Oh no... I do basic science research related to sporulation/biofilm formation and expression systems for antibiotic production in gram positive bacteria.

I'm a microbiologist too... it's sort of driving me a bit batty, especially since I work with bacterial spores which I bet your mom knows are danged near everywhere and near impossible to get rid of.

I have menorrhagia and I've used a DivaCup successfully for years. Generally, I try to empty the cup every 3-4 hours when I wore it at work and I would wipe the outside clean and reinsert if I couldn't easily access the sink. No waves of blood will come out... sometimes when it's getting a little full you may get some…

Boiling is not a method of sterilization. The DivaCup is not sterile. Boiling reduces the number of bacteria, viruses and other organisms undergoing vegetative growth but it does not eliminate them.

I use a DivaCup and I'm pretty thrilled with it - I don't necessarily feel like it's fundamentally any cleaner than tampons aside from producing less solid waste. I figure I might point out here that boiling IS NOT considered a method of sterilization - it does kill many cells, but a boiled DivaCup is by no means…

Definitely! Unless a consumer product says "sterile" it's not... and microorganisms can (and will) grow on anything they can get into. I've seen microbial growth in water with minimal mineral contamination over months.

I'll go eventually... I just need to find a time I can talk my bf into going with me - which sadly isn't easy... since I work M-F+ and he works W-Su. :(

I keep meaning to go to the Newseum... but I'm cheap and just end up going to free ones... which means I've been to the Natural History museum about 20 times in 6 months.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was at least partially a factor! Good catch.

The first part makes sense, but the second part doesn't necessarily. That article suggests it comes from a Cornell group ran by JP Habicht (if you bothered looking up the specific reference) that researches nutrition in the third world from a more anthropological standpoint and as far as I can tell, that paper doesn't…

You are misremembering. A mother cannot "pass" antibodies or antihistamines to a child - they must form them on their own. Antibodies are not something you have floating around in you forever waiting for an invader. The hypothesis is that children in developed nations have access to clean water, food, etc... so they…

Yep - this same situation happened to my friend's family. All of their doors were deadbolted from the inside. Thankfully they called a locksmith first.

I don't really feel like this is a "new" thing... my parents had a very traditional-style wedding in elopement form during the early 80s - and it wasn't exactly thought to be abnormal. Rented out a huge church, paid for (a lot) of flowers, had a photographer take many pictures, etc. Their only guests were two friends…

Tourism is great, but tourists can be idiots. If you need to stare at a map, don't crowd at the top of an escalator after you get off!

Sorry ladies, whenever I see an article like this on Jezebel all I can think is that you sound like the nuts who believe vaccinations cause autism, that science is hiding evidence that evolution is a lie and that science manipulates data to show global warming exists because of some liberal conspiracy.

Perfect comment.

Wait, is he calling "free birth control" through your insurer "free stuff"? I thought he was in business.

Sometimes it just happens... I have normal blood pressure, a strong heart, no familial history of heart problems but a history of this occurring on my dad's side. If I get up from laying down too quickly, there's a good chance I will faint... which I've more or less trained myself against this. My only guess is that…

Having a risk factor doesn't mean you're (necessarily) at risk. My family has absolutely no history of heart disease but on one side we often suffer from fairly extreme orthostatic hypotension (meaning that I've learned I can't get out of bed too rapidly without fainting)... I honestly think I have to worry more about…

No, there were a few more than that... and since then many doctors that provided second trimester abortions have stepped up and extended their services.