Dr. David Diaz, medical director of the West Coast Fertility Centers in Fountain Valley, holds a petri dish containing embyos suspended in a growth media. The embryos are smaller than a grain of sand. Many former infertility patients appear to be grappling over the fate of embryos they have no plans to use: An estimated 500,000 embryos are in cryopreservation in the United States. Best of 2008 Photography >>>Best of 2008 Main >>>(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
This year our Health section touched on numerous issues, including frozen embryos. (An estimated 500,000 embryos are in cryopreservation in the United States.) We also showed how cancer patient Kevin Carlberg received a personalized type of medical care at UCLA, in which doctors created a vaccine from his tumor.
Not content with running a mere 26.2 miles, today’s athletes in need of a goal are signing up for swim/cycle/run combinations. Larry Davidson, 51, of Dana Point has been competing in triathlons for three years. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Perhaps it’s time to cut back on the salt a bit. As far back as the 1960s, physicians linked salt to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Today, more than 65 million Americans have hypertension -- repeatedly high blood pressure -- according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and 59 million more have pre-hypertension, a level higher than normal that can also lead to health problems. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
This year’s Santa baby at the Beverly Center is Eli Wilhide, a 31-year-old, 6-foot-1, 185-pound Angeleno who was chosen to depict the jolly guy. The message, clearly, is: Stay away from the milk and cookies and mix in a few sit-ups. A merry New Year’s resolution. (Christina House / For The Times)
If recent scientific research on happiness has proved anything, it’s that happiness is not a goal. It’s a process. Although our tendency to be happy or not is partly inborn, it’s also partly within our control. And, perhaps more surprising, happiness brings success, not the other way around. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Studies show men and women find potential partners more attractive under some circumstances. Both men and women rate each other as being more attractive after a few drinks. Men find women’s bodies more attractive in winter, when it’s cold and they’ve been covered up. And the red that women wear at the holidays is more than merely festive, it’s a turn-on. Hetrosexual men in a study were more likely to want to ask a woman on a date and have sex with her if she was wearing red or standing against a red backdrop than if she was wearing, say, blue. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Kevin Carlberg, diagnosed with brain cancer six years ago, gets a kiss from his daughter in October. Carlberg’s cancer, usually a fatal type of brain cancer, received a personalized type of medical care at UCLA, where they created a vaccine from his tumor. Best of 2008 Photography >>>Best of 2008 Main >>>(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
