Category Archives: planetkillers

GM bacteria could help mass produce hookworm drugs

(Cure the problem created by too many antibiotics and pesticides in agriculture by using genetic engineering to “create” a new anti-bacteria-bacteria? Who is kidding who? Oh, your house is sliding away down the hill because of our  poor engineering? We have engineered a new earth stabilizer for just that problem…)

Researchers have produced a protein that kills parasitic intestinal worms, by genetically engineering a bacterium similar to those used in probiotics — raising hopes of more effective and safer therapies for infections that affect up to two billion people worldwide.

“There is a growing number of drug resistant parasites.”

Rose Gomes Monnerat  The protein, Cry5B, has previously been shown to kill parasitic worms. It is normally produced by Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium used as an insecticide and not considered safe for use in people.

via GM bacteria could help mass produce hookworm drugs.

Study: MERS virus match seen in Saudi Arabian bat | News , Health | THE DAILY STAR

Since it was identified last September, the respiratory illness has sickened nearly 100 people, most of them in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. About half of them died.

No cases have been reported in the United States.

Bats have been a suspected carrier of the virus for some time because they are known to carry viruses similar to MERS. They also harbor other deadly viruses, including rabies and SARS.

Still, discovery of a genetic match doesn’t mean bats are the direct culprit.

“There is no evidence of direct exposure to bats in the majority of human cases of MERS,” Memish said in a statement.

via Study: MERS virus match seen in Saudi Arabian bat | News , Health | THE DAILY STAR.

 

This has been so obvious – the outbreak began in area that has thousands of acres devoted to growing some of the best dates in the world. and the bat love them as much as we do. Direct exposure is not necessary… these types of viruses are passed along by exposure of humans and other animals to the feces and urine of the bats on the ground, in the water, and on the fruit.

U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

While dogs work as effective sentries on land, dolphins and sea lions cannot be outmatched as sentries in the water. In the MK 6 MMS, dolphins and sea lions effectively protect piers, ships, harbors, and anchorages against unauthorized swimmers, SCUBA divers, closed-circuit divers, and swimmer delivery vehicles.

via U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program.

Ecuador to begin Drilling Amazon Oil Field | Use Celsias.com – reduce global °Celsius

The national park that is nearly 10,000km2 is one of the most bio diverse places on the planet, holding a larger variety of species then the entirety of North America. The Yasuni National Park has been listed as UNESCO Biosphere reserve since 1989.

 

Mr. Correa was quick to point the figure at the global community stating, “It was not charity that we sought from the international community, but co-responsibility in the face of climate change.”

via Ecuador to begin Drilling Amazon Oil Field | Use Celsias.com – reduce global °Celsius.

Cambodia reports new human cases of H1N1 avian flu | Vaccine News Daily

The Kingdom of Cambodia’s Ministry of Health reported two new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, the 15th and 16th cases of 2013, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The 15th case was in a nine-year-old boy from the Damnak Dangkor Village in the Battambang province. The boy carried dead and sick chickens and ducks from a cage for food preparation before becoming sick. He developed fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and dyspnea, and is now in stable condition after hospitalization and treatment with Tamiflu.

The 16th case was in a five-year-old girl from Knong Prek Village in the Kandal province. There were recent deaths among poultry in her village which may have caused her infection.

The girl developed fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea and dyspnea. She was hospitalized and treated with Tamiflu, and is currently in critical condition.

via Cambodia reports new human cases of H1N1 avian flu | Vaccine News Daily.

Energy Bars of the Sea | Earthjustice

Packed with solar energy they absorbed from eating plankton, the forage fish are delicious to just about everything bigger than themselves. As Earthjustice attorney Andrea Treece describes, they are “wheaties for whales and powerbars for pinnipeds (seals and sea lions).”

They are the ocean’s larder and, says Treece, “Salmon, tuna, swordfish, halibut and even humpback whales need a fully stocked pantry to survive.”

Problem is, these same forage fish are being overfished to feed land-based creatures, bringing Earthjustice into the fight to keep the ocean well-stocked. To understand the role forage fish play, a little ocean ecology is helpful.

via Energy Bars of the Sea | Earthjustice.

Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions | Asia | DW.DE | 15.08.2013

At up to 60 US dollars per animal, dog meat is considered to be an aphrodisiac in Vietnam, where it remains a popular dish. But what the Hanoi middle-classes don’t know as they tuck into the delicacy is where the meat has come from.

Over the past few years, an illegal dog meat trade has flourished across Asia worth millions of dollars, which experts say is unnecessarily cruel and carries a rising risk to public health.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of pet dogs and strays are being rounded up by criminal syndicates in neighboring Thailand every year. With only a small domestic demand for dog meat, it’s much more profitable to send them abroad, say animal rights groups.

via Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions | Asia | DW.DE | 15.08.2013.

IPS – Study Finds Many “Bee-Friendly” Plants Laced with Pesticide | Inter Press Service

Researchers with Friends of the Earth U.S. and the Pesticide Research Institute say that more than half of the nursery plants studied contained residues of “neonicotinoid” pesticides, a substance increasingly thought to be contributing to mass die-offs of global honey bee populations.

via IPS – Study Finds Many “Bee-Friendly” Plants Laced with Pesticide | Inter Press Service.

Boko Haram militants kill 44 in mosque, challenge Obama | News | DW.DE | 12.08.2013

The video, received by journalists on Monday, shows leader Abubakar Shekau refute speculation that he might have been killed. “You have not killed Shekau,” he said, saying that Boko Haram was responsible for several deadly attacks in recent months.

Shekau – who is said to lead the group’s most radical faction – boasted that his insurgents were stronger than the Nigerian military and that they were now strong enough to confront the US.

“I’m challenging Obama,” Shekau said, issuing similar challenges to French President Francois Hollande and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “They are no match for me.”

via Boko Haram militants kill 44 in mosque, challenge Obama | News | DW.DE | 12.08.2013.

(Ummm… I am thinking he should not have said that. By and by this has to stop.)

Detroit Zoo Halts Bottled Water Sale, Cites Waste

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Zoo says it’s giving up a $240,000-annual revenue stream when it stops selling bottled water to visitors.

Operators of the 125-acre zoo in suburban Royal Oak say they’re acting to cut back on what is the “largest contributor to plastic waste.”

“This phase-out will cost us revenue, but it’s important to walk our talk and do what’s good for the environment,” zoo Executive Director Ron Kagan said in a statement.

The zoo says it will sell reusable water bottles that can be filled with filtered water at seven locations.

“We understand that this will be an adjustment for some visitors, but we hope it will help in a simple but significant way to make a difference for the planet,” said Kagan.

In its announcement, the zoo described bottled water as a major waste disposal problem nationwide.

“According to the Earth Policy Institute, more than 30 billion water bottles each year end up as garbage or litter in the United States,” he zoo said. “Additionally, it takes 5 liters of water to make 1 liter of bottled water, and it requires about a quarter of a water bottle of oil to produce, transport and dispose of a single bottle of water. ”

via Detroit Zoo Halts Bottled Water Sale, Cites Waste.