9,600Fireworks

 

Spirit in the Sky

This is the number of fireworks-related injuries treated in US hospital emergency departments in 2011. Two hundred people, on average, go to the emergency department every day with fireworks-related injuries in the month around the July 4 holiday. Injuries, including burns, commonly affect the hands and fingers, eyes, heads, faces, and ears.

Fully 89% of emergency department fireworks injuries involved those that federal regulations permit consumers to use.

Source: National Fire Protection Association/The US Consumer Product Safety Commission

 Landmark Decision

The US Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that human genesโ€”including the Gavel
breast cancer risk genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2โ€”canโ€™t be patented.The case centered around Myriad Geneticsโ€™ quest to patent the BRCA genes. As Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the unanimous decision: โ€œMyriad did not create anything. To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention.โ€These are the genes for which actress Angelina Jolie recently tested positive, and as a result, underwent a prophylactic mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction.While many advocates lauded Jolieโ€™s decision, others said the costs of such treatment, starting with genetic testing, were prohibitive for many. The downstream effects of the new decision may make it easier for these individuals to afford genetic testing.

 

Uplifting News!

 

Five lifting procedures have grown in popularity since 1997, thanks to the advent and uptake of bariatric surgery, among other factors:

 

  • Upper arm lift
  • Breast lift
  • Thigh lift
  • Lower body lift
  • Abdominoplasty

 

Fad or Mad?

If Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney is doing it โ€ฆGeorgeClooney by S Buk opt

Wacky plastic surgery stories often go viral, especially if they involve a celebrity and his or her private parts. And the latest story has all three in spades.

George Clooney was apparently joking when he told Italyโ€™s Max magazine that he underwent a procedure to tighten the skin and muscle around his testicles, but growing numbers of men here and abroad are apparently looking to โ€œtighten the tackleโ€ as a result.

This is plain mad, says Columbus, Ohio-based plastic surgeon Anne Taylor, MD. โ€œThis skin really cannot be made totally smooth, and so-called โ€˜tighteningโ€™ treatments would be very minimal results. This West Coast โ€˜crazeโ€™ is crazy, in my opinion,โ€ she says. โ€œOther rejuvenation treatments for men, such as Botox, fillers, and proper skin care, are fantastic options for the men to look and feel their best. There are surgical treatments for rejuvenation that are for any sex, and work to turn back the clock.โ€