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Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss
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Kate Middleton Is Pregnant and Has Hyperemesis Gravidarum—What Is It?: Scientific American

Kate Middleton Is Pregnant and Has Hyperemesis Gravidarum—What Is It?: Scientific American | this curious life | Scoop.it

The British royal was hospitalized on Monday for a rare pregnancy complication that causes nausea and vomiting so extreme it has the potential to kill.

 

'What is hyperemesis gravidarum?

 

Hyperemesis is defined as nausea and vomiting that's persistent and prolonged and associated with a more than 5 percent weight loss. That's inability to perform your regular, daily routine due to nausea and vomiting.

 

There can be fainting. We have women who are vomiting so hard that they get rib fractures or their retina detaches. They can blow out their eardrums. They can get esophageal tears. We have women whose nails have fallen off due to malnutrition.

 

You can get Wernicke's encephalopathy, which is a thiamine deficiency that leads to a neurological disorder. It's generally seen in alcoholics because when you drink a lot you also have a problem with your brain absorbing thiamine. You get this inability to walk straight and mental confusion, and it can also end up in death of the baby and the mother.'

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An Invasive Plant Is Killing Wombats in Australia | Extinction Countdown, Scientific American Blog Network

An Invasive Plant Is Killing Wombats in Australia | Extinction Countdown, Scientific American Blog Network | this curious life | Scoop.it

When an otherwise nocturnal wombat shows up in the daylight, acting lethargic and having trouble walking, you know that animal is in trouble.

 

When thousands of wombats turn up sick, emaciated, balding and dying, you know you have a crisis.

That’s what’s happening in Murraylands, South Australia, where up to 85 percent of the region’s southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) are sick or dying, apparently the victims of invasive plants that have taken over the local ecosystem.

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