eveningstandard--2019-12-27--Nearly 500 million animals killed in Australian bushfires, experts fear

Around 480 million animals are feared to have died in the bushfires sweeping Australia, including nearly a third of the koalas in New South Wales's main habitat.  Ecologists at the University of Sydney estimate around 480 million mammals, birds and reptiles have been killed, directly or indirectly, by the devastating blazes since they began in September, The Times reported.  This includes almost 8,000 koalas, which are believed to have burnt to death on the state’s mid-north coast.  The region, which lies around 240 miles north of Sydney, is home to the largest number of Australia’s koalas, with a population of up to 28,000.  Federal environment minister Sussan Ley told ABC "up to 30 per cent of the population in that region" may have been killed, because around 30 per cent of their habitat has been destroyed.  “We’ll know more when the fires have calmed down and a proper assessment can be made,” she added.  More than 100 fires continue to rage across the country, having so far consumed more than five million hectares of land.  Nine people have died and hundreds of homes have been razed to the ground during the unprecedented bushfire season.  About four million hectares have been burnt in New South Wales alone.  As well as being one of Australia's most populous koala habitats, the mid-north coast region also houses one of the country's main koala hospitals.  Dedicated workers at the The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital reportedly treated 72 badly burnt animals on Christmas Day.  They were brought in after bushfires destroyed up to three quarters of their habitat, according to the clinical director Cheyne Flanagan.  “We have teams on roster for capture if any are in trouble and they are available 24 hours a day,” she told Reuters.  A Gofundme page for the hospital has received more than £1.6million ($2million AUD) since September - the largest single amount raised on the site in Australian history, website Newshub reported.  According to Mark Graham, an ecologist with the Nature Conservation Council, koalas “have no capacity to move fast enough to get away” from fires that spread from treetop to treetop.  “The fires have burnt so hot and so fast that there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees, but there is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies,” Mr Graham told a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry earlier this month.  “We’ve lost such a massive swathe of known koala habitat that I think we can say without any doubt there will be ongoing declines in koala populations from this point forward.”  The scorched regions include nature reserves in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and parts of the Gondwana rainforests — which have existed since the time of the dinosaurs and are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world.


newsweek--2019-02-07--Chernobyl Wildlife Thriving as Scientists Find Exclusion Zone Full of Animals

The word Chernobyl likely conjures up eerie images of buildings long-abandoned by residents who fled the nuclear fallout. But the area in Ukraine is far from deserted, as evidenced by a study showing how a wide variety of animals, from eagles to otters, live there.  After the Chernobyl power plant exploded in 1986, causing what is generally regarded as the worst nuclear disaster in history, humans abandoned an area spanning 1,000 square miles north of Kiev, known as the exclusion zone. Since then, scientists have been fascinated by the animals that might inhabit this desolate pocket of Ukraine bordering Belarus.  To study the presence of scavengers specifically, scientists from the University of Georgia tied fish to debris, such as tree branches, in 83 locations along the Pripyat River, and in irrigation canals built by farmers in the early 20th century. The positioning was intended to mirror how fish are naturally transported to the fringes of land by the river. Bait was positioned a minimum of 1,100 yards apart so scavengers didn’t become used to visiting the trial sites. The researchers set up cameras to document the critters that might be lured by the fishy treats.  After a week, 98 percent of the carcasses had been taken. The footage showed 10 species of mammals and five birds gorged on the fish: mice, the least weasel, American mink, Eurasian otter, pine marten, raccoon dog, red fox, wolf, Eurasian jay, common magpie, raven, tawny owl and white-tailed eagle. Across the various experiments, mesocarnivores—animals such as foxes, whose diet consists of between 30 to 70 percent meat—were the biggest eaters.  The team then examined how the animals at the riverside compared with the animals in canals, as well as how many and how quickly the fish were eaten. This led the researchers to conclude the exclusion zone “supports a highly diverse and efficient vertebrate scavenging community,” they wrote in their study, published in the journal Food Webs.  Who ate what depended on the location: For instance, scavengers ate more by rivers because fish were easier to spot there. They explained their findings are important because of the effect scavengers have on the wider food web by linking adjacent ecosystems.  In a 2015 study, ecologists showed for the first time that animals such as gray wolves inhabited a region in the area spanning around 1,000 square miles.  “We’ve seen evidence of a diversity of wildlife in the CEZ through our previous research, but this is the first time that we’ve seen white-tailed eagles, American mink and river otter on our cameras,” commented James Beasley, co-author of the new study and associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.  “We tend to think of fish and other aquatic animals as staying in the aquatic ecosystem. This research shows us that if a reasonable proportion of dead fish make it to shore, there is an entire group of terrestrial and semi-aquatic species that transfer those aquatic nutrients to the terrestrial landscape,” Beasley said.  The scavengers studied by the team aren’t the only animals that wander the exclusion zone. A 2018 report by The Guardian documented the around 300 stray dogs that inhabit the zone. Residents of villages near the disaster were banned from taking their pets with them. Most animals were shot, but some survived, leaving behind a community of canines to fend for itself. As for humans, it remains unknown if they will ever be able to safely return.


sottnet--2019-07-03--28 killed by wild animals across Nepal in a year - compared to 17 the year prior

At least 28 people were killed in wild animal attacks in the current fiscal year. According to the latest record of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), 28 people lost their lives in the animal attacks this year while 17 people were killed last fiscal year.in several National Parks and wildlife and conservation areas and buffer zones in the nation.Twelve people were injured in the attack of elephants, 10 in the rhino attack, one in tiger attack, 32 in bear bounce, 15 in leopard, 19 in wild boar and one in mugger crocodile.Bishnu Prasad Shrestha, undersecretary of DNPWC, said that compensation distribution for the victim's families was delayed this year when compensation distribution responsible body, Regional Forest Directorate, was terminated.The compensation distribution work has begun since January after the cabinet decided to distribute compensation through the reserve area offices, he said.It has provides Rs. 72.04 million compensation in the name of damaged property and human loss by wild animals through the 20 conservation areas offices, Shrestha informed.The offices had distributed Rs. 250 million for the families of each deceased, Rs. 11.5 million to the property losses in the attack of wild animal.Similarly, Rs. 4 million was distributed for the damage of stored grains, Rs. 4 million to the damaged of house and shed, 18.5 million to damage to grain, Rs. 8.7 million to treatment for seriously injured people and Rs. 153,704 to minor injured people treatment.


theindependent--2019-05-04--Killing off animals and plants now threatens humanity itself UN experts to warn in urgent call for

Killing off animals and plants now threatens humanity itself, UN experts to warn in urgent call for action

The future of humanity is under threat from the widespread destruction of the Earth’s plants and animals by people, leading scientists will warn in a dramatic report.  Loss of biodiversity threatens the human race just as much as climate change, the experts believe, with up to a million species facing extinction in the world’s sixth mass die-off.  The UN’s global assessment on the state of nature – published on Monday, and the most comprehensive of its kind – is expected to say that without urgent action, the wellbeing of current and future generations of people will be at risk as life-support systems providing food, pollination and clean water collapse.  The 1,800-page report will lay out a series of future scenarios based on decisions by governments and other policymakers, and recommend a rescue plan.  It is expected to highlight how man-made activity has destroyed nature, such as forests, wetlands and other wild landscapes, damaging Earth’s capacity to renew breathable air, productive soil and drinkable water.  “The loss of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity is already a global and generational threat to human wellbeing,” said Sir Robert Watson, chairman of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) in a paper previewing the report.  “Protecting the invaluable contributions of nature to people will be the defining challenge of decades to come. Policies, efforts and actions – at every level – will only succeed, however, when based on the best knowledge and evidence. This is what the IPBES Global Assessment provides.”  The report is believed to warn the destruction of nature threatens humanity at least as much as human-induced climate change.  One author said the report would highlight the “social and ecological emergency” the world is facing, the BBC reported.  Three-quarters of the world’s land surface has been altered, according to leaks of the document.  Diplomats from 130 countries are meeting in Paris to launch the report which has been in development for three years and has involved hundreds of experts.  Sir Robert told The Guardian: “There is no question we are losing biodiversity at a truly unsustainable rate that will affect human wellbeing both for current and future generations.  “We are in trouble if we don’t act, but there are a range of actions that can be taken to protect nature and meet human goals for health and development.”  Many species will die out within decades, the scientists are expected to say, while ocean fish are being plundered to the edge of sustainability.  The loss of pollinating insects, especially bees, will undermine supplies of food crops, they will warn.  Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have shrunk by 60 per cent in just over 40 years, WWF’s Living Planet Report last year said.  “The global assessment report comes at an opportune time when the world is waking up to dual threat of biodiversity loss and climate change,” said Guenter Mitlacher, a biodiversity expert at WWF Germany.  “This report will play a pivotal role in informing governments and policymakers of the risks of nature loss for future development of societies and economies.”


wakingtimes--2019-07-19--Unprecedented Decline of Plants and Animals as Global Red List Reveals Nearly One-Third of Asses

‘Unprecedented’ Decline of Plants and Animals as Global ‘Red List’ Reveals Nearly One-Third of Assessed Species Under Threat

Calling on global policymakers to act immediately to preserve biodiversity and save tens of thousands of species from extinction, the group behind the world’s most definitive list of endangered animals and plants has added more than 2,600 threatened species to its annual report.  The Red List, published Thursday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), revealed that one third of all species the group has assessed are now under threat due to overfishing, pollution, illegal logging and trafficking, threats to water sources and habitats due to the climate crisis, and other factors, including many human activities.  “This update clearly shows how much humans around the world are overexploiting wildlife.”   —Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCNOf the approximately 9,000 species the IUCN assessed over the past year, the group determined about 2,600 to be endangered, critically endangered, or threatened, bringing the total number of vulnerable species to about 28,000 of the more than 100,000 that have now been studied.  “Nature is declining at rates unprecedented in human history,” said Jane Smart, global director of the IUCN Biodiversity Conservation Group. “Decisive action is needed at scale to halt this decline; the timing of this assessment is critical as governments are starting to negotiate a new global biodiversity framework for such action.”  A quarter of all mammals are threatened with possible extinction, while 40 percent of the world’s amphibians and a third of reefs and corals—which in addition to providing thousands of species with habitats, also protect humans’ habitats by halting the erosion of coastlines—are now endangered.  On social media, climate action and conservation advocates decried the “bleak assessment” and wrote that the Red List only bolsters the case for taking immediate action to move toward sustainable energy sources and curb the climate crisis.  The updated Red List was released less than a year after the World Wildlife Federation revealed that 60 percent of all animal species have been wiped out since 1970 due to human activity.  Plummeting biodiversity observed by scientists has prompted the IUCN to call for the United Nations, at its biodiversity summit planned for next year in China, to move toward bold reforms aimed at curbing fossil fuel emissions which have contributed to the climate crisis and ending other human activities linked to the decline of thousands of species.  “Loss of species and climate change are the two great challenges facing humanity this century,” Lee Hannah, a scientist with Conservation International, said. “The Red List addresses both, by letting us know the extinction risk faced by all species, including climate change, in that assessment. The results are clear, we must act now both on biodiversity loss and climate change.”  “This update clearly shows how much humans around the world are overexploiting wildlife,” said the IUCN’s acting director, Dr. Grethel Aguilar.  Species newly listed as “critically endangered”—the category most disconcerting to scientists after regional extinction and extinction in the wild—include the bleeding toad, the Northern Muriqui, the angelshark, and the Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog.  The South Asian river dolphin and the tri-spine horseshoe crab were also added as “endangered.”  A number of trees, including the formerly-common American elm tree, are now considered endangered. About 90 percent of forest trees native to Madagascar, whose wood is widely used and illegally trafficked around the world, are now threatened with extinction.  “The implications for people are that we lose valuable resources such as rosewoods and elms, and we also lose ecosystem resilience, undermining the essential ecosystem services that forests provide,” said Paul Smith, secretary general of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. “It is imperative that we not only halt the loss of tree species diversity but that we restore habitats with a diverse range of tree species where these have already been degraded by human activities.”  On the IUCN’s assessment of more than 105,000 species around the world, no endangered or vulnerable animal or plant species was listed as having an improved outlook for its survival.


drudgereport--2019-04-16--Fossilized Bacteria in Meteorite From Mars is Proof of Life

Fossilized Bacteria in Meteorite From Mars is 'Proof of Life'...

A second Martian meteorite which shows 'signs of microbial life' has been found, Hungarian researchers say in their report on the latest study, published in Open Astronomy, reigniting 'bacterial' fossils claims made 20 years ago by NASA.  The meteorite, officially known as ALH-77005, is claimed to contain 'biosignatures', which researchers describe as textures and features left behind by organisms.  READ MORE: Heading to Mars: New NASA Study Notes Gene Mods, Changes in Microbe  Experts resorted to advanced imaging techniques that they say revealed microfilaments created by fossilised Martian microbes.  MYSTERY as Curiosity-Spotted Methane 'Very Surprisingly Disappeared' From Mars A team of researchers from the Hungarian Academy of Science (HAS) Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences used optical microscopy and infrared technology to study the textures and features of the thin sample of ALH-77005.  The Hungarian researchers also examined minerals and other material embedded in the stone, and conducted isotope tests to check for the chemical components essential for life. The studies led them to conclude that the microscopic filaments inside could point to the presence of bacteria which survive by eating iron rust.  READ MORE: NASA Photo INDICATES There's LIFE on Mars, Stargazer Claims  Back in 1996, NASA scientists claimed they found proof of microbial life in a meteorite from Mars known as ALH 84001, similarly citing the appearance of strands and filaments. The rock was produced four billion years ago on Mars and landed on Earth around 13,000 years ago.  'Very Exciting': Scientists CONFIRM Existence of Possible Life-Sign Gas on Mars At the time, even US president Bill Clinton endorsed the scientists' findings, saying the discovery could offer the 'most stunning insights' into the universe.  Clinton said: "Today, rock 84001 speaks to us across all those billions of years and millions of miles. It speaks of the possibility of life. If this discovery is confirmed, it will surely be one of the most stunning insights into our universe that science has ever uncovered."  Scientists at the time said that it was impossible to prove or refute such claims as the markings could have been formed by non-biological processes.  Dr Ildiko Gyollai from the Hungarian Academy of Science (HAS) Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences in Budapest led the most recent study. Writing in the paper, its authors said: "Comparing recent results and interpretation with other meteorites, it can be raised, that on these similarities the microbially mediated biosignatures can be proposed microbial mediation by [iron oxidising bacteria] on Mars."  The meteorite is claimed to contain 'biosignatures', which researchers describe as textures and features left behind by organisms. The image shows a thin section of ALH-77005 in plane polarised light, with the area studied marked by a brown rectangle, and experts concluding that the microscopic filaments inside could point to the presence of bacteria that survive by eating iron rust.


drudgereport--2019-07-25--STUDY Single Apple Carries 100 Million Bacteria

STUDY: Single Apple Carries 100 Million Bacteria...

GRAZ, Austria — How does the old saying go? “100 million bacteria a day will keep the doctor away?” Sounds about right. A new study reveals that a typical 240g apple contains around 100 million bacteria, mostly in the seeds and skin. While that may sound a bit off-putting at first, researchers say that when it comes to gut health, the more bacteria the better.  Additionally, researchers at the Graz University of Technology say that organic apples were found to contain even more diverse bacterial-goodness than conventional apples, potentially making them healthier, tastier, and better for the environment.  “The bacteria, fungi and viruses in our food transiently colonize our gut,” explains study senior author Professor Gabriele Berg in a release. “Cooking kills most of these, so raw fruit and veg are particularly important sources of gut microbes.”  Berg and her team set out to find the best fruit source for beneficial gut microbes, so they decided to set their sights on one of the most popular fruits all over the world: the apple.  “Eighty-three million apples were grown in 2018, and production continues to rise,” Berg says. “But while recent studies have mapped their fungal content, less is known about the bacteria in apples.”  CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER & GET THE LATEST STUDIES FROM STUDYFINDS.ORG BY EMAIL!  Researchers analyzed and compared the bacteria levels in regular store-bought apples and organic ones. Each apple was broken down and analyzed piece by piece, i.e., stem, peel, seeds, etc.  Both types of apples displayed generally the same amount of bacteria — 100 million, mostly in the core of the apple. For example, if you remove the core, a typical apple’s bacteria count drops all the way to a measly 10 million.  However, the organic and processed apples differed when it come to variety of bacteria. Organic apples displayed much more diverse communities of bacteria than the regular samples. This is noteworthy because when it comes to gut health, diversity is even more important that quantity.  “Freshly harvested, organically managed apples harbor a significantly more diverse, more even and distinct bacterial community, compared to conventional ones,” Berg explains. “This variety and balance would be expected to limit overgrowth of any one species, and previous studies have reported a negative correlation between human pathogen abundance and microbiome diversity of fresh produce.”  Furthermore, organic apples only were shown to contain Lactobacilli, a fairly well known probiotic. Conventional apples on the other hand, contained bacteria known to harbor pathogens. The research team even say that organic apples contain much more of a specific bacteria, methylobacterium, known to enhance flavor quality in fruits.  These findings mesh well with another recent study that found fungal communities among organic apples were much more diverse compared to regular apples grown using pesticides.  Berg and her team say that one day microbiome information on fruits and vegetables may be as readily available as more traditional nutrition information.  The study is published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Microbiology.  Like studies? Follow us on Facebook!


naturalnews--2019-01-06--New gut bacteria discovered Scientists are researching a strain that shows potential for enhancing

New gut bacteria discovered: Scientists are researching a strain that shows potential for enhancing weight loss

(Natural News) If we’re lucky, we can soon learn more about a certain kind of gut bacteria that might have various health benefits such as preventing weight gain.  Only a handful of people know about the bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila. But this can all change thanks to the future research of Dr. Gilberto Flores.  Dr. Flores is a microbial ecologist at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and he is the recipient of a generous three-year $435,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. He plans to use this funding “to investigate the health-promoting benefits of this intriguing species of gut bacteria.”  Called Akkermansia for short, this of gut bacteria is linked to various “good health outcomes.” This means that it could be a type of probiotic bacteria. Based on study findings, individuals who have healthy metabolisms have more Akkermansia in their gut compared to those who are obese.  In the study, mice fed a high-fat diet lost the Akkermansia bacteria in their gut. On the other hand, mice who received a dose of Akkermansia didn’t gain as much weight. Despite having the same diet, the second group of mice didn’t have as many health problems.  Dr. Flores shared, “One of the hottest topics in gut microbiome research right now is this particular bacteria.” He continued, “In one recent study, people who had cancer and responded more favorably to biologic treatments, which recruit your immune system to fight the cancer, had a higher abundance of Akkermansia than people who did not respond as well.” (Related: Autoimmune disease and gut health: New study reveals how your microbiome regulates inflammation.)  Mother Nature's micronutrient secret: Organic Broccoli Sprout Capsules now available, delivering 280mg of high-density nutrition, including the extraordinary "sulforaphane" and "glucosinolate" nutrients found only in cruciferous healing foods. Every lot laboratory tested. See availability here.  He cautions that a cause and effect still hasn’t been established and that while there are interesting theories about Akkermansia, we need to keep in mind that “it’s from a lineage that is vastly understudied.” Dr. Flores reveals that his motivation to apply for the grant stemmed from a desire to learn more about the basic biology of the Akkermansia lineage. He believes that by doing so, we can gain insight into its “potential benefits.”  Dr. Flores and his team of graduate and undergraduate students at CSUN are gathering fecal samples from healthy adults, and they are in the process of cultivating new Akkermansia species. Once successful, Dr. Flores and his team will proceed to sequence the genomes of the bacteria to note any similarities and differences to the original species.  However, the organism cannot tolerate oxygen. This requires them to come up with a new way to grow Akkermansia. The microbial ecologist noted that this will be more difficult, unlike E. coli, which is easier to grow.  He did say that Akkermansia “has unique dietary habits.” While a lot of the microbes in our gut “eat what we eat,” Akkermansia settles on “the mucus layers that line our intestines as its primary energy source.” The gut bacteria don’t eat the food we eat, it instead consumes anything we produce.  Dr. Flores’s goal is to delve into the health benefits of Akkermansia, if it has any, or if these are just caused by “other biological processes.” He’s leaving the future of the gut bacteria as a probiotics supplement or as a superfood ingredient to other researchers.  He muses that even though there are at least 500 to 1,000 different bacterial species in the large intestine, he is more interested in finding out how “they interact which each other to impact our overall health.”  If you want to boost your gut bacteria, try to incorporate more of the following foods in your diet:  You can learn more about other findings on gut bacteria at Scientific.news.


abcnews--2019-01-07--Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg misses Supreme Court session due to cancer recovery

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, recovering from surgery to remove two cancerous lesions from her left lung, will not attend oral arguments Monday -- the first time she has missed a scheduled public session due to illness in her 25-year career on the high court bench, a court spokeswoman said.  Monday's oral arguments come 17 days after surgeons at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City performed a pulmonary lobectomy on Ginsburg, cutting out cancerous tissue in her lung. She has been working from home as she recovers. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Ginsburg still planned to "participate" in the cases by reading the briefs, filings and transcripts from Monday's session. It was not immediately clear whether Ginsburg would return to the bench later this week.  The court said last month that doctors found no evidence of any remaining disease and planned no further treatment. Ginsburg spent four days in the hospital following the procedure and spent the remainder of the court’s winter recess recovering at home.  The court’s oldest justice at 85, Ginsburg has shown dogged determination to participate in the court's proceedings over the years, despite three serious bouts of cancer, several other health scares and personal setbacks, including the death of her husband in 2010.  In just the past two months, Ginsburg was hospitalized twice –- first after suffering broken ribs from a fall in her office in November, then the December surgery to remove tumors –- nevertheless participating, uninterrupted, in court business, a spokesperson for the court said.  On Nov. 9, two days after being treated for the broken ribs, Ginsburg was unable to attend the formal investiture ceremony for Justice Brett Kavanaugh but did participate in conference while working from home, a court spokeswoman said at the time.  Doctors contacted by ABC News said Ginsburg's resilience is an example for all Americans facing a cancer diagnosis.  “Lung cancer suffers from pessimism, stigma, nihilism, but here’s a patient where lung cancer was caught early,” said Dr. Geoff Oxnard, a thoracic oncologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “There is room for hope. We can change the story here. Patients need to ask themselves, ‘How can I be like Ruth Bader Ginsburg? How can I catch it early?’”


abcnews--2019-12-29--US Rep John Lewis of Georgia says he has pancreatic cancer

ATLANTA -- Congressman John Lewis of Georgia announced Sunday that he has stage IV pancreatic cancer, vowing he will stay in office and fight the disease with the tenacity which he fought racial discrimination and other inequalities since the civil rights era.  Lewis, the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists in a group once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said in a statement that cancer was discovered this month during a routine medical visit. He said subsequent tests confirmed the diagnosis of stage IV pancreatic cancer.  “I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now," he said in a statement.  His statement added: While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.''


activistpost--2019-08-21--Former US Naval Fighter Pilots Blame Radiation Exposure for Causing Cancer and Deaths

Former U.S. Naval Fighter Pilots Blame Radiation Exposure for Causing Cancer and Deaths

It’s horrible that this is happening to our service people – even worse when it may have been prevented.  In 1971, the U.S. Naval Medical Research Institute had already determined that exposure to non-ionizing radiation (more commonly referred to as cell phone radiation and WiFi) was harmful.  More research conducted since then has determined the same – some of it funded by the American government.  Former Air Force and Navy fighter pilots are calling on the military to begin cancer screenings for aviators as young as 30 because of an increase in deaths from the disease that they suspect may be tied to radiation emitted in the cockpit.  “We are dropping like flies in our 50s from aggressive cancers,” said retired Air Force Col. Eric Nelson, a former F-15E Strike Eagle weapons officer. He cited prostate and esophageal cancers, lymphoma, and glioblastomas that have struck fellow pilots he knew, commanded or flew with.  Nelson’s prostate cancer was first detected at age 48, just three months after he retired from the Air Force. In his career he has more than 2,600 flying hours, including commanding the 455th Air Expeditionary Group in Bagram, Afghanistan, and as commander of six squadrons of F-15E fighter jets at the 4th Operations Group at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.  Last month McClatchy reported on a new Air Force study that reviewed the risk for prostate cancers among its fighter pilots and new Veterans Health Administration data showing that the rate of reported cases of prostate cancers per year among veterans using the VA health care system across all services has risen almost 16% since fiscal year 2000.  The Air Force study also looked at cockpit exposure, finding that “pilots have greater environmental exposure to ultraviolet and ionizing radiation … (fighter pilots) have unique intra-cockpit exposures to non-ionizing radiation.”  Retired Navy Cmdr. Thomas Hill was a career F-4 and F-14 pilot and squadron commanding officer with more than 3,600 flight hours and more than 960 aircraft carrier landings. Hill was 52 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In December 2011, at age 60, he learned he also had esophageal cancer.  Hill has spent the last two years tracking premature deaths or cancers among former commanding officers of F-14 squadrons. So far he’s found more than a dozen who have either been diagnosed or have died from the disease.


activistpost--2019-12-20--At Least 61 US Veterans Who Guarded “Contaminated” Ex-Russian Base Died Or Have Cancer

At least 61 US special operations forces who were deployed to a former Soviet base just a few hundred miles from the Afghanistan border have either died or have cancer, according to a new report by McClatchy DC’s Tara Copp.  The deployment, which began shortly after the 9/11 attacks, were to a military site in Uzbekistan called Karshi-Khanabad, known as K2. It was leased by the United States from the Uzbek government weeks after the 2001 terrorist incident, as it was in close proximity to al Qaeda and Taliban targets.  The US troops were greeted by “radiation hazard” warning signs, ‘black goo’ oozing fro the ground, and pond water that glowed green, according to the report.  K2 was contaminated with chemical weapons remnants, radioactive processed uranium and other hazards, according to documents obtained by McClatchy. At least 61 of the men and women who served at K2 had been diagnosed with cancer or died from the disease, according to a 2015 Army study on the base. But that number may not include the special operations forces deployed to K2, who were likely not counted due to the secrecy of their missions, the study reported. –McClatchy DC  According to the report, the Defense Department knew K2 was contaminated from the start based on documents obtained by McClatchy which are now being made public (see below). After Uzbek soldiers who prepared the base fell ill in 2001, US Central Command ordered an intelligence review of hazards at the facility.  “Ground contamination at Karshi-Khanabad Airfield poses health risks to U.S. forces deployed there,” reads the classified report dated November 6, 2001, which added that the “tent city” the US military was building – which included tents for eating, sleeping and showering – were “in some cases directly on top of soil that probably was contaminated” by four separate hazards.  First, there was a missile storage facility that had exploded in June 1993. “Ground contamination from the explosion, and subsequent expulsion of missile propellant throughout the area is very likely,” the report said. Two other hazards listed were an abandoned fuel storage facility and an abandoned aircraft maintenance facility identified as the likely sources of the “black goo” which the report said “is most likely a combination of oils, hydraulic fluids, glues, paints, solvents and lubricants.” The fourth hazard noted in the report was that the northeast corner of the tent city was likely affected by “runoff from a CW [chemical weapons] decontamination site” which had appeared on U.S. intelligence imagery in 1987. A separate Army environmental health study of K2 in November 2001 found small areas of dirt contaminated with asbestos and “low level radioactive processed uranium, both from the destruction of Soviet missiles.” –McClatchy DC  “Part of this area has already been fenced off by US forces as an expansion area,” reads a November 15, 2001 document obtained by McClatchy. “To call this site a landfill is an insult to landfills.”  McClatchy has spoken with several veterans who were stationed at K2, who are now speaking out because of the difficulties faced in having the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover their medical treatment.  “After returning from combat years later, we are all coming down with various forms of cancer that the [Department of Veterans Affairs] is refusing to acknowledge,” according to retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott Welsch, a special operations military intelligence officer who deployed to K2 in October 2001, and who now has thyroid cancer which was diagnosed in 2014.  Eventually warning signs were erected. Outside the berm, a new bright yellow sign went up with black and red letters that said: “Danger Keep Out. Chemical Weapons.” Another black and white sign — “Danger. Off Limits. Radiation Hazard.” — was in front of a row of ponds nicknamed “Skittles” after the candy because the water glowed bright green but often had other colors too. The ponds were located just outside the berm.  Several veterans who served at K2 are preparing a letter to Congress to ask for help.  “Please come to our aid to assist us in dealing with these illnesses that have forever altered the courses of our lives and the lives of our families,” wrote retired Lt. Col. Omar Hamada, flight surgeon for the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, which went to K2 in 2002.  Several veterans deployed to K2 report that the Defense Department and the VA have been turning them away, or doubting their health issues altogether.  “The most important messages to communicate are there were no K-2 exposures of health consequence,” instructs an undated three-page “Information for Health Care Staff” guide published by the Pentagon’s Deployment Health Clinical Center that was obtained by McClatchy.  “Some may believe they were exposed to dangerous chemicals and that they haven’t been told the truth,” reads the guide. “Your reassurances may not lessen the level of concern.”  The guide emphasized that medical staff should show K2 veterans respect for their service to the country, observing “It often helps rapport if you thank them for that service.” The VA responded to a query by McClatchy on the number of cancers among the service members based at K2 with a statement saying, “the premise of your inquiry is false. There is no indication of increased cancer rates among veterans who served at Karshi-Khanabad, which is why cancer is not a presumptive condition for veterans who served in that area.” That phrase — “presumptive condition” — can mean the difference between the service member paying the bill for cancer treatments out of their own pocket or having the cost covered by the VA. A presumptive condition is any medical issue that the VA has accepted as likely connected to a veteran’s military service. –McClatchy DC  Read the rest of the report here.  This article was sourced from Zerohedge.com  Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit.  Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


anonnews--2019-06-14--Laser Destroys Cancer Cells Circulating in the Blood

In a study published in the journal “Science Translational Medicine,” a team of researchers discovered that they could destroy cancer cells in the blood with a laser.  A laser system developed by the researchers can detect cancer cells in the blood and kill the cells in real time as the laser scans the skin. It is estimated that this system has a sensitivity that is about 1,000 times better than current technology available on the market today.  This is such an important breakthrough because traditional cancer treatments have been so dangerous and harmful to the other cells in the body. Meanwhile, this new technology could allow patients to fight cancer without going through the harsh chemotherapy treatments that have become associated with the disease.  Vladimir Zharov, director of the nanomedicine center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who led the research, says that there is incredible potential in this technology.  “This technology has the potential to significantly inhibit metastasis progression,” Zharov says.  When Zharov says “metastasis progression” he is referring to the spreading of cancer throughout the body. When a cancer spreads through the blood, it carries with it CTC’s, or “circulating tumor cells,” which infect other areas of the body.  “Zharov and his team tested their system in people with melanoma, or skin cancer. The laser, beamed at a vein, sends energy to the bloodstream, creating heat. Melanoma CTCs absorb more of this energy than normal cells, causing them to heat up quickly and expand. This thermal expansion produces sound waves, known as the photoacoustic effect, and can be recorded by a small ultrasound transducer placed over the skin near the laser. The recordings indicate when a CTC is passing in the bloodstream,” Spectrum reported.  It is important to point out that this is just a prototype of a technology that still needs to be advanced, but even so, at these early stages it is still showing incredible potential  In one patient, the team was able to kill 96 percent of the tumor cells with a focused laser beam.  This is an idea that Zharov has been working on for over ten years. He has made significant progress over the years, successfully testing the new technology on animals to prove its safety to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Similar devices to monitor CTC’s are being developed, but this is the only one that actively kills the tumor cells in real time. Spectrum reported that at least a hundred other CTC monitoring devices are in development, but these systems work a bit differently. The monitoring systems usually require blood to be drawn and then analyzed outside of the body, which is still much more invasive than the method developed by Zhorov and his team.  One of the other devices, developed by researchers at the University of Michigan, is worn on the patient’s wrist and extracts blood from their arm. The blood is then scanned for CTCs, which are removed from the blood. Finally, the clean blood is pumped back into the body of the patients. This is also just a prototype, and this one is still having a ton of trouble. In one study involving dogs, the device was only able to process a few tablespoons of blood over a three hour period. By contrast, the device developed by Zharov and his team can scan and clean a liter of blood in about an hour, without needing to remove the blood from the body.  One similar study, highlighted in the video below, also uses lasers to target cancer cells.  While on the campaign trail, Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden promised to cure cancer if he was elected president in 2020.  “A lot of you understand what loss is and when loss occurs, you know that people come up to you and tell you ‘I understand’ if you lose a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, a family member. That’s why I’ve worked so hard in my career to make sure that — I promise you if I’m elected president, you’re going to see the single most important thing that changes America, we’re gonna cure cancer,” Biden said.  The former vice president, who is involved in numerous cancer charities, did not give any specifics about how he would achieve this goal. However, it seems that the team at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is already way ahead of him.


bbc--2019-04-01--BBC Middle East editor has bowel cancer

BBC Middle East editor has bowel cancer

Veteran BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen has revealed he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer.  The former BBC Breakfast host said he was undergoing chemotherapy after noticing "funny pains in my legs and in my back" whilst in Iraq last May.  April is bowel cancer awareness month and Bowen revealed his diagnosis to raise awareness of the disease.  Bowel cancer screening in England is to start earlier, at age 50, Public Health England said last year.  Doctors initially believed the veteran journalist's pain was due to scarring from previous surgery, he told BBC Breakfast, the show which he presented alongside Sophie Raworth between 2000 and 2002.  "I had no symptoms - none of the classic bowel cancer symptoms. Nothing at all. But I thought I should get a test", he said.  He said he received a positive result and had a colonoscopy - a camera inserted into his colon to look for signs of cancer.  "It [the colonoscopy ] is not nearly as bad as it sounds - they give you lots of drugs," he said.  Surgeons found a tumour, which they removed, and he was currently having chemotherapy, he said.  Bowen, born in Cardiff, and a BBC journalist for 35 years, said his diagnosis "could have been earlier, but had it been later it would have been much more serious".  Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with 42,000 people diagnosed every year.  More than 16,000 people die from the cancer annually in the UK.  Bowen added: "The key thing is - get tested. I've been saying to all my friends - get tested.  "Things to do with your bowels and poo ... are not things people normally want to talk about. But actually it's part of all our lives and you need to work on it."  He said a gastroenterologist had told him: "Don't die of embarrassment, for God's sake."  He said the chemotherapy "is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be in terms of side effects, but it affects people differently and I think I've just been quite lucky to tolerate it better than I expected".  "You've got to keep positive about things in life - it's all part of the journey, as they say on Strictly [Come Dancing]," he added.


bbc--2019-09-03--Cancer biggest middle-age killer in rich nations

Cancer now causes more deaths among the middle-aged in higher-income countries than cardiovascular disease, a study suggests.  Globally, heart problems and stroke is the leading cause of death at this age.  But the researchers say people in rich nations are 2.5 times more likely to die of cancer than cardiovascular disease in their middle years.  In poorer nations, the reverse is true - with cardiovascular disease three times more likely to claim the lives.  The study, published in the Lancet, is drawn from a global research programme following the lives of thousands of people from across 21 countries. People from the UK are not involved.  Researchers led by a team from Canada's McMaster University looked at the fate of 160,000 people enrolled in the programme, between 2005 and 2016.  These people had an average age of 50 at the start.  There were more than 11,000 deaths, with those in low-income countries nearly four times more likely to die than those in high-income countries.  In about 2,000 cases, the cause of death was unclear.  Of the others, cardiovascular disease caused more than 40% in middle- and low-income countries but less than a quarter in high-income countries.  The researchers say this could be because richer countries provide more medication and treat more people in hospital.  Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation, said "huge progress" meant many people were surviving heart attacks and strokes but growing numbers were living with "disability and the debilitating after effects" of cardiovascular disease.


bbcuk--2019-04-20--The breast cancer surgeon who got breast cancer

"Like many women, I did not check my breasts. I thought, 'it's not going to happen to me - I'm a breast cancer surgeon'."  Liz O'Riordan ended up having to give up the job she had trained 20 years for, after she herself was diagnosed with breast cancer.  In 2015, at the age of 40, she had a mastectomy and last May suffered a recurrence of the disease.  Dr O'Riordan thought she would practise as a breast cancer surgeon for at least 20 years, but as it turned out she only worked as one for two years.  Radiotherapy for the second bout of cancer left her with reduced movement in her shoulder, causing her to make the "emotionally very hard" decision to give up operating.  Before she was diagnosed, Dr O'Riordan had found lumps that turned out only to be cysts, while a mammogram six months earlier had showed a healthy breast.  But another lump developed and her mother urged her to get it scanned. The surgeon, who lives near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, knew what her prognosis was immediately.  "Most patients are drip-fed information. I saw that scan and I knew I'd need a mastectomy, knew I'd probably need chemo because I was young, and I had a good guess of what my chance of being alive in 10 years was, all in that split-second."  Dr O'Riordan, 43, said not many doctors develop the illnesses in which they specialise; certainly, no-one in her department at Ipswich Hospital had.  At first she was "terrified", and several questions ran through her mind.  "How much can I share with my husband and my parents? How much can I stop being a cancer surgeon and just be a patient?"  Although she knew what was happening physically, she had no idea what it would be like to experience actually having the disease.  "I know what it's like to tell someone they have breast cancer.  "I didn't know what it was like to have to have a stiff upper lip, dry your tears, leave the clinic, go through the waiting room, through the hospital corridor to get to the car park and to start howling."  After talking it through with her husband Dermot, she decided to announce her illness to her 1,500 Twitter followers, who mostly knew her through her love of baking, triathlons and her profession.  Social media, she said, ended up becoming her lifeline and she received an "outpouring of support".  "It was patients who told me how to cope.  "There is always someone awake at three o'clock in the morning to talk to you when you're on a steroid high."  Social media also put her in contact with other medical professionals with cancer, and she has since set up a WhatsApp group for medics with the disease.  After treatment for her first bout of cancer, Dr O'Riordan returned to work as a surgeon at Ipswich Hospital. But she said she didn't realise how "emotionally challenging" it would be.  She said having had cancer herself, she thought she could help people in a different way.  "But it was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  "When you're breaking bad news and telling a woman they've got cancer, it's really tough at the best of times, but I was reliving it, and I could see myself and my husband and what we would have looked like when we crumpled and heard the news.  "You're so desperate to connect with someone who has a shared experience, but I couldn't - they were my patients."  She added: "I was left with pain after my mastectomy and was suddenly operating - I was very much aware that I might give them the pain that I have, and I didn't want to do that, and it was really, really hard."  She said she also struggled to sit in weekly meetings discussing patients' prognoses.  "In my first meeting back, my first patient basically had my cancer. She was the same age, she had my cancer give or take a millimetre - she was me on paper.  "I heard all my colleagues say 'that's really bad'."  In 2018, Dr O'Riordan's cancer returned to the same armpit. It was found while she was having a scan before the removal of her reconstructed breast, which had been causing her a lot of pain.  It led to a second dose of radiotherapy to the same area, "something rarely done".  She was warned that she might not be able to move her arm properly afterwards but, if she did not undergo surgery, the outlook was bleak.  The result was more scarring, fibrosis and tethering of the soft tissues, which indeed did reduce movement in her shoulder and meant she had less strength in her arm.  She said her employers did their best to help her to resume her career for a second time.  "I had intensive physiotherapy, I saw an orthopaedic surgeon - because it's a huge thing to say, 'the thing I've spent 20 years of my life, and degrees, and PhDs, exams and courses to become an expert in the thing I love, I can't do again'.  "I can go about my daily life, but to be able to operate safely, that's never going to happen," she said.  By now Dr O'Riordan also felt the psychological need to have "cancer-free time", especially given that returning to work before the recurrence had been traumatic.  In addition, the risk of the cancer returning yet again was now higher than before, and there was a danger it could come back elsewhere.  After about four months she made the decision her career as a surgeon was over.  "It was bittersweet, and really, really hard saying goodbye."  Ironically, she now advises people on their rights to return to the workplace after cancer.  Dr O'Riordan, whose husband is a consultant surgeon, said she was "lucky" to be able to afford not to have to do paid work.  She recently began volunteering as an ambassador for the social enterprise, Working with Cancer, which had advised her on her employment rights after she decided to return to work in 2017, following treatment for her first bout of cancer.  A temporary director at the hospital had told her at this point that she was expected back on a phased return over four weeks.  "I was still suffering from fatigue and trying to get my brain to work again," Dr O'Riordan said.  "I didn't realise that if you've had cancer, you are classified as legally disabled under the Equality Act and your employers have to make reasonable adjustments to allow you get back to work.  "So many people are just desperate to get their lives back when they have cancer, but it can be incredibly hard to find your way and a lot of employers don't know how to help cancer patients - or whether they should."  Dr O'Riordan said most of the coaches at Working with Cancer have had the illness themselves and "they get it".  As well information about their rights, they prepare staff and employers for the emotional pitfalls.  As a result of her chemotherapy, Dr O'Riordan had short, curly hair.  Her coach asked her: "What will you do when people don't recognise you?"  She had dismissed the notion, until one day she realised a colleague she was talking to did not realise who she was.  The preparation she did with Working with Cancer mostly helped her to avoid any awkwardness.  Just before returning she emailed her line manager and explained she was happy to talk about her illness with colleagues, but not during work hours.  "You have a right to ask for things to be made easier for you. They can't sack you because that would be discrimination."  The former surgeon said her work as an ambassador had helped her reconnect with her sense of purpose.  "As a consultant surgeon I was helping 70, maybe 100 women a year with breast cancer.  "But through my book, the blogging, the talking and being an ambassador for Working with Cancer, I can help hundreds, thousands of women."


bbcuk--2019-06-27--Hopes raised of cervical cancer eradication

The success of the HPV vaccination offers hope of one day eradicating cervical cancer, say scientists who carried out a major review of evidence.  Vaccination against the human papilloma virus, which causes most cervical cancers, began over a decade ago.  A Lancet review of 65 studies covering 60 million people showed a fall in HPV cases and in pre-cancerous growths.  Over decades, this should translate into a significant fall, and possible eradication, of the cancer they said.  Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust said the data should boost faith in the jab.  There are 3,200 cases of cervical cancer and 850 deaths from the disease each year.  The review covered studies in 14 high-income countries, including the UK. They looked at HPV rates, plus cases of genital warts and pre-cancerous cells in the cervix called CIN.  It found that when rates were compared before vaccination started and eight years after:  It also showed people who were not vaccinated benefited. Cases of genital warts in men aged 15-19 fell by almost 50%, and also significantly in women over 30.  Rates fell more in countries where a wider age group was vaccinated and where coverage was higher.  Public Health England principal scientist Dr David Mesher said: "We are seeing reductions in HPV strains and in cervical disease as well, so there is every suggestion there will be reductions in cervical cancers too."  Prof Marc Brisson, from Laval University, Canada, who led the review, said: "We will see reductions in women aged 20-30 within the next 10 years."  He said cervical cancer elimination - defined as fewer than four cases per 100,000 - "might be possible if sufficiently high vaccination coverage can be achieved and maintained".  Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust said the findings "clearly showed" the impact of HPV vaccination.  "This study furthers the growing evidence to counteract those who don't believe that this vaccine works, which is now extremely encouraging," said chief executive Robert Music.  "We sincerely hope this will boost public faith in the HPV vaccine, so that more lives can be saved and we get closer to a world where cervical cancer is a thing of the past."


bbcuk--2019-11-22--Cancer: One in five cancer diagnoses 'in Emergency Departments'

One in five people in Northern Ireland receive their cancer diagnosis while attending an emergency department (ED), according to research by the NI Cancer Registry.  The registry confirmed to BBC News NI that, at present, a quarter of bowel cancers are being diagnosed in EDs.  It said mostly older patients are affected.  Its research also found that a third of lung cancers in NI are diagnosed after a patient turns up at an ED.  The problem is a direct result of some people waiting too long on hospital lists and being brought to emergency departments instead.  Earlier this week, BBC News NI revealed that a number of non-emergency operations across Northern Ireland have had to be suspended, as a result of staff shortages.  It has also emerged that the number of patients who waited more than 12 hours in Northern Ireland's emergency departments in September was double the same time last year.  The head of services at Macmillan Cancer Support, Heather Monteverde, said the statistics about diagnoses were "shocking and extremely worrying".  She said emergency departments cannot provide the very specialist care needed by cancer patients.  Ms Monteverde added that only 55% of cancer patients in Northern Ireland are starting treatment within the 62-day target, a figure that was "deteriorating month-by-month".  "Behind the statistics are individual people who are worried that they are very ill," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.  "They have attended their GP and sometimes they are on very long waiting lists; their condition is deteriorating and they feel they have no other option but to pitch up in an emergency department.  "Or indeed, sometimes their GPs are so frustrated that they can't get them seen, their GPs are advising them to attend an emergency department."  The cancer survival rate is lowest for patients who present via emergency than any other route, although it is thought this is because those patients tend to have later-stage cancers than those who present via other medical routes.  Ms Monteverde said EDs are not the ideal environment to learn that you have the disease.  "For most people, a cancer diagnosis is a fairly devastating event in their lives," she said.  "To be in a really busy A&E department which is quite often mayhem - it's noisy, it's crowded; there's no privacy."  Earlier this year, a report by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry found that 74% of the 4,316 people who died from cancer in Northern Ireland in 2015 were admitted to Emergency Departments in the final years of their lives.  Also, one in six (17%) people died within seven days of their last emergency admission and almost all (95%) of these died in hospital.  Anna Gavin from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry agreed with Ms Monteverde that longer waiting lists had added to the number of cancer patients being diagnosed in EDs.  "Unfortunately, the people who present through A&E present are at the later stage of disease and their survival [rate] is much lower than if they present through some of the other ways that you can come into the system."  Ms Gavin said when there are screening programmes in place, such as breast and bowel cancer screening, it led to a "wide variation" in the number of ED diagnoses, compared to conditions where no regular screening is carried out.  However, the 14-day breast assessment target has not been met again in Northern Ireland.  During March, 1,387 patients were seen by a breast cancer specialist for a first assessment following an urgent referral for suspected breast cancer.  Of these, 85.6 % (1,187) were seen within 14 days compared with 100% in the previous year.  Statistics published by the Department of Health show 69.4% of new referrals for suspected breast cancer were classified as urgent in March 2019.  The department said the waiting times are "unacceptable".  Previously the permanent health secretary said that it would take £1bn to tackle Northern Ireland's hospital waiting lists.


veteranstoday--2019-03-12--VA Selects 18 Medical Facilities to Start High Reliability Study

VA Selects 18 Medical Facilities to Start “High Reliability” Study

Health Editor’s Note:  The VA has a long way to go to provide, across the board, adequate and effective medical care to our veterans.  VA medical centers are here to serve veterans.  These medical centers should already be high reliability organizations (HRO). Veterans should have had in the past and currently should be receiving top notch medical care.  VA medical facilities are always “fixin to” improve care to veterans….it is long past the “fixin to” stage. Do what you have always been intended to do…..TAKE CARE OF OUR VETERANS…..Carol  By U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  WASHINGTON — Today (March 7) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the selection of 18 medical centers that will lead the way in the department’s efforts to transform the nation’s largest integrated health care system into a high reliability organization (HRO).  Pioneered in highly complex environments, such as aviation and nuclear energy, HROs put procedures and protocols in place that maximize safety and minimize harm, which in the medical industry assures every patient receives excellent care, every time.  “VA has been a leader in patient safety for years,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Adopting high reliability principles more formally represents the next step for delivering the best health care to Veterans.  “These principles align with our greater vision of transforming business operations and delivering exceptional customer service to Veterans,” Wilkie said. “Our culture is changing and pursuing HRO principles nationwide is our pledge to empower staff and keep Veterans the safest they can be on our watch.”  Research shows high reliability organizations experience fewer accidents despite being high-risk environments where small errors can produce catastrophic results. A February Leadership Summit kicked off the HRO journey and introduced high reliability concepts and practices to the 18 sites. Lessons learned from these 18 sites will guide a more impactful rollout across every Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical facility in 2020.  The 18 sites selected are: Manchester VA Medical Center (VAMC) (N.H.); Albany Samuel S. Stratton VAMC (N.Y.); Erie VAMC (Pa.); Beckley VAMC (W.Va.); Durham VAMC (N.C.); Ralph H. Johnson VAMC (Charleston, S.C.); James A. Haley Veterans Hospital (Tampa, Fla.); James H. Quillen VA Healthcare System (HCS) (Johnson City, Tenn.); Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC (Ohio); William S. Middleton VA Hospital (Madison, Wis.); Kansas City VAMC (Mo.); G.V. Sonny Montgomery VAMC (Jackson, Miss.); Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital (San Antonio, Texas); Oklahoma City VA HCS (Okla.); Boise VAMC (Idaho); VA Sierra Nevada HCS (Reno, Nev.); VA San Diego HCS (Calif.); and St. Cloud VA HCS (Minn.).  The VHA journey to become an HRO is consistent with national safety goals set forth by the Joint Commission, an independent, nonprofit organization that accredits and certifies approximately 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S.  In addition to a safer environment focused on reducing errors and preventing patient harm, HRO principles and values call for deference to expertise; oftentimes, the patient’s family caregiver is that expert. HRO will empower Veterans and their family caregivers, along with employees who work hands-on with Veterans, to make decisions and impact improvements that aim for excellent care for every patient, every time.


cnsnews--2019-08-29--HHS Warns Vt Medical Center After it Allegedly Forced a Nurse to Assist in Abortion

HHS Warns Vt. Medical Center After it Allegedly 'Forced a Nurse to Assist in Abortion'

(CNSNews.com) -- On Wednesday, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Notice of Violation letter to the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC) because it allegedly forced a nurse to assist in an abortion in violation of her conscience. The OCR demanded that the Medical Center comply with the conscience law or face potential loss of its federal funding, the last cycle of which totaled $1.6 million.  “Forcing medical staff to assist in the taking of human life inflicts a moral injury on them that is not only unnecessary and wrong, it violates longstanding federal law," said OCR Director Roger Severino. "Our investigation has uncovered serious discrimination by UVMMC against nurses and staff who cannot, in good conscience, assist in elective abortions.”  “We stand ready to assist UVMMC in changing its policies and procedures to respect conscience rights and remedy the effects of its discrimination," said Severino.  According to the OCR letter, a nurse at the Medical Center filed a conscience and religious discrimination complaint on May 9, 2018. The complaint contended that the nurse "was forced to assist an abortion in violation of the nurse’s conscience rights."  The OCR subsequently contacted the Medical Center on multiple occasions for more information "but the hospital refused to conform its policies to federal conscience laws, provide all the documents requested by OCR, or produce witnesses for OCR interviews," states the letter.  Despite the Medical Center's apparent lack of cooperation, OCR continued its investigation and reported the following,  -- "UVMMC forced the nurse complainant to assist in an abortion against the nurse’s religious or moral objection. The nurse had expressed an objection for many years and was included in a list of objectors, but UVMMC knowingly assigned the nurse to an abortion procedure. The nurse was not told the procedure was an abortion until the nurse walked into the room, when the doctor -- knowing the nurse objected to assisting in abortions -- told the nurse, 'Don’t hate me.'"  -- "[T]he nurse was required to assist with the abortion anyway. If the nurse had not done so, the nurse reasonably feared UVMMC would fire or report the nurse to licensing authorities."  -- "OCR spoke with several other UVMMC health care personnel who, since at least the spring of 2017, have been intentionally, unnecessarily, and knowingly scheduled by UVMMC to assist with elective abortions against their religious or moral objections. Such personnel were often not told in advance that the procedures they were being assigned to assist with were abortions."  -- "UVMMC maintains a staffing policy that facially violates the Church Amendments because the policy admits to circumstances where UVMMC can and will force staff -- on pain of adverse action or discipline -- to participate in abortions against their moral or religious objections. The policy also violates UVMMC’s agreement, as a condition of receiving HHS funds, to comply with federal law, including the Church Amendments and HHS’s grants regulations."  -- "UVMMC is violating 42 U.S.C. § 300a-7(c)(1) of the Church Amendments by discriminating against health-care personnel who have religious or moral objections to abortion, and subjecting them to different terms or conditions of employment than other health-care personnel."  The OCR gave the Medical Center 30 days to communicate that it would comply with the civil rights office and changes its practices to conform with the law, and "take immediate steps to remedy the effect of its past discriminatory conduct."  If the Medical Center does not comply, the OCR said it would forward the Notice of Violation to the HHS's Health Resources and Service Administration, which provides grant funds to the Center.  "Since October 1998, UVMMC has received -- and continues to receive -- grants from HRSA," stated the OCR.  "For the most recently completed three-year project period, which ended April 30, 2018, UVMMC reported that it cumulatively expended $1.6 million of federal financial assistance."  In a statement given to The Hill, the Medical Center spokeswoman Annie Mackin said, “When the UVM Medical Center first learned of the allegations that are the subject of OCR’s letter, we promptly and thoroughly investigated them and determined that they were not supported by the facts."  “We do not discriminate against any employees for exercising their rights to opt out of procedures to which they object,” said Mackin.  Francis Manion, a lawyer with the American Center for Law & Justice, which is representing the nurse, said, “She suffered immediate emotional distress, attempted to suppress the event psychologically, and has been haunted by nightmares ever since. In addition, her employer has created a hostile environment targeting [redacted] and other employees who conscientiously object to participating in abortion procedures.”


greenwichtime--2019-11-07--New medical center in Greenwich officially opens

GREENWICH — Yale New Haven Health hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday to officially open the newly renovated West Putnam Medical Center, which offers patients local access to cardiac, primary care, pediatric, endoscopy, laboratory, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitation services under one roof.  About 170 people attended the grand opening of the outpatient facility at 500 W. Putnam Ave., which includes services from Greenwich Hospital, Yale New Haven Health Heart and Vascular Center, Yale Medicine and Northeast Medical Group.  “The future of medicine is in keeping people healthy and out of the hospital. Having a comprehensive outpatient center on the New York/Connecticut border ... empowers the health of our community,” said Norman G. Roth, Greenwich Hospital’s president and chief executive officer.  Greenwich Hospital provides diagnostic imaging, laboratory, physical medicine and endoscopy services at West Putnam Medical Center.  Dr. Keith Churchwell, executive director of Yale New Haven Heart and Vascular Center, said access to heart and vascular services from Yale Medicine specialists had “grown exponentially” with the opening of the Greenwich facility. The center includes general cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and other physicians.  “The ability to build a heart and vascular center in collaboration with our partners in primary care, obstetrics and pediatrics is a dream come true,” he said.  Prathibha Varkey, president and chief executive officer of Northeast Medical Group, said the multispecialty facility provided an “incredible opportunity to be part of the community and be with our patients when they are going through illness or interested in enhancing their health.”  Northeast Medical Group has an internal medicine practice at West Putnam Medical Center and an obstetrics/gynecology practice will open at the site in January.  West Putnam Medical Center also houses the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital Pediatric Specialty Center and Greenwich Hospital’s Pediatric Outpatient Center, which both opened last year. The YNHCH Pediatric Specialty Center provides children and their families with access to nationally ranked specialties. The Greenwich Hospital Pediatric Center provides care to thousands of under- and uninsured children each year.


sputnik--2019-05-07--Scabies Scare At Least 13 People Impacted by Mites at DC Medical Center

Scabies Scare: At Least 13 People ‘Impacted’ by Mites at DC Medical Center

According to NBC, at least one patient and at least a dozen staff members have been diagnosed with scabies infections. In addition, medical teams are following precautions to prevent the disease from spreading to others. However, the 120-bed residential medical center is continuing its operations as usual.  A spokesperson for the veterans hospital did not confirm whether the 12 employees and patient contracted scabies, but instead stated that they were "impacted" by it.  According to a report by DisabledVeterans.org, the Washington DC VA Medical Center has multiple sanitary issues, including failing to use "proper protocol to remove recalled supplies and equipment" as well as "failing to ensure supplies are sterile."  According to the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), scabies is caused by an infestation of the skin by a mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis). The scabies mite burrows its way into the upper layer of skin, where it lays its eggs. Scabies symptoms include "intense itching" and a "pimple-like skin rash." The rash is usually found on the wrist, elbow, armpits, penis, nipples, waist and buttocks, as well as in between the fingers.  The disease is usually spread by "direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact" with an infected person or exposure to infected bedding, clothing or even furniture, according to the CDC.  Scabies can also lead to potentially dangerous complications. "The intense itching of scabies leads to scratching that can lead to skin sores. The sores sometimes become infected with bacteria on the skin, such as Staphylococcus aureus or beta-hemolytic streptococci. Sometimes the bacterial skin infection can lead an inflammation of the kidneys called post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis," the CDC warns on its website.  The infection is treated with scabicide lotion or cream, which can kill scabies mites and eggs.


thehuffingtonpost--2019-11-17--Trump Visits Walter Reed Medical Center For Unannounced Exam

President Donald Trump on Saturday made an unannounced trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a routine exam, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said.  The two-hour visit to the Bethesda, Maryland, hospital included lab work and was not on Trump’s schedule, according to The New York Times.  In an appearance on Fox News, Grisham said the president was preparing for “a really busy year ahead” by getting “a head start with some routine checkups as part of his annual exam.”  “He is healthy as can be,” she added. “He’s got more energy than anybody in the White House.”  Fox News opinion host Jeanine Pirro, a staunch defender of the Trump administration, praised the president as “almost superhuman.”  White House Press Secretary says Trump has "more energy than anybody else in the White House" and Jeanine Pirro says "he's almost superhuman" pic.twitter.com/i5hUOuqAFU — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) November 17, 2019  In a midnight tweet on Sunday, Trump said he had been visiting “a great family of a young man under major surgery” at Walter Reed. The patient is a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who was wounded in Afghanistan, CNN reported.  While there, Trump said he “began phase one of my yearly physical.”  Visited a great family of a young man under major surgery at the amazing Walter Reed Medical Center. Those are truly some of the best doctors anywhere in the world. Also began phase one of my yearly physical. Everything very good (great!). Will complete next year. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019  Trump’s previous physical in February, which also took place at Walter Reed, was on his public schedule.  Sean Conley, a Navy officer and the president’s personal doctor, said in a memo at the time that he determined in the four-hour exam that Trump was “in very good health” and anticipated that he would “remain so for the duration of his Presidency, and beyond.”


thehuffingtonpost--2019-11-19--Trump's Doctor Says Unannounced Exam At Walter Reed Medical Center Was 'Routine'

President Donald Trump’s physician on Monday released a note about the president’s unannounced examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center two days earlier amid “some speculation” about his health.  Dr. Sean Conley, in a memo to White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, said Trump’s visit to the Bethesda, Maryland, hospital was for a “routine, planned interim checkup as part of the regular, primary preventative care he receives throughout the year.”  “Due to scheduling uncertainties, the trip was kept off the record,” Conley wrote. “Despite some speculation, the President has not had any chest pain, nor was he evaluated or treated for any urgent or acute issues. Specifically, he did not undergo any specialized cardiac or neurologic evaluation.”  Trump’s annual physical exam was on his public schedule last year, causing some to wonder whether the president had a medical issue that prompted the weekend Walter Reed visit.  Grisham denied anything was wrong with the president during an appearance Saturday on Fox News.  “We’ve got a really busy year ahead,” Grisham said, “and so the president decided to go to Walter Reed and kind of get a head start with some routine checkups as part of his annual exam.”  Conley wrote in his memo that a summary of results for Trump’s lab tests and exams would be incorporated in a full report next year, but he provided the president’s cholesterol levels, which have improved since last year.  The president has total cholesterol of 165 (mg/dL) and his LDL or “bad” cholesterol is 84, Conley wrote. At his physical in February, Trump’s total cholesterol was 196, down from 223 in January 2018. His LDL was 122 in February, a decrease from 143 a year earlier.  Doctors recommend a total cholesterol level in adults below 200 and an LDL between 70 and 130.  “Primary preventative care is something that occurs continuously throughout the year,” Conley wrote. “It is not just a single event. As such, I will continue to monitor the President’s health, planning a more comprehensive examination after the New Year.”


themoscowtimes--2019-07-24--Putins Eldest Daughter Steps In as Shareholder of 634M Medical Centers Developer

Putin’s Eldest Daughter Steps In as Shareholder of $634M Medical Center's Developer

Nomeko, a contraction of the Russian phrase for ‘new medical company,’ was founded in January 2019 and is closely involved in the state-of-the-art medical center’s development. The center will be located in the Leningrad region and is expected to be equipped with advanced cancer treatment technology.  President Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter Maria Vorontsova has taken her first steps into the business world as a shareholder of a new firm developing a $634 million medical center near St. Petersburg, BBC Russia has reported.  Nomeko may become the 40 billion ruble center’s managing company, BBC Russia reported on Wednesday.  The 200,000-square-meter complex will be able to hold 20,000 patients and carry out 10,000 operations a year. It will include an oncology center, a multidisciplinary clinic, a rehabilitation and sports center, an educational complex and a nuclear medicine center.  “It will be like a hypermarket of medical services, everything will be provided from diagnostic and polyclinic services to the most complex types of medical care,” Gleb Mikhailik, the founder of a chain of high-profile clinics, told BBC Russia.  Little is publicly known about Vorontsova, who has never been officially confirmed as Putin’s daughter. She is most known for her work in medicine and endocrinology.  One of the project’s primary investors, the insurance company Sogaz, is partially owned by Putin’s friend, the banker Yury Kovalchuk. To date, the firm has invested 30 billion rubles ($476 million) in the project, BBC Russia reported.  Vladislav Baranov, the managing director of Sogaz’s subsidiary company SogazMedicine, is one of five shareholders in Nomeko, each of whom holds a 20% stake in the company.  The center is expected to be up and running by 2021, BBC Russia reported.


truepundit--2019-04-29--Veteran takes his own life outside Cleveland VA Medical Center

CLEVELAND– The Cleveland VA Medical Center reports a veteran took his own life outside the Wade Park emergency department Monday morning.  An email about the incident was sent to employees around 10 a.m.  The VA center reports they have grief counselors on site.  Due to privacy regulations, the VA cannot provide further details. – READ MORE


veteranstoday--2019-08-28--VA Murdering Patients at Medical Center in West Virginia 11 dead so far

VA Murdering Patients at Medical Center in West Virginia (11 dead so far)

Editor’s note:Our sources say 11 veterans have been murdered by a serial killer VA employee.  The vets, none diabetics, were murdered with fatal doses of insulin administered by force by a serial killer who is still on the VA payroll but “limited to non-contact with patients.”  However, local law enforcement has deemed this a homicide and has taken a slightly different tack than the VA has.  Similar cases at VA facilities have been covered up many many times.  Our suggestion for the VA is that supervisors and administrators be given a class that teaches them to report serial killers among their staff and to begin cooperating with local authorities when staff members and subordinates go on mass murder sprees.  Simply killing patients, something the VA is very good at or hiring SWAT teams for VA facilities to intimidate irate victims of malpractice is probably no longer going to be enough.  CNN: The US Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating 11 suspicious deaths at a medical center in West Virginia, according to a statement from Sen. Joe Manchin’s office.


abcnews--2019-11-08--10 hospitalized from Oklahoma facility after flu shot mix-up

Ten people at an Oklahoma care facility for people with intellectual disabilities were hospitalized after they were apparently accidentally injected with what's believed to be insulin rather than flu shots, authorities said.  Emergency responders were called Wednesday afternoon to the Jacquelyn House in Bartlesville, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Tulsa, on a report of an unresponsive person and found "multiple unresponsive people," Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles said.  The facility had contracted with an experienced pharmacist to administer the influenza vaccine, Roles said, but all received injections of what's believed to be insulin instead. Roles said the pharmacist is cooperating with police but that investigators believe it was an accident.  The eight residents and two staff members were taken to a Bartlesville hospital, and officials said that all have either been released or will be soon.  "I've never seen where there's been some sort of medical misadventure to this magnitude," Roles said. "It could have been worse. Not to downplay where we are, but thinking of where we could be, it certainly could have been very tragic."  A similar mishap occurred in September in Indianapolis, when 16 students were mistakenly injected with insulin during a tuberculosis skin test.  Insulin is typically administered to someone with diabetes, a disease in which blood sugar levels are too high. The side effects of a too high injection of insulin includes sweating, nervousness, hunger and irritability and in severe cases, confusion and loss of consciousness, according to the Mayo Clinic.


drudgereport--2019-08-01--Can diet help cancer treatment Study in mice offers clues

Can diet help cancer treatment? Study in mice offers clues...

The study found restricting intake of an amino acid found in red meat and eggs significantly enhanced cancer treatment in mice, slowing tumour growth.  Diet is already a key part of managing diseases like diabetes and hypertension, but new research adds to a growing body of evidence that it could help cancer treatment too.  The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature, found restricting intake of an amino acid found in red meat and eggs significantly enhanced cancer treatment in mice, slowing tumour growth.  "These are very strong effects, and they are effects that are as strong as we would see with drugs that work," said lead researcher Jason Locasale, an associate professor at Duke University's School of Medicine.  "What this study is showing is that there are many situations where a drug by itself doesn't work, but if you combine the drug with the diet, it works, or the radiation therapy doesn't work well, but if you combine... with the diet, it works well," he told AFP.  The study focused on restricting intake of the amino acid methionine which is key to a process called one-carbon metabolism that helps cancer cells grow.  Methionine restriction has already been associated with both anti-aging and weight loss, but its importance to cancerous cells suggested it could also be a promising way to enhance cancer treatment.  The researchers first tested methionine restriction in healthy mice to confirm it was having the desired effects on metabolism and then moved to testing it in mice with colorectal cancer and soft tissue sarcomas.  They found that a low dose of chemotherapy, which on its own had no effect on colorectal cancer, led to "marked inhibition of tumour growth" when combined with methionine restriction.  Similarly, combining methionine restriction with radiation therapy in the case of the soft tissue sarcoma reduced tumour growth.  "You're starving the cancer cells of certain nutrients, at a very basic level," explained Locasale.  He cautioned that the results should not be extrapolated beyond the cancers tested so far, and that the research was far from being tested in humans.  "This is certainly not a be-all, end-all to cancer, this is not some panacea," he said.  "What it's showing is that there are very interesting interactions between the food we eat, how it changes metabolism... and then how those changes in cellular metabolism might have an effect on tumour growth."  Independent experts also warned against reading too much into the study just yet.  "Before drawing any conclusions about the potential for dietary restriction as an approach to treating cancer, human studies are needed," said Paul Pharoah, a professor of Cancer Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge.  Locasale and his colleagues extended the research by testing a methionine restricted diet in six healthy humans, and found that the effect on human metabolism appeared similar to that seen in mice.  That suggests that the diet could have a similar effect on certain tumours in humans, though Locasale warned it was far too early to draw any definitive conclusions.  And Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King's College London, warned that "there is no evidence from this study to suggest following a vegan diet with help patients with cancer."  Locasale said he hoped to eventually test the research in humans with cancer, but noted that nutrition research often struggles for funding because it proposes treatments that are not easily monetizable.  Still, he said the work adds to a body of research that suggests diet may play an important role in cancer treatment.  Last year, a study showed one type of chemotherapy drug was more effective in combination with a diet low in sugar and high in protein and fat. Other cancers appear to be better combatted in combination with low-sugar diets.  "It's just a really exciting area right now... where we're seeing that diet has a huge effect on human health," Locasale said.  He hopes for a future where doctors will eventually be able to advise cancer patients to follow specific diets to assist their treatment.  "We're not there yet, but the goal is to eventually get there."


naturalnews--2019-01-10--Study suggests that a dietary boost can reshape gut microbiome to enhance the bodys ability to figh

Study suggests that a dietary boost can reshape gut microbiome to enhance the body's ability to fight disease

(Natural News) The food you eat nourishes gut bacteria, and these bacteria then produce essential nutrients that fight off pathogens, guide immune responses, and keep you healthy. Now, according to a study by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine, it may be possible to manipulate gut bacteria and prevent disease.  In theory, learning how and why certain bacterial strains humans ingest can thrive in the large intestine while others are rejected may help scientists find out how to manipulate the makeup of thousands of bacterial species to boost overall health or help prevent diseases. However, gut ecology is complex, making this task seem impossible.  For the study, researchers tested laboratory mice to find out they can manipulate the mice’s diet to influence the engraftment of a particular bacterial strain.  The team of researchers shared that they have discovered how to control how much a bacterium grows in the intestine by adjusting the amount of a specific carbohydrate in each mouse’s food or water.  Dr. Justin Sonnenburg, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, explained that everyone has a microbial community in their gut that formed in an uncontrolled manner during the first few years of life. As you grow older, you continue to acquire new strains.  However, this acquisition is “a poorly orchestrated and not-well-understood process.” Dr. Sonnenburg posited that the study results imply that it is possible to reshape the microbiome to boost health and fight off disease. (Related: Gut bacteria “signatures” predict how the body will respond to poor food choices, predicting risk for diabetes, heart disease.)  100% organic essential oil sets now available for your home and personal care, including Rosemary, Oregano, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Clary Sage and more, all 100% organic and laboratory tested for safety. A multitude of uses, from stress reduction to topical first aid. See the complete listing here, and help support this news site.  The growing field of probiotics, which involves beneficial live bacterial cultures naturally found in food like yogurt or supplements, illustrates the need for the public to be educated on the importance of gut bacteria. Not everyone takes probiotics or consumes yogurt, but everyone “unknowingly consumes low levels of gut-adapted microbes” throughout their life. Regardless of the source, experts still don’t know why one bacterial strain is more successful over another.  Dr. Sonnenburg et al. wanted to find out if a dietary boost could help certain bacterial strains survive in the human gut microbiome. The team started the study by visiting the San Jose Wastewater Treatment Facility to acquire members of the genus Bacteroides. This is the most prominent genus in the human gut microbiota.  The researchers searched for strains that can digest nori, an ingredient relatively rare in American diets. Nori is nutritious, and the seaweed is often used in sushi rolls and other Japanese foods. A separate study has determined that four grams of nori contain 2.4 micrograms (mcg), or 100 percent of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) of vitamin B12.  Researchers screened the bacteria collected in the primary effluent to find a strain that can use porphyran, a carbohydrate found in nori. Dr. Sonnenburg said that in humans, the genes that allow a bacterium to digest porphyran are very rare in people who don’t usually consume seaweed. He added that this let the researchers test how they can bypass the rules of complex ecosystems.  To do so, the researchers created “a privileged niche that could favor a single microbe by allowing it to exist in the absence of competition from the 30 trillion other microbes in the gut.”  After the researchers identified a strain of Bacteroides that could consume nori, the team tried to introduce the seaweed into three groups of laboratory mice.  Two mice groups had their own gut bacteria eliminated and replaced with the naturally occurring gut bacteria taken from two healthy human donors. Both individuals donated exclusively to each mice group. The third group of mice retained a conventional mouse-specific community of gut microbiota.  The test results showed that when the mice were fed a typical diet, the strain that could digest porphyran engrafted in two groups of mice to varying and limited degrees. One mice group with human gut bacteria completely rejected the new strain. Meanwhile, the mice group that followed a diet enriched with porphyran-rich diet produced significantly different results: the bacteria steadily engrafted at similar levels in all the mice.  Dr. Sonnenburg also said that she was able to “precisely calibrate” the population size of the engrafted bacteria by changing the amount of nori that the animals consumed. She noted that the results of the dilution experiment were extraordinary and that it clearly showed the direct effect of diet on the bacterial population.  After the researchers confirmed that they could manipulate the engraftment and growth of the bacterial strain, they also managed to prove that the genes required for the digestion of porphyran exist as a unit. These genes could be engineered into other Bacteroides strains to give them the same engraftment advantage. The researchers are now trying to identify other genes that may give similar dietary abilities.  Dr. Sonnenburg stated that for the past decade, gut microbes had been proven to be connected to various aspects of human biology. Thanks to the study, the research team was also able to show that these bacteria are “very malleable.” The research team is hopeful that their discovery can be used to revolutionize how precision health is practiced.  The study was published in the journal Nature.  You can browse more articles about nori and other foods with various health benefits at Healing.news.


naturalnews--2019-01-19--Research suggests that even short term exposure to the standard Western diet increases risk for dise

Research suggests that even short term exposure to the standard Western diet increases risk for disease

(Natural News) As the Western diet becomes increasingly prevalent, a new study has revealed that even short-term exposure to unhealthy foods may still raise the odds of developing cardiometabolic disorders such as diabetes and heart disease. The study funded by the American Heart Association (AHA) focuses on the effects of excessive fat and sugar intake on the female population, which is known to possess protective hormones that reduce the risk of cardiovascular conditions.  As part of the study, a team of researchers at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) examined female rats fed with a meal supplement that resembled the ingredients of the typical American diet. According to the researchers, the animal models were regularly given pellets that looked and smelled like fast food French fries for five months. Another set of rats were used as a control group and were given regular supplements.  The findings showed that rats exhibited common diabetes symptoms such as blood vessel damage and high blood pressure following short-term exposure to the western diet. The research team also observed that the rats developed about four times more abdominal fat compared with the control group. However, the scientists found that the sick rats did not even appear to be outwardly obese. The sick rats likewise did not show typical diabetes markers such as increased blood glucose levels and hemoglobin A1c levels. The findings suggest that the negative effects of western diet may set in long before the more traditional disease markers manifest, the researchers say.  Mother Nature's micronutrient secret: Organic Broccoli Sprout Capsules now available, delivering 280mg of high-density nutrition, including the extraordinary "sulforaphane" and "glucosinolate" nutrients found only in cruciferous healing foods. Every lot laboratory tested. See availability here.  “Our findings suggest that short-term exposure to the western diet can put individuals at risk for developing vascular damage long before the tell-tale signs of diabetes are present. This may explain why some diabetics who successfully manage their blood glucose still experience other cardiovascular diseases, like hypertension, even while receiving treatment,” researcher Maria Alicia Carrillo Sepulveda told Science Daily online.  The results also highlight the importance of osteopathic medical education, which not only focuses on disease management but also trains physicians to consider the consequences of the disease and the effects they have on the patients’ health care and lifestyle. (Related: TOXIC FOOD is killing humanity: One-fifth of global deaths now linked to processed junk food and toxic ingredients.)  “This experiment reminds us that focusing solely on one aspect of disease does not adequately tell the complete story of one’s health. Without the presence of traditional biomarkers, there were still multiple indications suggesting the onset of prediabetes, and we would have been unaware of dire medical conditions had we simply been looking for the conventional signs. Translating the study results to potential patients, the problem is the food our patients are eating. If we can educate and encourage them to make better food choices, we can play a key role in the prevention of the development of diabetes,” researcher Benjamin Kramer adds.  Adopting a better lifestyle and choosing healthier food items such as fruits and vegetables in place of oily and sugary foods may well reduce the risk of diseases associated with western diet. An article posted on the Help Guide website has listed a few tips to improve dietary patterns and the body’s overall health. These tips include: