"It's difficult to assess observationally, as [HLX-1] is the only good candidate," Webb said.

"But some people think that there may be hundreds in each and every galaxy."

Source

Pipistrelle bat

2012-07-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Picture from: SPL

Face of a pipistrelle bat. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of a pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). Bats, of the order Chiroptera, are the only mammals in the world naturally capable of flight. About 70 per cent of bats are insectivorous, and many are nocturnal. They are not blind, although many species have small eyes and poor eyesight. Instead they rely on echolocation, emitting high-pitched sounds in regular patterns and using the returning echo to locate and identify objects.

A personal check for the detection of AIDS

2012-07-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

240 thousand out of 1.2 million infected in America are unaware they are infected

The United States Agency for Medicines (FDA) allowed for the first time the sale of test to detect HIV infection without any medical supervision.

The agency followed the recommendations of this advisory committee of 17 independent experts supported the May 15 put this test, known as "Quick said Laura - Home HEV" for sale without medical supervision.

Have shown a clinical trial conducted by the laboratory test that allowed detection of HIV infection in 92% of cases, slightly less than the 95% recommended by the "FDA".

And allows examination of the person taking a sample of his saliva from the gum by a piece of cotton placed then in the tube should wait 20 to 40 minutes to get the result, the result was positive does not necessarily mean that the person is a positive serum, but index for additional tests in the medical center to confirm the result.

In contrast, the conclusive results were negative, this is not a guarantee that a person is infected, especially if he was wounded in the last three months made it clear on what "FDA" in its statement, however, that such inspection reveals that a large number of seropositive did not reveal injury of before, especially in vulnerable groups more than others, are not subject to the tests normally.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about 240 thousand people out of 1.2 million infected with AIDS in the United States are unaware they are infected with the disease, and that the examination on a regular basis is the most effective way to reduce new infections, up to the neighborhood of 50 thousand cases a year 20 years ago in the United States.

Pufferfish

2012-07-10T03:34:00.000-07:00

Picture From: National Geographic

Biologists think pufferfish, also known as blowfish, developed their famous "inflatability" because their slow, somewhat clumsy swimming style makes them vulnerable to predators. In lieu of escape, pufferfish use their highly elastic stomachs and the ability to quickly ingest huge amounts of water (and even air when necessary) to turn themselves into a virtually inedible ball several times their normal size.

Quasar

2012-07-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

Picture From: SPL

Primordial quasar, artwork. Quasars are large galaxies with supermassive black holes at their centres. The gas and dust falling towards the black hole glows extremely brightly. This quasar, from early in the history of the universe, is surrounded by gas, dust, star clusters and stars. Observations of very distant, and so very old, quasars by the Hubble Space Telescope and the WMAP spacecraft have shown them emitting iron, indicating that stars had completed life-cycles, during which they created and released this iron, within the first few million years of the universe.

Lung cancer Cell Division

2012-07-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

Picture from SPL

Lung cancer cell division. Computer artwork of a lung cancer cell during cell division (cytokinesis). The two daughter cells remain temporarily joined by a cytoplasmic bridge (centre). Cancer cells divide rapidly in a chaotic, uncontrolled manner. They may clump to form tumours, which invade and destroy surrounding tissues. Lung cancer is often associated with smoking tobacco and exposure to industrial air pollutants. It causes a cough and chest pain and may spread to other areas of the body. Treatment includes removal of affected parts of the lung, with radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

BedBug

2012-07-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Bedbug. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a bedbug (Cimex sp.). Adult bedbugs' bodies are flattened, oval, and wingless, with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. They feed on the blood of warm-blood animals, including humans. Bedbugs are generally only active at night, hiding in crevices in walls and furniture and in bedding during the day. Although they do not transmit disease, their saliva can cause itchy swellings on the skin. Magnification: x15 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Lytic viral cycle

2012-07-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

Picture from: SPL

Lytic viral cycle. Diagram showing the lytic cycle for viral reproduction. The example given here is for bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. At upper left, a bacteriophage (yellow) attaches to the bacteria (blue oval) and injects viral DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, red loop). At upper right, the host DNA (blue loop) and cell mechanisms are used to replicate the viral DNA and produce new bacteriophages that incorporate the copies of the viral DNA. At lower right, the destruction (lysis) of the bacterial cell releases the new viruses. Unlike the lysogenic cycle, the host cells are destroyed by the release of the new copies of the viruses.

Sperm fertilizing egg

2012-06-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Illustration of a human sperm fertilising an egg. The picture shows the size difference between the egg, or ovum, & the spermatozoon. Human spermatozoa are extremely elongated single cells about 65 micrometres long, divided into 3 main regions: a head, neck, & tail. The head, which contains the male nucleus, is about 7 micrometres long. Here, the head appears buried in the follicular cells, which form the corona radia that surrounds the ovum. Beneath the corona radiata is a glycoprotein membrane, the zona pellucida, which the sperm must penetrate to reach the female nucleus. This version on black background. Version on white background is P648 010.

Genetically modified potatoes

2012-06-23T03:33:00.000-07:00

Genetically modified potatoes. Close-up of Amflora potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) with a biohazard symbol. Amflora (also known as EH92-527-1) is a genetically modified potato developed by BASF Plant Science. The Amflora potato plant produces pure amylopectin starch that is processed to waxy potato starch. Amflora was approved for industrial applications in the European Union market on 2nd March 2010.

Over the last few years, potatoes have been losing importance as a food crop. The crop's prospects in the starch and chemical industry, however, have been growing for quite some time. For starch potatoes, taste isn't what's important. Instead, emphasis is placed on the quality and composition of the starch. An optimised starch potato could be making its way to fields in Europe soon. This new potato cultivar is genetically modified.

Only one in four potatoes grown in Europe actually gets eaten by people. Almost half end up being fed to livestock. The remaing one quarter are used as raw material in the production of alcohol and starch.

Potatoes are becoming more and more important as renewable raw materials for the starch industry. The starch produced in potatoes, however, isn't in an ideal form. It's composed of a mixture of two different kinds of starch: amylose and amylopectin. These two kinds of starch have very different properties.

Amylopectin, making up 80 percent of the starch content in potatoes, consists of large, highly-branched molecules. Amylopectin makes starch water soluble and gives it its characteristic stickiness. It is very useful in the food, paper, and chemical industries as paste, glue or as a lubricant.

Amylose is made up of long, chain-like molecules and is used predominantly in the production of films and foils.

Both of these kinds of starch are useful for human nutrition. But for the processing industry, a mixture of different starches is a problem. Industry must separate the two kinds of starch using expensive processes that take a toll on the environment. This is why plant breeders are working hard to develop potatoes that produce only one type of starch. Right now, emphasis has been placed upon developing potatoes containing only amylopectin, due to its diverse applications.

Classical breeding methods have not yet been able to provide an amylose-free potato that has acceptable yield and resistance to pests and diseases. Genetic engineering (Antisense-Strategy), on the other hand, offers a targeted approach to supressing the production of amylose.

Genetically modified amylopectin potatoes have been tested in field trials for several years. In the meantime, applications have been presented to European regulatory authorities for approving the cultivation of these potatoes as a renewable raw material for starch production. Because the post-processing residues would be fed to livestock, a request for the approval of the potatoes as feed has also been submitted. Starch-modified GM potatoes could be growing in European fields soon.

Resistance to pests and diseases

Attempts to confer pest and disease resistance to potatoes using genetic engineering haven't been quite as successful.

Several GM potato cultivars with improved resistance to viruses and to the potato beetle have been approved in the US and in Canada. In 1999, they were planted on approximately 25,000 hectares. Since then, cultivation of GM potatoes has ceased. The GM potatoes did not prevail, because they were not delivering any economic advantages, and some larger US companies refused to take the GM potatoes for further processing.

Right now, work is being done on potatoes with genetic engineering to confer resistance to Phytophthora infestans, also known as late blight of potato. Some consider this to be the most dangerous plant disease of all because it can spread extremely rapidly when conditions are warm and moist, leading to devastating losses. The disease is best known for causing the Irish Potato Famine of 1846-1850. Today, the disease is still a major problem. Owing to its flexibility, the disease has been able to survive every management strategy used thus far and has responded with new, adapted forms. Today, the disease is combatted using fungicides and heavy metal treatments. In the meantime, genetic engineers have come up with a promising new strategy. The first field trials with fungus resistant GM potatoes are already underway. The next few years will show if this new concept is effective.

From: GMO Compass

Gene Therapy

2012-06-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Gene therapy, conceptual image

What is Gene Therapy?

Gene therapy is an experimental technique used in treatment of malfunctioning genes, whereby a deficient or defective gene is replaced by a working gene, so that the body can make the proper enzyme or protein and as a result eliminate the origin of the disease.
Gene therapy is therefore targeted to “genetic metabolic diseases” in which a faulty gene causes an enzyme to be either absent or ineffective in catalyzing a particular metabolic reaction effectively.

There are a number of approaches for correcting defective genes:

The most common approach is inserting a gene into a non-specific location within the genome, replacing a nonfunctional gene.
Through selective reverse mutation, the malformed gene can be repaired to attain its normal role.
Via homologous recombination, the normal gene is exchanged for the abnormal gene
Alteration of the regulation of a particular gene.

How does Gene Therapy work?

To insert the corrected gene into the patient’s targeted cell, a carrier molecule, called a vector must be used. The most common form of vector is a virus which has been genetically modified to contain human DNA within it. The viruses are modified by replacing the deformed gene with the genes encoding for the desired effect. Thus the virus can be used as a 'vehicle' to carry the good genes into the targeted human cell in a pathogenic manner . The target cells are usually a patient’s liver or lung cells, where the viral vector transfers the therapeutic gene into the target cell. The therapeutic gene generates the production of functional proteins and restores the cell to its normal state

The types of viruses used in gene therapy

There are six main types of viruses used as vectors in gene therapy (shown in table below):

1. Retroviruses - A class of viruses that can create double-stranded DNA copies of their RNA genomes. These copies of its genome can be integrated into the chromosomes of host cells. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus.

2. Adenoviruses - A class of viruses with double-stranded DNA genomes that cause respiratory, intestinal, and eye infections in humans. The virus that causes the common cold is an adenovirus.

3. Adeno-associated viruses - A class of small, single-stranded DNA viruses that can insert their genetic material at a specific site on chromosome 19.

4.Herpes simplex viruses - A class of double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a particular cell type, neurons. Herpes simplex virus type 1 is a common human pathogen that causes cold sores.13

5. Alphaviruses- a single stranded positive sense RNA, particularly used to develop viral vectors for the Ross-River virus, Sindbis virus, Semliki Forest virus and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus.

6. Vaccina or pox viruses- a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome of approximately 190 kb in length, which encodes for around 250 genes. Can accept as much as 25kb of foreign DNA making it especially useful in expressing a large gene in gene therapy.

Hand holds an aborted human foetus aged 8 weeks

2012-06-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

Eight week old foetus. Hand holds an aborted human foetus, eight weeks old. The eighth week of pregnancy represents the end of the formative developmental stage and the embryo becomes a foetus. It is human-like in appearance, with the head large in proportion to the body. Eyes, ears and nose are developing. The limbs are long and bent at the elbows and knees, and the fingers and toes have differentiated. The genital organs develop into male or female at 7 weeks. All major organ systems are formed by the eighth week, but require growth. The umbilical cord is prominent. By eight weeks the foetus is about 3-4cm long (crown-rump length) and weighs under 10 grams.

ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS

In 2008, approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S., down from an estimated 1.29 million in 2002, 1.31 million in 2000 and 1.36 million in 1996. From 1973 through 2008, nearly 50 million legal abortions have occurred in the U.S. (AGI).
In 2008, the highest number of reported abortions occurred in New York (124,867), NYC (89,469), Florida (86,817) and Texas (81,366); the fewest occurred in Wyoming (≤4), South Dakota (848), North Dakota (1,386), and Idaho (1,481) (CDC).
The 2008 abortion ratios by state ranged from a low of 59 abortions per 1,000 live births in Idaho (Wyoming had too few abortions for reliable tabulation) to a high of 732 abortions per 1,000 live births in NYC (CDC).

The annual number of legal induced abortions in the United States doubled between 1973 and 1979, and peaked in 1990. There was a slow but steady decline through the 1990's. Overall, the number of annual abortions decreased by 3.7% between 2000 and 2008, with temporary spikes in 2002 and 2006. (CDC)

In 1998, the last year for which estimates were made, more than 23% of legal induced abortions were performed in California (CDC).

In 2005, the abortion rate in the United States was higher than recent rates reported for Canada and Western European countries and lower than rates reported for China, Cuba, the majority of Eastern European countries, and certain Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union (CDC).
Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended; about 4 in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion. (AGI).

WHO HAS ABORTIONS?

In 2008, 84.3% of all abortions were performed on unmarried women (CDC).
Women between the ages of 20-24 obtained 33% of all abortions in 2008; women between 25-29 obtained 24% (CDC).

In 2008, women aged 20-29 years had the highest abortion rates (29.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20-24 years and 21.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 25-29 years) (CDC).

50% of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25; women aged 20-24 obtain 33% of all U.S. abortions and teenagers obtain 17% (AGI).

In 2008, adolescents under 15 years obtained .05% of all abortions, but had the highest abortion ratio, 821 abortions for every 1,000 live births (CDC).

47% of women who have abortions had at least one previous abortion (AGI).
Black women are more than 4.8 times more likely than non-Hispanic white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2.7 times as likely (AGI).

37% of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 28% identify themselves as Catholic (AGI).

At current rates, nearly one-third of American women will have an abortion (AGI).

WHY ARE ABORTIONS PERFORMED?

On average, women give at least 3 reasons for choosing abortion: 3/4 say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities; about 3/4 say they cannot afford a child; and 1/2 say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner (AGI).

Mouse foetus

2012-06-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Mouse foetus. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a mouse (Mus sp.) foetus. The embryo has started to develop limb buds (bottom right and left). The head and tail are differentiating and the heart bulge is visible (centre). The embryo attaches to the uterine epithelium about five days after ovulation and the pregnancy lasts for approximately three weeks.