All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

The Surprising Gut Microbes of African Hunter-Gatherers | Science | WIRED

That’s not to say you should start stocking up on exotic roots, berries, and wild game hoping to create the perfect balance of beneficial bacteria for your belly. Crittenden and her research partners warn against turning their research into a diet, even if the link between the Hadza’s gut microbiome and their lower rates of gastrointetinal illness prove true. “Even if you try to emulate the diet of the Hadza, you’re not living in the environment,” explained Amanda Henry, a dietary ecologist from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and a co-author of the study. “There are transfers from the soils, from the animals.” In other words, it’s not just what the Hadza eat that contribute to their remarkable gut flora, it’s where and how they are eating it, too.

Among the communities of gut microbiomes that have been sampled — from Americans to Italians to Koreans to vegans — the Hadza’s is drastically different. But, what really surprised the researchers was how different the gut communities were between the sexes. The females had much higher levels of several bacteria known to break down fibrous veggies. Both sexes eat copious amounts of tuborous roots, the women do most of the digging, while the men hunt or collect honey. ”Even though both groups bring food back to camp, they both snack, so they both eat more of what they collect,” Henry said. For the research team, this was just more evidence of how much the gut biota can vary, even between people who spend their entire lives eating different quantities of roughly the same diet.

This research is provocative, but there is a lot more work before the many new questions it raises can bring us answers about the human gut. Henry says she’d like to get samples from more people, and across a broader swath of time. “We really need to look at how gut microbiomes vary by season,” she said.

via The Surprising Gut Microbes of African Hunter-Gatherers | Science | WIRED.

Scores of girls abducted from Nigerian school by suspected Islamist rebels | News | DW.DE | 15.04.2014

Sick!

Suspected Islamist rebels have abducted at least 100 girls from a secondary school in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state, according to local officials. The assailants are believed to be members of Boko Haram.

The attackers arrived early in the morning on Tuesday with a large truck at the girls’ college in the village of Chibok, approximately 70 miles (113 km) southwest of Maiduguri, according to local police spokesman Gideon Jibrin. He added that the girls were forced into the vehicle, though some were able to escape.

via Scores of girls abducted from Nigerian school by suspected Islamist rebels | News | DW.DE | 15.04.2014.

Apparent Hate Crime Aimed at Jews Instead Strikes Christians Who Gave to Others – NYTimes.com

William L. Corporon was a longtime family doctor, but to his family, he was Popeye, a nickname bestowed by a grandson, Reat Underwood.

{Haters are not all that smart and remember all those innocents killed over the years by racist haters}

On Sunday, it was Popeye who was drafted to take Reat to audition for KC SuperStar, a singing competition for high school students in the Kansas City area. A member of church and school choirs and an actor in summer theater productions in the park, Reat had wanted to try out for years. Now, as a 14-year-old high school freshman, he was finally old enough.

Dressed in a coat and tie, he had prepared a song called “You’re Going to Miss Me When I’m Gone,” which he sang for his mother on Sunday. She kissed him goodbye. Then he jumped into his grandfather’s truck.

But in early afternoon, the authorities say, Reat and his grandfather were both fatally shot in the parking lot outside the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kan., where the audition was being held.

via Apparent Hate Crime Aimed at Jews Instead Strikes Christians Who Gave to Others – NYTimes.com.

Game of drones: Why Google and Facebook are going head-to-head for control of the skies – The Times of India

Both Facebook and Google have said that they are interested in using these craft to supply internet access to remote areas of the world, and although there’s a straightforward commercial interest for both companies (more internet means more customers after all), quite how ground-breaking and useful the technology they’re investing in is not yet fully understood.

Because they’re unmanned and remotely controlled, these aircraft are often thought of as drones, but really it makes more sense to think of them semi-permanent, atmospheric satellites. Unlike drones they’re not capable of nimble flight, of darting back and forth over a target; instead they’re more akin to massive, delicate gliders, taking off from regular airfields but then pretty much left to their own devices.

Although Titan Aerospace previously said it was not expecting to begin any commercial operations until 2015, it’s their aircraft that we’ve heard most about (far less is known about Ascenta), with their solar-powered Solara 50 and Solara 60 boasting wingspans greater than a Boeing 767 with solar-panels on the top of the craft keeping them aloft for five years at a time.

via Game of drones: Why Google and Facebook are going head-to-head for control of the skies – The Times of India.

Syria rebels get US-made missiles: source | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

{Not supposed to happen unless, US says OK – part of every agreement to sell or supply them. So, US is saying OK or this it is simply not true and is spin to try and get it to happen. Interesting that the information is released just after Assad claims government will win in a year.}

“Moderate, well-organised fighters from the Hazm movement have for the first time received more than 20 TOW anti-tank missiles from a Western source,” the source said on condition of anonymity, and without specifying who had supplied the rockets.

via Syria rebels get US-made missiles: source | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR.

Caught on video – Gunmen terrorize Brazilian Indians – Survival International

A violent gang of gunmen who have been terrorizing a community of Brazilian Indians since they returned to their ancestral land has been caught on video. The gang is believed to be employed by the rancher occupying the Guarani Indians’ land, which was seized from them in the 1970s, and cleared for ranching.

Last Monday one of the members of the community of Pyelito Kuê managed to film the gunmen driving past their village and firing shots at them in broad daylight.

via Caught on video – Gunmen terrorize Brazilian Indians – Survival International.

Watch: Christian groups decry Israeli restrictions ahead of Easter | Maan News Agency

“There is no more freedom for Christians in reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Benayot added, stressing how the combination of checkpoints and police violence had deterred many Christians from coming during the holy week leading up to Easter.

Every year, millions of Christians — including tens of thousands of Palestinian Christians — converge upon the holy city to mark the holiest days of the Christian calendar.

In recent years, however, these celebrations have been marred by violence, and at times Israeli authorities have even banned Palestinian Christians from entering the city to celebrate their holidays, even while allowing foreign pilgrims in.

Benayot said that last year when he tried to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he was assaulted at a checkpoint Israeli forces had erected.

via Watch: Christian groups decry Israeli restrictions ahead of Easter | Maan News Agency.

WHO | Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 228 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 92 deaths.

via WHO | Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update.

Close to matching ebola outbreak – and have much better medical facilities – humans creating opportunities for outbreaks?

Chile president declares state of emergency in Valparaiso as deadly fire ravage hilltops | News | DW.DE | 14.04.2014

“This could be the worst fire in the city’s history,” Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told reporters late Sunday as smoke continued to billow from the city’s hilltops where fires had broken out the day before, stoked by high temperatures and strong winds.

“The people of Valparaiso have courage, have strength and they aren’t alone,” Bachalet added.

Since Saturday, at least 12 people have been killed in the fires, according to Chile’s interior ministry. It warned that the death toll could rise once rescue teams could begin searching for missing persons.

The disaster has driven 8,000 people from their homes into now overflowing shelters. Initial figures put the number of homes destroyed so far between 500 and 2,000.

President Bachalet authorized the deployment of 2,000 of military personnel to assist firefighters in their emergency operation.

A blaze quickly swept across an underdeveloped area above the city center on Saturday, which lacks proper water and natural gas supplies. The neighborhoods situated on the affected hilltops proved a challenge for emergency responders who often could not gain access to the narrow streets with fire trucks.

Valparaiso, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its cobblestone streets and colorful architecture. Its historic district has been spared from the disaster thus far.

via Chile president declares state of emergency in Valparaiso as deadly fire ravage hilltops | News | DW.DE | 14.04.2014.

Crop Art Size of 80 Footballs Fields Heartland Message: #NoKXL

A large crop art image—the size of 80 football field—with the message “HEARTLAND #NoKXL” has been created to send President Barack Obama a message to protect the Heartland by saying no to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Created by the Cowboy and Indian Alliance, the image art is located in Neligh, Nebraska.

The crop art is directly on the proposed path of Keystone XL, which also crosses the Ponca Trail of Tears.

via Crop Art Size of 80 Footballs Fields Heartland Message: #NoKXL.