Limbs

One of the most commonly used prenatal tests for genetic defects -- CVS -- may itself cause defects in a baby's limbs, according to a study being published today.The study said 1 percent of CVS-tested babies at a Chicago hospital were born with such defects as missing toes, fingers and fingernails. The finding prompted the federal government to call a special meeting last month of international birth defect experts.Although the experts have made no recommendation as yet, several are suggesting that pregnant women be informed about limb abnormalities reported in the last year in CVS-tested babies in Chicago and elsewhere.

A Baltimore County volunteer firefighter was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center Tuesday morning with serious head injuries. County police say he had been struck on the head by a falling tree limb at an accident scene in Cromwell Valley. Michael Murphy, 22, who has worked since 2008 as firefighter for the Montgomery County Fire Department, was wearing full turnout gear, including a helmet, and was conscious and breathing when he was flown out. He was treated and released from the hospital within hours of his arrival.

It's only a few minutes after David Neufville has gotten to work, and he is already 25 feet in the air, shimmying up an enormous ash tree whose overgrown limbs are scraping the shingles atop a two-story home on a Columbia cul-de-sac. He climbs from branch to branch, methodically looping the rope that is around his waist to the tree's ever higher limbs and pulling himself up like a mountain climber headed toward the next peak. Secured to his belt is a handsaw on one side and a gassed-up chain saw on the other, the tools of his trade - what he calls "health care for trees," what his co-workers call "tree climbing" and what could be called extreme manicuring.

I was surprised to see several monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) fluttering around our "mums" (chrysanthemums) within two days of Jack Frost burying the plants beneath several inches of snow. Living a mere two to eight weeks, monarch butterflies migrate from north to south and then back again - making the round trip between Canada and Mexico during the course of several generations. They start the southward leg of their migration in August. Since they feed on plant nectar and not many plants bloom at this time of year, these colorful insects congregate around our mums.

The backswing of an unusual spring nor'easter that dumped 3 to 5 inches of rain Sunday buffeted Maryland again yesterday - this time with high winds that snapped trees and power lines, cutting service at one point to more than 60,000 electricity customers and forcing some schools to close. The storm slowly spun up the coast yesterday but stalled over Long Island, kicking back to Maryland steady winds of 25 mph to 30 mph for most of the day and gusts clocked at 50 mph to 60 mph, said meteorologist Steven Zubrick of the National Weather Service office in Sterling, Va. "This is the same system that's responsible for the rain, and it has extremely low pressure, which means high winds," Zubrick said.

For Beatriz Lopez-Perez, who was born without arms, her new mechanical limbs are a testament to her faith.After almost two years of fittings and exhausting physical therapy at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the thalidomide victim, a native of Spain's Canary Islands, finally has received her prosthesis.In the meantime, she learned to speak English. She taught herself to live independently. She shrugged off the stares and buried her resentment at slights. And she labored to help a young man from Spain, a double-amputee, come to Hopkins for a new pair of arms of his own.Ms.

Researchers digging along a rural Pennsylvania highway have unearthed what they say is the world's oldest known arm bone, once used by a slithery creature to raise itself up out of a prehistoric swamp. "We're looking at our very distant ancestor," said Neil Shubin, a professor of organismal biology at the University of Chicago who worked on the discovery. The bone formed the upper arm of an animal about 3 feet long that looked like a flat-headed salamander and lurked in swamps and shallow waters 365 million years ago. Lodged in a geological formation exposed by highway construction a decade ago, the bone will help scientists determine what kinds of aquatic creatures first ventured out of the primordial ooze to form the roots of our family tree.

What's for dinner? Fruit, leaves, and insects are on their dinner plate! Tree Top Travelers Diana monkeys are arboreal (this means they live in the tree tops). They have developed strong hind limbs and a long tail which helps them maintain balance high above the forest floor. WILD FACTS Do you know? Does the diana monkey walk on two legs? Answer: No, they move through the forest on all four limbs. Learn more! Visit the diana monkey at The Baltimore Zoo. Read "Monkey Do!" by Allan Ahlberg.

During the Irene aftermath, some non-functioning stoplights have kept the pace slower at some intersections. Yes, they've caused traffic backups, but slower speeds and drivers trying to be a little more aware have been a welcomed change of routine. The tree down in the middle of our street functioned as an inverted speed hump. Normally, drivers race down the first block of Ridgewood and take the curve as if they're driving in Monte Carlo. When they tried to do that this week, two maple limbs sent them screeching to a halt right before the bend.

''Our children are being damaged in ways we don't even know about yet. In my own community, I see more helicopters flying around with searchlights than I ever saw in Vietnam.''--George Buntin, executive director, Baltimore NAACPAgain,I lie awake.Outside,I hear loud voices,gunshots, screams.Men run through the alley,laughing.Another pursues,cursing.Fools, I fume.They play, butlife is snatched awaywith the speed of a bullet.I circle through the bedroomstouching each childpulling flimsy coversover fragile limbsremembering the God Of Danielin the lion's den.

Do you remember the hurricane of "historic proportions?" You most likely slept through it. Let me give you some key points to think about. Baltimore Gas and Electric cut back 1,500 personnel designed to address these types of disasters. It was more economically feasible to retain the service of others outside the utility such as members of other utilities or private sector people to call in to restore power. You can also throw the burden of this expense onto BGE customers, so the net result is it's free to BGE. Here is one more tidbit to consider.

During the Irene aftermath, some non-functioning stoplights have kept the pace slower at some intersections. Yes, they've caused traffic backups, but slower speeds and drivers trying to be a little more aware have been a welcomed change of routine. The tree down in the middle of our street functioned as an inverted speed hump. Normally, drivers race down the first block of Ridgewood and take the curve as if they're driving in Monte Carlo. When they tried to do that this week, two maple limbs sent them screeching to a halt right before the bend.

We're remembering Irene on Monday, as we resume life after she passed our way. She did not pack the wallop we'd feared, and for that we're grateful. It was good that we had practice in preparing for such a potentially devastating hurricane. Apparently, we have more of those to look forward to as the climate warms.   Here in Roland Park, we had minimal damage. Some large, old trees came down, but I've not heard that any hit a house. A few cars were damaged, and fallen trees on Sunday morning blocked portions of Roland Avenue, University Parkway and Falls Road.

The gift that a notorious gangster made to Union Memorial Hospital 72 years ago is still giving. The weeping cherry, known to all in the hospital community as the Capone tree, is showing its age but remains resplendent and fertile with its glorious spring blossoms, abundant seedlings and rich wood. The tree donated by Al Capone lost a hefty limb in the 2010 snow storms. The toppled branch left a gaping hole halfway up the trunk and raised concerns for the longstanding landmark on East 33rd Street.

While most in the region were shoveling sidewalks and uncovering cars, Allen Born and his neighbors were launching snow off their roofs. They were worried that the wet and heavy 3 1/2- to 4-foot drifts would prove too much for their flat-roofed HarborView homes. State and local officials have had reports of roof collapses - with no major injuries - at a Baltimore church, a school and warehouse in Southern Maryland, and two Howard County barns. Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said Sunday that anyone with a flat roof ought to shovel off the snow without delay.

While most in the region were shoveling sidewalks and uncovering cars, Allen Born and his neighbors were launching snow off their roofs. They were all worried that the wet and heavy 3-1/2- to 4-foot drifts would prove too much for their flat-roofed HarborView homes. State and local officials have had reports of roof collapses -- with no major injuries -- at a Baltimore church, a school and warehouse in Southern Maryland, and two Howard County barns. Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said Sunday that anyone with a flat roof ought to shovel off the snow without delay.

I have to rethink my garden because of deer damage. What shrubs won't deer eat? There are no guarantees. Where deer populations are very high, they eat just about anything. Usually American holly, osmanthus, viburnums, caryopteris, rose of Sharon, butterfly bush, sweet box, Oregon grape holly, red osier dogwood and boxwood are reliable survivors. Many plants do well once they're established, if protected by fencing or repellents when small and tender. Resist planting barberry or other nonnative invasive plants.

Young campers will again be able to pitch tents at a popular Sandy Point State Park campground after woodcutters from a local company Friday removed dangerous standing dead trees and limbs.State Department of Natural Resources officials were forced to close the 5-acre site more than a year ago because they feared rotting wood might fall and harm campers, and they lacked the money to pay for pruning.The Annapolis office of F. A. Bartlett Tree Expert Co. selected the campground as one of its annual service projects and sent a four-man crew to chop down 10-story-high trees and trim limbs.

The floors were lacquered and shining, the grass was mowed, and the handicapped-access tracks and ramps in the new, $800,000 Pasadena home were ready for use. Just miles away, in Washington, Sgt. David Battle, a triple amputee from injuries he suffered in Iraq, sat in the small suite he, his wife, Lakeisa, and four children have shared at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the past year and a half. Their bags were packed. A nonprofit group, Homes for Our Troops, and hundreds of Maryland volunteers had built the home from scratch.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., criticized by some lawmakers this year for being too aggressive in trimming trees around power lines, faces a $180,000 federal fine for failing to keep tree limbs a safe distance from high-voltage transmission lines, regulators said yesterday. BGE and Des Moines, Iowa-based MidAmerica Energy Holdings Co. were among the first utilities in the nation to face financial penalties under new regulations put in place last year. The rules were adopted partly in response to a 2003 blackout that affected 50 million people in the U.S. and Canada.