I love my readers!

My Dear Sexy Readers,

Last night, I received a notification from my twitter account saying I got a review from a fellow blogger! WHAT A NICE SURPRISE! I was so happy!! It couldn't have come at a better time to boost my confidence in my ability to translate science and make it accessible to everyone!

So, thank you SO much Vivre dans le Blog for your kind words and faith in Science So Sexy in making Science sounds cool!!!

Feel free to show your love and go check out his other posts too, Vivre Dans le Blog is new in our blogosphere ;)

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Happy New Year 2014!!!!

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I wish you all a Sexy

I hope you had a fantastic Christmas, hopefully surrounded by your family. 

NOW is time for fun with friends!!!

If you are out and about tonight, you will be in full preparation mode about right now, so if you are wondering what are the "chemicals" you put on your face, check out SSS mini series on Chemicals in your Make up.

Later on, you might be tempted by a late night snack such as a little omelet? Maybe you will be wondering if your eggs are still fresh, although this might not be your biggest worry. Anyhow, here is how to know!

Or maybe you'd like a nice piece of toast with some Nutella on it?

To make sure that you are not too hungovered, you might be tempted to finish your night with a cuppa. Find out here what are the effects of caffeine in your body.

Tomorrow morning, you will probably wake up wondering why you feel the way you feel!?! It might be about anything but this article is about 'feeling rough' after a big one!!!

And then will start the usual guilty feelings about not respecting your body, so you will be tempted to start a January Detox programme. Come over here for some tips and how to avoid spending too much money on so called miracle cures!

See you Soon for More Sexy Science,

Merry Christmas

My Dear Sexy Readers,

I wish you a

I hope you have enjoyed this year's So Sexy articles.
And if you are in full Xmas preps and baking your way into your family's get together dinner, you might find the article about the difference between yeast and baking powder interesting or useful or need to know how to make a gorgeous home made mayonnaise.
Also, little tricks here or there about why you cry when you are chopping your onions, but fear not, they are good for your health, check it out over here.
When you'll be all finished in the kitchen and will be preparing yourself, you might wonder if wearing make up is really healthy, this mini-series on Chemicals in your make up will help you make up your mind on the subject. As well as being informative and an excellent conversation topic, check out this mini-series on What's in your Shampoo? with a focus on the infamous SLS and Parabens.

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Banking your baby's umbilical cord

My Dear Sexy readers,

It has become on of those talks you HAVE TO HAVE when you fall pregnant:  

(Please note, I have included a LINK to a Petition that I am supporting. If you are interested, feel free to jump over there first from HERE)

Will I store my baby's umbilical cord?
Why? How? It's gross! and where? In my fridge?
Don't worry, if you do decide to do it, you have a few options and storing it at home is NOT one of them!
A few companies have now set up in the UK to help you store your precious in state of the art containers.
So now to the Why?

Special Amazon offers on baby products ends soon: 

Cord blood contains stem cells which are cells that haven't decided what to transform themselves into.

For example, cord blood contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and very small embryonic like stem cells (VSELs), all of which may be usable in stem cell treatment and increase the therapies available to your child. The cord tissue also contains MSCs in addition to unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs), vascular endothelial stem cells and perivascular stem cells, which are also expected to have great therapeutic benefit in the future. (Excerpt from Cells 4 Life website)

Cell types produced from MSCs

So with a little help from scientists, those stem cells could be fed with a few nutrients to help them differenciate into a specific cell type.
Those differenciated cells can then be used to treat someone who has a disease or a condition. This is called regenerative therapy because by introducing those cells into our body, it can kickstart the repair programme needed!
This type of therapy is in its infancy but already scientists have witnessed the phenomenal potential that it brings. For example, check out this article about a little girl who was cured using her cord blood stem cells that her parents got stored
Please check out this link to see a list of diseases that are being studied and case studies where stem cells therapies have been successfully applied.

Is it ethical?
It's not controversial at all like it used to be with embryonic stem cells because cord blood stem cells are usually thrown away, there is no life in it, baby used it for 9 months and once (s)he's born, (s)he doesn't need it anymore.
Keeping it could save that baby's life if, by an unfortunate twist of fate, (s)he develops a disease that is, by a fortunate twist of life, treatable with stem cells!

Who do I ask?
Not many women, and nurses/midwives for that matter, know that you can donate your baby's umbilical cord to the UK NHS bank! Instead, your baby's umbilical cord just ends up in the bin! WHAT A WASTE!!! Don't you think?

Even fewer people know that you can keep it for your own use when/if it will be needed!
I myself did it using the company Cells 4 Life. It is relatively non expensive, the price could scare a few I admit, when you add this cost to all the other bills that are required for a newborn!
But if you look at it as an investment, my baby is insured for £100/year for 25 years! And that is Priceless - and quite cheap! Isn't your Sky or phone bill 10x more? Even my house insurance is 3x more!

In London, there is an NHS trust in Barking/Havering and Redbridge that is thinking about refusing private procurement of umbilical cord blood! Why should it be their choice?

Think about all the women living in that area who won't get to decide what to do with their child's umbilical cord!!!! Please do come over HERE and sign my petition against it!!! THANK you for them

LINK to Petition: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/barking-havering-and-redbridge-hospital-allow-private-procurement-of-umbilical-cord-blood

What more?
The company I used not only allows you to keep the cord blood but also the tissue, and store it as a whole as opposed to purified and reduced cord blood like other companies do. For more information on this, please do check out their website.
Now, some people might say it could be a lot of money wasted and we don't even know if it's working, there are not many diseases treated by this kind of therapy, etc...
I reply AS YET!
This science is at the beginning, every day scientists are discovering new and exciting facts and the list of diseases and conditions treatable is growing! Imagine in 25 years? In 50 years? When your child will need them? By then the list might be extraordinary, but if you haven't banked those cells at the birth, you or he won't be able to use them in the future!

The opportunities to save lives are there, to potentially save your child's life!

Also, let me take this opportunity to remind you of Cosy Science café as their last talk was about regenerative medicine :)

See you Soon for more Sexy Science,

Please note that Although Cells4Life is now a Sponsor of SSS, this article has not been requested and my views are mine only.