This is a bit too long to post in full, and obviously I believe bloggers should get the traffic and credit they deserve, so you can read the whole story here at “Japan Probe.”
It’s a remarkably similar version of DisneyLand, undeniably similar in fact. Except Donald Duck is pregnant and Mickey Mouse is actually an estranged feline.
I want to nominate this as “The Biggest Bootleg Ever”.
Mark
Yep, it seems Stem Cells can be used to boost breast size. From repairing severed spinal cords, to complete tissue regeneration of a man’s jaw, and now to tit enhancement. Is there anything stem cells can’t do?
Scientists in Japan claim to be able to increase the size of a woman’s breasts using fat and stem cells.
The technique uses fat from the stomach or thigh which is then enriched with stem cells before being injected.
It is hoped the method could prove a more natural-looking alternative to artificial implants filled with salt water or silicone.
But plastic surgeons working in Britain have greeted news of the technique with “extreme caution.”
Kotaro Yoshimura, a surgeon at the Tokyo University medical school, said more than 40 patients had been treated.
The enhanced breasts are soft and natural, so they are the patient’s “real” breasts
Cellport Clinic Yokohama
Mr Yoshimura said he believed the stem cell and fat combination, which can increase a woman’s cupsize by two sizes, was a success.
“There have been no serious complications,” he said.
During the operation, surgeons suck fat cells from the stomach or thigh, and this “slurry” is enriched so that there are higher numbers than usual of stem cells.
These are “master” cells which are capable of making new fat cells.
When the enriched stem cell mixture is combined with normal fat tissue, it can then be injected into the breast area.
More natural look
The treatment aims to offer a softer more natural look than traditional silicone implants.
Mr Yoshimura said the he believed combining stem cells with fat gave an improved result.
He said breast enlargement using fat and stem cells did not create a lumpy effect.
Lots of small particles were added rather than “one big lump”.
Cellport Clinic Yokohama in Japan are currently the only ones to provide the treatment.
The clinic website claims: “The enhanced breasts are soft and natural, so they are the patient’s “real” breasts.”
Consultant Norman Waterhouse said he had concerns about such a procedure.
He said: “It would be incorrect to suggest that a breast implant equivalent could grow from stem cells alone, and fat transfer, which is not a new procedure, can still lead to complications and give a lumpy effect.”
“This appears to be a rather optimistic view of what is yet a theoretical approach.”
Consultant Rajiv Grover added: “We greet this news with extreme caution.”
However, Adam Searle, past president of British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said the development should not be dismissed.
“There is exciting potential but no reality in practical terms at the moment.
“The stem cell ‘soup’ is too non-specific to really focus on what you want.”
Stem Cell research really is an amazing and astonishing thing. Sure it’s just potential and speculative at this point, but it would nevertheless be awesome! Boobs that are fake but real, actual fatty tissue instead of plastic bags, yay.
I’m sure this would convince plenty of women to go for it, so we’d see bigger breasts all around!
At the very least this is good publicity for stem cell research. If only they’d develop it further, and then we’d have to see it allowed in America which is decidedly anti-stem cells.
Mark
Yep. Too tired to walk home, he steals a patrol car.
TOKYO, Feb 6 (Reuters Life!) – A Japanese man told police he stole a patrol car that had been left idling outside a post office in Gunma, north of Tokyo, because he was too tired to walk home.
Police officers had left the vehicle in the car park with the engine running, while they investigated a report that a stolen card had been used at the post office, the Mainichi newspaper said on Tuesday.
“I came out shopping by train, but I got tired walking, so I thought I would drive the police car home,” the man told police.
He was apprehended about 15 minutes later in the driveway of a private home, about 4 kms (2.5 miles) from the post office, the Mainichi said.
And they say we Americans are lazy!
Or maybe he just thought it could transform into a giant robot and simply drove it home when that didn’t work out.
Mark
No, not Paris Hilton – though her reckless demeanor would be enough to make the Japanese balk. It turns out there is a huge culture clash when Japanese (who tend to be very polite and reserved) go to Paris France (which they harbor romanticized visions of) and encounter the… well… the french.
The most polite people vs the most rude. THAT is a culture shock for anyone!
‘Paris Syndrome’ strikes Japanese
A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what’s become known as “Paris syndrome”.
That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations.
The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown.
Around a million Japanese travel to France every year.
Shocking reality
Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris – the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high culture and art at the Louvre.
The reality can come as a shock.
An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures.
But for the Japanese – used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger – the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much.
This year alone, the Japanese embassy in Paris has had to repatriate four people with a doctor or nurse on board the plane to help them get over the shock.
They were suffering from “Paris syndrome”.
It was a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, Professor Hiroaki Ota, who first identified the syndrome some 20 years ago.
On average, up to 12 Japanese tourists a year fall victim to it, mainly women in their 30s with high expectations of what may be their first trip abroad.
The Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline for those suffering from severe culture shock, and can help find hospital treatment for anyone in need.
However, the only permanent cure is to go back to Japan – never to return to Paris.
What makes this even better is that the Parisians seem to not only be aware of this culture shock, but they encourage it. Look at this French commercial to see what I mean!
I’m just waiting for one of these Japanese tourists to be a ninja and flip out.
Mark
Funny Stuff in the News! 