cross connections

 Dr. Robert Edwards  B ritish medical expert Robert Edwards has just won the Nobel Prize for medicine of 2010 for his pioneering of in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques since the 1950s. Eighty-five-year-old Edwards, is largely responsible for the invention of extra-womb fertilization, where a human egg is implanted with sperm in the laboratory, before being implanted in the uterine lining where it would have naturally settled during normal fertilization. The invention earned the nickname "test tube babies”.   T here are about four million test-tube babies born since the first -Louise Brown in July 1978- Edwards initial research, the technique has been polished and perfected and now has almost the same success rate--20%--as fertile couples enjoy.                                    T he pro-life groups r...

D ating is a form of courtship, and may include any social activity undertaken by, typically, two persons with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as a partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse. The word refers to the act of meeting and engaging in some mutually agreed upon social activity. Traditional dating activities include entertainment or a meal. In many cultural traditions, a date may be arranged by a third party, who may be a family member, acquaintance, or professional matchmaker. Internet dating has become popular in recent times. D ating system is any systematic means of improving matchmaking via rules or technology. The history of dating systems is closely tied to the history of technologies that support them.  In this article I'm concerned with actual 'systems' that do more than simple introductions, and where interactions are often strongly structured, down to the details: "Computer dating" systems of later 20th century, ...