Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with reproduction

Looking for a print of Schinkel's 1815 'Starry Sky' from the Magic Flute

Ildeth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:09 -0800

I'm looking for a print or poster of this image. The artist is Karl Friederich Schinkel and the painting is an 1815 stage design for the Queen of the Night's big aria in The Magic Flute. The painting doesn't have an official title and is usually referred to either just as "stage set for The Magic Flute" or "Starry Sky". The painting is held at Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Staatliche Museen Berlin, but they don't seem to sell prints on their website.

I would prefer to buy from a UK seller, but I'd be okay with buying from anywhere as long as it can be shipped to the UK (as long as the postage rates aren't outrageous).

The original is about 46cm x 62cm (c 18" x 24"), and I'd like something on roughly the same scale. Ideally, I'd like to pay no more than £50 including shipping but could stretch a bit for a particularly nice reproduction.

I've found several places that will paint a reproduction to order, but it's a pretty pricey option (c $275 for the size I want) and I'm not sure whether the quality would justify the price.

Firsthand information about endometrial ablation

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:19:23 -0800

Please tell me what you know about endometrial ablation as a means of lessening or hopefully stopping my bleeding. (This is a female-parts question.) I'm looking for firsthand information on this procedure, if possible. I have only seen it mentioned a few times in a couple of threads from several years ago. I have Googled and gotten a pretty good idea of the mechanics of the procedure and how it's performed; what I'm looking for is personal experiences, info on whether I'd even be considered a candidate for it, that sort of thing.

I'm a single woman in my mid-thirties, live in the southern United States, casually sexually active, with no children and no desire for them, ever. I have had two abortions in the past. I only reveal this to really drive the point home that I do not want kids and will not be changing my mind.

Ever since I got my first period, my menstrual cycles were unpredictable, prolonged, heavy, and incredibly painful. When I was about 21, my doctor told me about Depo-Provera and I started using it (this was several years before the bone-loss issues were widely known). I was on Depo off and on for about ten years or so (got pregnant and had my second abortion during one of the "off" years). I absolutely loved the complete lack of bleeding while I was on Depo.

Unfortunately, last year I had a bone scan and was diagnosed with severe osteopenia (just shy of having actual osteoporosis), so my GYN insisted that I get off the Depo immediately and she put me on Sprintec birth control pills, to be taken continuously. I was aware that I probably wouldn't be completely bleed-free anymore, but I only expected occasional "spotting." After six months on the Sprintec (presumably the Depo had finally worn off) I started bleeding and didn't stop for a month and a half. Then I took a week off the pills (the "placebo" week, the way BC pills are normally taken, and on the recommendation of the GYN), stopped bleeding briefly, and then started bleeding again. Not monsoon-strength bleeding, but just enough to inconvenience me and constantly make me highly uncomfortable. I was pretty freaked out and expressed my concerns to the GYN, wondering if something might be wrong with me.

Without having me come in to see her, the GYN then switched my prescription to the lower-dose Lessina birth control pills, which I've been on for four months now. For the first three months there was just a little spotting, but now once again I'm bleeding constantly, with all the attendant discomforts (cramping, irritability, etc.) of a real period. I tried taking a week off, again, and the bleeding briefly stopped, but as soon as I got back on the pills I again started bleeding just enough to need tampons. To be clear, the bleeding is not what I think most people would consider "heavy," i.e., needing to change my tampon every hour, but it is constant (not stopping). I am taking the pills as directed, faithfully at at the same time every morning.

The last time I spoke to my GYN about all this, she told me dismissively that "every woman has to deal with some bleeding" and pretty much told me I should get over myself. I won't be going back to her. I'm not a moron and I don't want a doctor who only tells me what I want to hear, but I expect my doctors to be a little kinder when I'm freaking out about my body acting up.

When I find a new GYN, I will of course tell them everything and agree to any tests they might want to run. But I'd like to bring up the subject of endometrial ablation, which I didn't know about until recently and which I've been Googling and reading about, but I don't know anyone in real life who has undergone the procedure. Can any of you provide firsthand information? Will any doctor just refuse me outright if I ask about it? I am still relatively young and have no kids, and I keep reading stories about how doctors won't agree to sterilization procedures on younger people with no kids unless there's a serious enough medical condition to warrant it, and are always assuming a woman will inevitably change her mind later about wanting babies (about which, see above; I really won't).

I also have never been diagnosed with endometriosis, fibroids, cysts, or anything serious like that. My last few PAP tests have been completely normal, though I have not yet had one since going off the Depo last year. There is a history of breast cancer in my immediate family so I'm probably at a higher risk there. Would my current condition be considered "not bad enough" to justify a procedure like this?

Other things I've considered: The Mirena IUD, which was mentioned by my last GYN as an option (but not at the top of her list, since she said I need the estrogen in BC pills to help build my bones back up), but I really don't want to use an IUD. I have read up a lot on those, including many comments here on AskMe, and I know they're now considered very safe and effective, but for personal reasons that's not an option for me. I've also, in desperation, thought about begging to go back on the Depo and take some sort of calcium-building supplement at the same time, but I'm almost certain no doctor would agree to that, knowing what terrible shape my bones are already in.

I will follow up via the mods if necessary, but just to be clear, what I'm really looking for here is firsthand information about endometrial ablation, like, "I/my sister/my friend had the procedure and it was [a big help/a disaster/whatever]," or "I work at a GYN office and you [would/wouldn't] be considered a candidate because [whatever]. You would have to [ask nicely/get off the pills/bleed harder/have a baby/wait a year/whatever] before they would perform this on you."

I know that there is no guarantee it would completely stop my bleeding.

P.S., Any idea how much it would cost, assuming no insurance?

Getting our rocks off for four billion years

shakespeherian — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:32:51 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good book about the evolution of sexual reproduction? I'm interested in the basic physiological explanation (how did single-cell organisms lead to sexually binary species, etc), big-picture explanations (why is sexual reproduction advantageous as opposed to asexual reproduction, etc), and maybe a good overview of the differing sexual characteristics of disparate species the world over (four-headed echidna penises, etc). Caveat: I have hardly any scientific background, so too-technical books aren't great, although I am a pretty fast learner if the book makes a decent effort (I made it through DFW's Everything and More despite not having done any math since high school calculus).

I've seen this question but I'm more interested in getting a whole dang book than just receiving answers to particular questions.

Why do I suddenly want a child?

thankyouforyourconsideration — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:54:58 -0800

I've always felt I didn't want/shouldn't have babies. Lately, (I'm 25) I've been having strong thoughts (and dreams) that I really want a child. It's scaring me a bit. Some friends have told me it might be normal at this age. Please help me understand or share your experiences. I've always been the kind of girl who thought she might never want or have kids. I enjoy that I can be selfish, I like to sleep, I live my life how I want. I have a maternal instinct with friends and family, and they know it but I always thought I was too much of a control freak to raise a kid.
I don't have or really want a boyfriend, let alone a baby's daddy, but lately I have a really, really strong desire for a child. It seems to have come out of nowhere. I've never felt anything like this and I'm scared of these feelings/hormones/emotions. Could this just be a temporary hormonal thing? I thought the biological clock started ticking closer to late thirties- am I just fertile right now?

Any anecdotes, advice or understanding would be greatly appreciated as I don't understand what is happening to me.

One last note...The idea of being pregnant or giving birth is not appealing at all, but the mother idea is. I've had dreams about taking care of other people's kids and met a single dad recently who I found myself very attracted to. I thought that helping him raise his child would be really wonderful. This all feels foreign and scary, please help me understand!! Thanks!

SlugQuest

motown missile — Tue, 05 May 2009 00:43:49 -0800

Has anyone ever found a source for life-like rubber slugs? I've been trying to find some for an art project and every source I've been able to think of has turned out to not to have any such thing. And by slugs I mean the slimy, slow-moving animal, not the type you try to cheat a soda machine out of it's inventory with. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

I meet my greatx10 to the 20th grandmother, things happen. What happens?

sully75 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:53:50 -0800

Disturbed-that-I-Keep-Wondering-This-Filter: I keep wondering if I were transported back in time, to different points of human history, could I reproduce with the ladies of the, erm, period? Say my time machine takes me back to 15 B.C. or so. I meet a swell Sumarian, things get weird. She forgets to drink her magical birth control herbs. Does she get pregnant? Is there anything that's happened evolutionarily, microbiogically, or otherwise that would either prevent her from getting her pregnant, make one or the other of us sick or harm the baby in her womb? What if I went back 10,000 years? Are there DNA implications because I suppose chances that I'm mating with one of my own ancestors are pretty good.

I'm really not sure why I keep thinking about it, but I do.

Is it possible to remove the DNA from an unfertilized female egg and replace it with the DNA from a sperm cell carrying the X-chromosome?

Houyhnhnm — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:47:49 -0800

Regarding humans, is it possible to remove the DNA from an unfertilized female egg and replace it with the DNA from a sperm cell carrying the X-chromosome (perhaps using a process similar to nuclear transfer)? After doing this, could the egg be fertilized by the sperm of a different male and implanted into a surrogate mother, thus creating a child that is the biological child of two males? Could a similar process be used to create a child from two females? (Obviously their child would be female because there would be no Y-chromosome involved.)

Is it probable that this will be possible/common/affordable once science progresses?
If all of this is indeed possible, why are these processes not commonly utilized by gay couples?

Need help reproducing a custom DVD

robhuddles — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:54:35 -0800

Where can I get my own custom DVDs reproduced so that I can sell them to a small, select group of people? My daughter was in a school performance tonight. Along with other parents, I video taped it. I'm going to collect video from some of the other parents and edit it together and then create a DVD from it.

What I need is a Cafepress-like resource where I can have the DVDs reproduced, a label screened onto it, a DVD case (of my own design) printed, and then the whole thing made available for sale. We aren't talking about mass production: the performance included students from 4 classes, so there are only about 80 families involved. I have neither the time nor money to manually create all 80 discs; I'd much rather outsource it. But I'd like to keep costs down as well.

I will be doing all of the production of the DVD myself - I don't need anyone to do any editing or menu creation or anything of the sort. Ideally, I'll be handing off a completed DVD that will simply need to be reproduced.

So any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Just watched a very disturbing documentary, how scared should I be?

querty — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:50:51 -0800

Just watched a very disturbing documentary, how scared should I be? The documentary is called The Disappearing Male (on Youtube / Google Video as well).

I'm a bit paranoid. Should I be throwing out all clear plastics and switch to glass and paper where possible? What about Ziploc and other plastic bags? What can I do about shampoo and deodorant?

Further reading:

It's official: Men really are the weaker sex
and
Aamjiwnaang First Nation (as mentioned in the documentary)

Blowing up tiny doodles

bonobothegreat — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:31:07 -0800

I have a variety of small doodles done with soft pencil on post-it notes that I'd like to blow up and print on oversize sheets of paper or card (something like 2x3' or larger sheets). The important thing to me is that the final image doesn't show evidence of halftone/screen dots. I'd ideally like the finished image to be just like a regular xerox. Does such a machine/process exist? Anything that can enlarge from a letter-sized original is good too. I'm not too picky about exact tone/contrast reproduction because I just want them to have the "feel" of the smaller drawing that I can paint over with a layer of wax. I've tried blowing the doodles up in 11x17" sections and assembling them together on a single panel, but the results aren't pleasing because when the wax soaks into the paper and makes it translucent and the cuts and overlaps are really distracting and ugly. Oh, and hopefully it will be cheap (not more that $20 per image). I just need to make a few enlarged copies of each doodle.

hermaphroditic breeding fish?

symbioid — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:07:54 -0800

I recently read about a fish where the male subsumes itself into the female and becomes merely a pair of testes that feed the ovaries or something. Does anyone know anything about this weird fish?

Who can reproduce and frame my diplomas?

ikkyu2 — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:10:42 -0800

Reprographics - where to start? I'm a doctor, and over the years have accumulated a bunch of diplomas, certifications, licensures and other sheepskins that I either would like to or am legally obligated to display in my office. Some nice framing would be in order for some of these.

I have 2 offices, as it happens, two physical locations, and would like to display the same documents more or less in each place. Furthermore, I'd like to have the originals locked away in a safe deposit box. At the moment most of them aren't even framed, they're in their original envelopes.

My priorities, in order, are:

1) That the documents be returned to me undamaged. Some of them can't be replaced; one of them actually carries a $3000 fee to obtain a replacement.

2) That whoever does the reproduction and framing not steal/sell my identity documents.

3) That the framing and reproduction be decent quality, something durable that I'd be proud to display.

I am on the Central Coast of California, but would be willing to travel to San Francisco, San Diego, or L.A. to get this done if it seemed prudent.

But I don't really know where to start. Who does this kind of thing? What do they charge? What should I expect? Whom can I trust?

I can has copyright permission?

LongDrive — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:14:16 -0800

Yet another copyright question. Seeking advice or success stories on locating copyright owner for strange book from the 60s. Copyright management is a large part of my work, and while I strongly oppose things like the proposed Orphan Works Bill, I am now in the position where I would like to obtain permission to reuse an image, but am having a hell of a time tracking down the copyright owner.

The original image appears in this strange pet book that was published in the 60's (I am guessing, there is no date inside), by "Pet Libary Ltd". Further research found that they were owned by a company called Sternco which is now a dedicated real estate company. They later sold off the pet business to Hartz. Both companies operate out of New Jersey, which is the state where this original "Pet Library LTD" address is listed in the book.

Now my emails have basically gone unanswered, phone calls to both businesses above are greeted with confusion (understandably), and I am basically at a dead end.

I assume that if I used the US copyright search system where you pay someone by the hour to go through their records, I would probably come up with similar results to the two companies above. If the publisher still actually existed, this would probably be alot easier as I know most publishers have reproduction and rights departments.

I won't use the image without copyright, but I am wondering if anyone else has been down a similar road in terms of tracking down hard-to-find copyright holders, and if so, how did you do it? Otherwise, is there any other avenue that I may be overlooking in terms of how to approach this large company? Godspeed hive mind.

When Should Isaac Laquedem Stop Reproducing?

235w103 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:37:34 -0800

You're the Wandering Jew. When do you start worrying about sleeping with your own descendants? You've been alive for, what, 2040 years or so, crossing the planet. You're a man of the world, of course, and you've had a few kids. In fact, you've produced one offspring every five years that has reached maturity and reproduced- 408 of them, in fact. They've reproduced as well, although they lack your immortality- let's say each of them has produced 2 heirs after an initial period of twenty years, with these heirs produced within ten years; each of these will produce 2 heirs, and so on. So, in A.D. 0, you have a single descendant; A.D. 5- 2 descendants; A.D. 10- 3; A.D. 15- 4; A.D. 20- 6 (5 children, one grandchild); A.D. 25- 9 (6 children, 3 grandchildren) and so on. Based on the LOWER population estimates located here, assuming an even descendant distribution throughout the population, when should you start worrying about reproducing with your own descendants?
I'm not really sure if this problem can even be answered- you'd probably need to consider the poor guy's rate at which he meets people and at which he sleeps with them, which I invite you to invent on your own. I'm just wondering, for a writing project, at what point poor old Isaac Laquedem should get a vasectomy.

Hey, are you my long lost tenth cousin?

brandnew — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:19:17 -0800

What's the chance that we're related? I had read somewhere (I forget where or the details) that researchers had determined through mathematical and Human reproductive analysis that all living Humans are likely to have had a shared ancestor that lived around 2,000 years ago. Don't quote me on the exact numbers.

I'm curious, how many years would I have to go back in order to predict that a random stranger and I have a 25% chance of a common ancestor?

OK, that last sentence was worded kind of ambiguously and confusingly); let's see if I can state it more mathematically. For any two randomly selected Humans, there is a 25% chance that they have a common ancestor within the last X years. What is X?

Scientific evidence of reproduction urge?

defenestration — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:37:45 -0800

Is there scientific evidence that animals have an innate/instinctual urge to reproduce? Is there scientific evidence that it is the same in humans? Disclaimer: I'm not well educated in Biology. Or at least as much as I should be.

I've always believed there is, because it was always taught as a given, but I've never actually read any scientific studies to that effect. Is our opinion that all animals have an innate/instinctual urge to reproduce purely based on non-scientific evidence?

This question is sparked because my brother feels that animals actually only have an innate/instinctual urge to have sex and that reproduction is only a by-product, in that it's not intentional, either intellectually or innately/instinctually (and that with humans it's a bit different due to the intellectual aspect of it). I disagreed in that I always thought the urge was to reproduce and that sex was the by-product. I do agree though that I feel with humans it's a bit different due to the intellectual aspect...

I tried to google for some scientific evidence, but any mention of such urge is only in passing or editorial.

I'm fairly certain that I hold the majority viewpoint, so I don't just need people saying yes or no, this is right or that is right (although, viewpoints based on actual knowledge of the field are welcomed). What I'm wondering is if we can scientifically study that these urges exist, and if so, what have been the outcomes of such studies?

Sorry about how long-winded this is, but I just wanted to get this question out there.

Reproductivity Tech: Good or Evil?

InsanePenguin — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 15:25:17 -0800

Reproductive Technologies: Pros and cons I'm currently putting together a presentation on the arguments for and against reproductive technologies like IV-F and stem-cell research for my Catholic Morality course in high school.

My issue here is that the articles provided by my teacher as a starting point are all highly against the issue, while the presentation is supposed to be free of opinion.

Can anyone point me in the direction of websites that discuss issues like this from both viewpoints? Also appreciated would be websites with general explanations for different technologies and what they entail.

Thanks for all the help!
/IP

What is the name of this plant?

BuddhaInABucket — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 21:20:59 -0800

Please identify a plant for me given this description: I first saw it in Hawaii (I have no idea if it's native there), and it's currently on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, but it is completely impossible to find anything on their hideously designed website.

The plant reproduces in a very unique way- the periphery of the leaves of the plant develop (I think) clone offshoots that, when the leaf falls off the plant and to the ground, take root and start a new plant. The leaves and stalk are fleshy and the plant definitely grows quickly.

If you managed to find it via a google search, please let me know what words you used so that I can help improve my own google-fu.

I don't have periods. Anyone else?

Anonymous — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 08:43:37 -0800

I don't really have periods. I have one maybe twice a year and when it comes it's very normal (slight PMS symptoms, minor cramps, lasts about 5 days). I started my period when I was 11 and I've never had regular periods, it's always been this exact pattern. I saw a doctor about this when I was 16, he didn't seem too concerned/interested, he said it could take a while for periods to settle down (five years seems excessive) and put me on the combined pill. I took the pill for a couple of years, but when I came off it, it was the same deal again.

I’m 25 now and still having periods once or twice a year. A little relevant background in no particular order: I weigh quite a bit more than I should right now, but this is a fairly recent development and two years ago I was 135lbs. I don’t find it especially hard to lose weight. Throughout my teens I was a little bit chubby, but not really, and the pattern has been the same whatever my weight. I’m pretty stressed out right now, but again, the periods have been the same whatever. I don’t have anything I would think of as PCOS symptoms, I’m unusually un-hairy, and I have somewhat dry skin. I’ve been more or less depressed since I was a teenager, and I was much less depressed on the pill. I also have some pretty extreme moods but they aren't the same as what I feel just before I get a period.

I’ve been ignoring this for too long, I actually forget that most young women have periods; then I remember and feel weird. I want to start thinking about having kids, and I’m starting the process of getting this all investigated. I am getting hormone tests done when I can, I had a thyroid test a few months ago that came back ok.

The reason I’m asking this here is that I feel like this situation can’t be THAT unusual, but looking around on the internet I only ever find stuff about periods that are irregular in ways that mine aren’t –length, pain, etc, and most of the stuff I find seems to point to PCOS, which I guess I might have, but it doesn’t seem at all like me. I just go for a year at a time without a period. Does anyone else have any experience of this?

I feel irrationally embarrased about this, but I will almost certainly comment to respond to any questions.

As a man, is there any way I can use my health insurance to pay for birth control pills?

tweebiscuit — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 12:28:18 -0800

I'm about to start my first salaried job, and will therefore have health insurance. My girlfriend has none. We'd like a method of birth control that's safer and more effective than condoms, but neither of us can afford birth control pills out of pocket. As a man, is there any way I can use my health insurance to pay for birth control pills? If not, what are my other options? Again, this is the first health insurance plan I've had since I was covered by my parents, and I haven't gotten the paperwork yet, so I'm not sure exactly what the terms are -- but in general, is this something that's doable? Alternatively, what are my other options, short of a vasectomy? It galls me that, in this situation, it seems that my ability to take responsibility for our reproductive safety is limited. (Apart from condom use, which in my mind is not a long-term solution.)

Print/poster of Edward Wadsworth's Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool?

junesix — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 10:50:09 -0800

This morning I saw the Boing-Boing post on WWI "Razzle-Dazzle" ship camo and became completely enamored by Edward Wadsworth's mesmerizing 1919 Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool oil on canvas painting. I'd love to have a large print or poster of it. So far my cursory Google searches have turned up nothing besides info on razzle camo and the painting's influence on OMD's Dazzle Ships CD title and cover 1,2. Where can I find a nice reproduction to put in a frame?

Which duck species mate for life?

Shane — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 10:59:29 -0800

Which species of ducks mate for life? My info tells me so far that most do: Mallards, Mandarins, Whistling Ducks, Maned Ducks, not to mention geese and swans. But Emperor Ducks are not monogamous? Any other species? And I've read that a surviving Mallard will "remarry" if its mate dies. Is this true, true for both sexes, and do the other species do the same?

Film still publication rights?

jonathanbell — Mon, 01 Mar 2004 04:19:19 -0800

A question of rights. Does anyone know the best place to start looking for film stills and the right to reproduce them in a publication? More specifically, if the precise frame isn't available, is it possible to take and use your own screenshot if the right credits/fees are paid?