SWAP

The Romeros had the bird but kids preferred.
Ms. Greenwell had kids but preferred the bird.
So, to trade, they arranged a deal
That for both parties had appeal,
And they concluded it undeterred.

Well, you needn't be prophetic
To know this is hardly copacetic.
It was hardly any time
Ere all three were charged with crime,
And I'm hardly sympathetic.

TEETH

The shark always has teeth with which to chew.
When needed, it grows replacements new.
In some ways we're more advanced.
If our genetics were enhanced,
Maybe we could do that too.

Intended to help us in old age,
This project is in an early stage.
It's a trick we clearly need.
If it should somehow succeed,
It will be all the rage.


The Roanoke Times, 27 February 2009:

HEALTH

Finding the genes that make teeth grow

Scientists are working with a single gene they believe could be used to regenerate human teeth.

"Ever wonder why sharks get several rows of teeth and people only get one? Some geneticists did, and their discovery could spur work to help adults one day grow new teeth when their own wear out."

"A single gene appears to be in charge, preventing additional tooth formation in species destined for a limited set. When the scientists bred mice that lacked that gene, the rodents developed extra teeth next to their first molars -- backups like sharks and other nonmammals grow, University of Rochester scientists reported Thursday."

"Also intriguing: All the mice born without this gene, called Osr2, had cleft palates severe enough to kill. So better understanding of this gene mgiht play a role in efforts to prevent that birth defect, the Rochester team reported in the journal Science."

MARRIAGE

It's right hard to understand
Why this ad campaign was planned.
For we all know that marriage
Is an institute you can't disparage
And needs no government helping hand.


USA Today, 17 February 2009:

Federally funded ad campaign holds up value of marriage

"... the federal government is funding a $5 million national media campaign that launches this month, extolling the virtues of marriage for those ages 18 to 30."

"... The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center, which is speerheading the campaign."

"The resource center, a federally funded virtual clearinghouse, works under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families."

"Research suggests a bevy of benefits for those who marry, including better health, greater wealth and more happiness for the couple, and improved well-being for children."

"Some say the government has no business using tax dollars to promote marriage. But others say the campaign is just like those conducted by other federal agencies to encourage the use of seat belts and discourage drug use, smoking and drunken driving."

"With ads on social networking sites Facebook and MySpance, videos on YouTube, spots on radio talk shows, ads in magazines and public transportation and a new website (TwoOfUs.org), creators say the aim is to start a national converstaion about marriage."

ANTIQUE BILL

A hoodlum too young to vote
Tried to pass a note.
'Twas the thousand-dollar kind.
That put him in a bind.
Indeed, 'twas all she wrote.

STRENGTH TRAINING

As you age, your muscles wither.
You can't stop it by running hither and thither.
But running, yet and still, is smart
Because it helps your lungs and heart
As your muscles wither.

So run and bike and walk all day
As your muscles wither away.
But strength training don't bypass.
That's what grows your muscle mass.
At least that's what they say.

ALCOHOL & CANCER IN WOMEN

Cancer risk rises with moderate alcohol.
What it's in doesn't matter at all.
A study done in Britain
Found this is true in women
For cancers liver, breast and rectal.

But with moderate alcohol, they note,
With regard to mouth and throat,
Only in women who smoke tobacco
(A factor they kept track of)
Is cancer risk less remote.

UNICORN

The fabled Unicorn
Is a horse with a single horn.
A myth in totality,
This horse in reality
Has never yet been born.