A vaccine to prevent breast cancer is showing promising signs in animals, according to a study by researchers at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute.

The scientists found that a single vaccination with the antigen a-lactalbumin prevents breast cancer tumors from forming in mice, and also inhibits the growth of existing tumors.

If successful, this would be the first vaccine to prevent breast cancer. Though the researchers are optimistic, they warn that there is no guarantee that the same results in animals will occur in humans, and it’s possible that the treatment will not make it to human trials.

The current study tested genetically cancer-prone mice – half received a vaccine containing the antigen and half received a vaccine that did not contain the antigen. None of the mice vaccinated with the antigen developed breast cancer, while all of the other mice did.

Currently two cancer-prevention vaccines have been approved by the FDA: cervical and liver cancer. However, these vaccines target viruses, while the breast cancer vaccine being tested targets cancer formation.

If human testing proves successful, the strategy would be to vaccinate women over 40, as well as young women with a heightened risk of breast cancer.

Vincent Tuohy, Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator and an immunologist at the Lerner Institute says that there is no funding for human trials at this point, but it has been applied for.

[ From: cbsnews.com ]

An Iranian cleric’s suggestion that immodestly dressed women cause earthquakes drew thousands yesterday to join a Purdue University (IN) student’s call-to-action to shake up the world through revealing cleavage for women’s rights.

With the help of Facebook and Twitter, 22-year-old Jennifer McCreight organized “Boobquake,” an event designed to prove the cleric wrong. Observances were held on the Purdue University campus, as well as numerous locations all over the world.

McCreight said Boobquake was designed to show that even when large numbers of women simultaneously wear “immodest” attire, earthquakes do not occur. McCreight wrote she never expected her light-hearted experiment to get so much attention and that if she’d known, she would’ve been more careful about wording and execution.

Perhaps she should have chosen a different day, because the 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan yesterday could not have come at a more inopportune time. Although McCreight claimed that the quake did not count because it happened outside of her Boobquake zone, she did admit on her blog that the tremble was significant, but not unusual.

“On avg, 134 magnitude 6-6.9 earthquakes occur annually,” she wrote on her Twitter feed, before following it up on her blog with: “If we get many of a similar magnitude in the next 24 hours, we might start worshipping the power of immodesty.”

[ From: nypost.com ]

Addendum (CBS News.com ): The last earthquake measured in Indiana, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, was a magnitude 2.5 tremor, epicenter 20 miles SSW of Vincennes, on Saturday, April 24 at 5:05 a.m. ET. As of press time on Monday, no seismic activity in Indiana had been reported.

Oh, for crying out loud. This is simply awful.

I mean, if you’re going to have cast members of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia doing a breast-exam spot, it really ought to be Danny DeVito and Charlie Day.

The chemistry goes without saying, you know?

On Saturday April 17, 2010 Recordbreakers.com.au plans to assemble at least 2000 ladies in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record currently held under the category title “Largest photo shoot of people wearing bikinis.”

The meeting spot is in front of Perth’s biggest tourist icon – the Swan Bell Tower, and all proceeds from the event go to the Strike a Chord For Cancer Foundation – an organization supporting children in their fight against cancer.

Women of all ages, shapes, and sizes are encouraged to join the festivities and support a great cause. Participants receive a gift bag, a swimsuit, and access to an after party shared with the opening day celebration of the RedBull AirRace.

For more information and to register, click here.

In the latest Funny or Die.com short, Heidi Montag speaks out about the horrors of having to pay for plastic surgery with a credit card.

The blond star of “The Hills” talks about some of her recent surgeries, Lauren Conrad, and most importantly, how you can contact your senator to push bank and credit card reform.

Did anyone see the phone number to call? I got distracted about 6 seconds in…

For the 5,200 people that gathered yesterday to be photographed in front of the Sydney Opera House, it must have been a very cold day in Australia.

For the sake of art and diversity, photographer/nude-ographer Spencer Tunick gathered an army of naked bodies to deliver the strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society.

[ From: Nerve.com ]

When Lydia Carranza fell victim to an office gunman last summer, salvation may have come from her size-D breast implant.

Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Ashkan Ghavami believes that without the implant to obstruct the blow from the bullet, Carranza would have died.

Carranza was working at a Simi Valley dental office July 1st when the disgruntled husband of one of her co-workers stormed in with a semiautomatic assault rifle, killing his wife and shooting Carranza in the chest.

“She’s just one lucky woman,” Dr. Ghavami told the LA Times. “I saw the CT scan. The bullet fragments were millimeters from her heart and her vital organs. Had she not had the implant, she might not be alive today.”

Dr. Ghavami will be performing Carranza’s breast reconstruction surgery at a reduced cost, but is hoping that implant companies will donate supplies.

Kris Carraway, spokeswoman for the hospital at which Carranza was treated, has said that Carranza’s emergency physician “was not aware of the breast implant having any impact of whether or not it saved her life.”

But Scott Reitz, an LAPD  firearms instructor told The Times that it was entirely possibly that the implant interrupted the velocity of the bullet.

“I don’t want to say a boob job is the equivalent of a bulletproof vest,” Reitz said. “So don’t go getting breast enhancements as a means to deflect a possible incoming bullet.”

Jaime Paredes, the alleged gunman, is awaiting trial without bail on charges for murder and premeditated attempted murder.

Every woman complains about their body from time to time. But for Jane Hughes-Wynn, a breast deformity was a serious concern that caused her years of discomfort, insecurity, and unhappiness.

Not only was one significantly larger than the other, Jane’s breasts were odd shaped, saggy and uncomfortable. All her life she avoided the everyday girly things such as sleep-overs and shopping trips, even something as normal as playing on a Wii.

When she met her husband Simon, it took her eight months before she felt comfortable enough to undress in front of him. In fact, it was the pictures from their wedding last March which spurred Jane to seek a medical solution.

“They looked saggy, and the left one was one-and-a-half cup sizes smaller. I couldn’t bear to look at them and was too ashamed to confide in anyone,” Jane said.

But her life was turned round when she was diagnosed with tubular breast deformity and discovered it was a treatable condition.

Last summer Jane found the solution to her problem when she was accepted onto the show Embarrassing Bodies, and received a breast implant surgery to become the proud owner of a pair of perfectly matching 34C’s.

“I wasn’t particularly happy with getting my boobs out on national television, but it was a means to an end,” she said. “I spent so long hating myself, but I couldn’t have carried on like that – I think this operation saved my life.”

Since the operation, Jane has become more relaxed and confident in her life and no longer faces the insecurities that have damaged her self-image since puberty.

“Being unhappy with your breasts can leave psychological scars,” agrees cosmetic surgeon Riccardo Frati. “It can destroy a woman’s confidence.”

“Five per cent of the women I treat have a medical problem, such as tubular breast deformity, which causes breasts to grow in a pointed shape,” he adds.“Problems like these can only be corrected with surgery.”

You can watch Jane’s story here or read more in the March print edition of Cosmopolitan.

[ From: www.WalesOnline.co.uk ]

We just took a first stab at a “system to recognize long time members” based on an extensive review of many of the comments left. Upon your premium membership subscription renewal we are factoring in your length of membership and awarding you 5 bonus free message credits for every year that you’ve been a member. So for example if you’ve been here from the start (2005), you’ll now receive 25 free credits (5 credits X 5 years = 25 credits) with every automatic renewal, along with your regular 5 paid credits. That’s 30 message credits each month!

Some of the veterans have some of the best advice for new girls, and so hopefully you can now pass along your wise words of advice and encouragement to new ladies at no additional cost to you.

You will need to have at least a C-Cup or DD-Cup membership level at the time of the auto-renewal in order to take advantage of this offer but it’s okay if you had a lapse in membership (or need to take a temporary break) as it’s based purely on when you originally created your account. We feel this method struck a balance between most of the concerns voiced for privacy of the reward since only you know how many credits you have, and only you know what subscription level you have.

We’re going to leave the feedback forum item open with a “started” status for a while in case anyone else has other ideas to contribute, as we view this as only 1 piece of the puzzle in recognizing the veterans here.

Ear cropping and tail docking have been standard “cosmetic procedures” among many dog breeds and types for ages. However, doggy boob jobs have not typically been popular in the cosmetic canine circle – until now. Two rescue dogs from a shelter in Stondon Massey, a village in south Essex, had breast lifts costing £1,200 in  efforts to find them a new home.

After years of overbreeding by unscrupulous owners, the two labradors were left with sagging folds of skin leaving their mammary glands all but dragging across the ground. A condition which, the staff at the Wallace Kennels said, was putting off potential owners. In a proactive effort to find the dogs a new home, the staff decided to beautify their bosoms.

Shelter coordinator Teresa Bartholomew said, “It is very unusual. You don’t get many people having cosmetic surgery on dogs and we could be one of the first. But, if we hadn’t had it done, we would not have been able to re-home them.”

Before the surgeries, the two dogs Emma and Morgan were passed over by potential adopters due to their unattractive “undercarriage,” as the staff described it.

Bartholomew added, “It didn’t look very nice and people just could not see past that – you could see it in their faces. It was definitely worth it because it meant the dogs were rehomed and there was a happy ending.”

Just weeks after the successful surgeries, Morgan and Emma were adopted and are now safe and happy with new owners in loving homes.

[ from: metro.co.uk ]