tagged w/ Pathogens
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I have to admit, seeing a honey bee these days is now like see a rainbow or finding a four leaf clover and by chance witnessing a shooting star. As I traveled over the U.S. something I noticed puzzled me. Where have all the bees gone?
What is extremely disturbing is that the honey bees are disappearing in large numbers in countries like the U.S, France, Argentina, Italy and elsewhere. Perhaps even more disturbing is that no one seems to know where they are going, as very few are found dead around the beehives.
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man”
Attributed to ~ Albert Einstein
http://rtruth.blog.com/2011/09/23/bee-aware/I have to admit, seeing a honey bee these days is now like see a rainbow or finding a... more
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mab001
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added this
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8 months ago
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In episode 50 of MicrobeWorld Video, Vincent, Michael, and Stanley recorded episode #8 of the podcast This Week in Microbiology live at the 2011 ASM General Meeting in New Orleans, with guests Andreas Baümler, Nicole Dubilier, and Paul Rainey. They spoke about how pathogens benefit from disease, symbioses between chemosynthetic bacteria and marine invertebrates, and repetitive sequences in bacteria.In episode 50 of MicrobeWorld Video, Vincent, Michael, and Stanley recorded episode #8... more
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A newly discovered pathogen, visible only under an electron microscope, is destroying plants and undermining the health of livestock -- thereby posing a deadly risk to the U.S. food supply, a senior plant pathologist warned USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
In a January 2010 letter to Vilsack, (a former Iowa governor and agribusiness champion, appointed by President Obama) Dr. Don Huber advised caution in introducing additional GMO crops. But just weeks later, the USDA approved expansion of GMO crops to include alfalfa, the most widespread animal feed crop. The unnamed bug already runs rampant in current GMO Roundup Ready baseline food crops (corn and soy), and spreads from there to the animals who feed on them, says Huber, a Professor Emeritus at Purdue University. In addition to his thirty-five years in academic science, Huber is also a retired Colonel, who evaluated natural and manmade biological threats, including germ warfare and disease outbreaks for the military.
The GMO Roundup Ready crops are designed to be used with the Monsanto herbicide, Roundup, a glyphosate that leads to severe micronutrient deficiencies in soil that scientists now say are leading to increased crop failure. Scientists have detected a higher prevalence of the opportunistic pathogen in the depleted glyphosate treated soil. It is also found in higher rates in the livestock that feed off of the Roundup crops. Infertility and spontaneous abortion are on the rise within these cattle and dairy populations, with infertility at 20% and a 45% abortion incidence in certain animals. "It's infectious to cattle, pigs, poultry and horses, and will kill a fertilized egg," says Huber in one of a series of video interviews posted on YouTube. "It can readily reproduce, and it's compatible with other organisms."
In his January 2011 letter, Huber cautioned against expanding GMO into alfalfa, which he characterizes as "the number one forage crop" that nourishes livestock. "Why place it in jeopardy?" Huber asked in the series of videos, predicting that, "In five years you won't have anything but Roundup Ready alfalfa. If we see a new organism which makes it a hazard to animal survival -- what's the urgency?"
Organic farmers have sued Monsanto preemptively to protect themselves from legal action from the GMO producer when the GMO alfalfa contaminates organic seed, which cannot be prevented once GMO alfalfa is planted. Food Democracy Now is circulating a letter asking President Obama and Secretary Vilsack to "halt the sale and planting of Monsanto's recently approved Roundup Ready® GMO alfalfa and sugar beets until independent, peer-reviewed studies can be conducted to determine whether or not these products pose a threat to plant, animal and human health."A newly discovered pathogen, visible only under an electron microscope, is destroying... more
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A quick premise for the people that do not know who Monsanto is and what is high fructose corn syrup:
Monsanto is the leading producer of biochemical products and the world's largest seed company. It has monopolized agriculture and our food with its genetically engineered corn, soy and cotton.
From this GM corn, a substance is made: High fructose corn syrup; it's found as an ingredient in almost every conventional food. It's used as a sweetener, flavor enhancer, preservative and is cheap.
More and more studies are showing the dangerous effects of this substance that not only feeds humans but is used to feed livestock, pigs, chickens, fishes and even our precious bees!
This genetically engineered food has been deteriorating people's health for over 40 years since its introduction to our agriculture.
It was engineered to work in conjunction with the herbicide "Roundup" which contaminates water, soil and kills all plants and animals.
Ironically, this industry is heavily subsidized by the government; our tax money are put to work against us and to enrich corporations like Monsanto, Syngenta, Dow, Bayer etc.
You can learn more about who owns nature here (excellent publication):
http://www.etcgroup.org/upload/publication/707/01/etc_won_report_final_color.pdf
Said this, since 2006, billions of bee colonies have died for no apparent reason. This phenomenon has affected the world's food production, and has been titled "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD). As you might know already, bees are responsible for 1/3 of the world's food production, and it is one of the world's most important natural assets.
We think of the CCD for the bees as the cancer for humans.
We believe that one of the main causes of the massive dying off of bees is high fructose corn syrup. Learn more about the importance of bees:
http://www.pan-europe.info/Resources/Articles/A_World_Without_Bees.pdf.
Other causes are pesticides, antibiotics, parasites, pathogens, livestock-like practices (bigger hive cell sizes, migratory stress, antibiotics, various chemicals used), drought, etc.
Also, as a result of this diet, the honey that gets produced is essentially high fructose corn syrup and honey mixed together; there isn't such a thing as "pure" or "natural" honey.
Now, why would beekeepers feed this poison to bees? Simply and tragically because it is a money saving solution, the quick fix mentality and the adoption of short sighted solutions.
Who's behind all of this?
The corporations that control corn, soy, cotton, also control nature, control our economy and society just like the fossil fuel industry does. Corporatism is killing nature and people, represents our current economy and laws, and is the new Nazism or form of imperialism.
What's the solution?
A healthy environment and organic beekeeping are the answer to this problem, learn more here: http://www.bee-hexagon.net/files/file/fileE/Organic/ProgramAbstracts.pdf
This can only be achieved if we steer away from a chemical based agriculture and embrace an organic agriculture where principles of permaculture, sustainability and biodiversity are implemented.
You can start by supporting the organic market, you can call your congress representatives and pressure them to subsidize organic agriculture and abandon our current system: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml.
More than that, you can sign the petition that can stop this all:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/bring-down-monsanto-monopoly/
Save our planet, all of us and our dear bees now!
Article from:
http://organiclegion.org/pt/Commercial-Bee-Farms-Feed-GM-High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup-to-Bees/blog.htm
More info on the CCD: http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder
A study on the HFCS and bees:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090826110118.htm
Photo by bcJordan:http://www.flickr.com/photos/28568408@N03/2667935792/
P.S.: If you are an artist and would like to donate/volunteer your artwork to us, you can submit it to: http://organiclegion.org/artthatmovestheworld.htm.
We are looking right now for a drawing or picture showing/suggesting Hitler/Nazism and GMO Corn. Thank you.
Join the Organic Movement:
http://current.com/groups/organicgreen/A quick premise for the people that do not know who Monsanto is and what is high... more
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Research at National Jewish Hospital in Denver indicates that increases in pulmonary infections in the United States in recent decades from so-called "non-tuberculosis" mycobacteria species like M. avium may be linked to people taking more showers and fewer baths, said Pace. Water spurting from showerheads can distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs, he said.
The researchers used high-tech instruments and lab methods to analyze roughly 50 showerheads from nine cities in seven states that included New York City, Chicago and Denver.
They concluded about 30% of the devices harbored significant levels of Mycobacterium avium, a pathogen linked to pulmonary disease that most often infects people with compromised immune systems but which can occasionally infect healthy people, said CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor Norman Pace, lead study author
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It's not surprising to find pathogens in municipal waters, said Pace. But the CU-Boulder researchers found that some M. avium and related pathogens were clumped together in slimy "biofilms" that clung to the inside of showerheads at more than 100 times the "background" levels of municipal water.
"If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy," he said.
Symptoms of pulmonary disease caused by M. avium can include tiredness, a persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath, weakness and "generally feeling bad," said Pace. Immune-compromised people like pregnant women, the elderly and those who are fighting off other diseases are more prone to experience such symptoms, said Pace, a professor in the molecular, cellular and developmental biology department.
The CU-Boulder researchers sampled showerheads in homes, apartment buildings and public places in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and North Dakota.
Although scientists have tried cell culturing to test for showerhead pathogens, the technique is unable to detect 99.9 percent of bacteria species present in any given environment, said Pace. A molecular genetics technique developed by Pace in the 1990s allowed researchers to swab samples directly from the showerheads, isolate DNA, amplify it using the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, and determine the sequences of genes present in order to pinpoint particular pathogen types.Research at National Jewish Hospital in Denver indicates that increases in pulmonary... more
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Stockholm, Sweden – Large amounts of sewage from cruise ships likely are being dumped into the Baltic Sea because major ports in the region have failed to upgrade their facilities to dispose of the waste.Stockholm, Sweden – Large amounts of sewage from cruise ships likely are being... more
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He's been referred to as the "Elvis of E. coli", the "Sinatra of Salmonella," and in this episode of MicrobeWorld Video the "singing toxicologist." Whatever you call him, Carl Winter, Extension Food Toxicologist and Director of the FoodSafe Program at UC Davis, performs parodies of contemporary popular music by modifying lyrics to address food safety issues such as bacterial contamination, irradiation, biotechnology, government regulation, and pesticides. The goal of his songs is to provide science-based food safety information in a fun, accessible way. Thanks to a grant from the USDA, Dr. Winter is now studying how to integrate his music into traditional food safety education programs.
Dr. Winter's music goes beyond simply educating those who work with food and in this video he shares some of his tips to empower the everyday consumer looking to prevent the spread of foodborne illness.
For more information about food safety please visit the following sites:
foodsafe.ucdavis.edu
www.foodsafety.gov
www.usda.gov
Please feel free to embed or distribute this video.He's been referred to as the "Elvis of E. coli", the "Sinatra of... more
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Researchers from Harvard discovered that everyday soil from urban parks to farms to suburban lawns to pristine forest contain bacteria that not only are resistant to classes of antibiotics humans use every day, they can subsist on the antibiotics EXCLUSIVELY.
"Of 18 antibiotics tested, representing eight major classes of natural and synthetic origin, 13 to 17 supported the growth of clonal bacteria from each of 11 diverse soils.
"This phenomenon suggests that this unappreciated reservoir of antibiotic-resistance determinants can contribute to the increasing levels of multiple antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria."
I don't think anyone is ready to claim any causality. But having so many bacteria that are related to human pathogens, literally being soaked in antibiotic tainted agricultural and human runoff can not be good.Researchers from Harvard discovered that everyday soil from urban parks to farms to... more
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