Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Found in Fertilizer Could Breed More Super Bugs
July 9, 2009
Natural News
by S. L. Baker
Waste-water treatment by-products, also known as sewage sludge, are frequently used as fertilizer. And that means whatever this stew of sewage leftovers contains, including substances hazardous to human and animal health, could potentially get into the food supply.
According to research just published in the European medical journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, that exact scenario may have already happened. Scientists have recently found antibiotic resistant super bugs in sewage sludge — and they are sounding the alarm about the danger of antibiotic resistance genes passing into the human food chain.
Leena Sahlstrom, from the Finnish Food safety Authority, along with a team of scientists from the Swedish National Veterinary Institute, investigated sewage sludge from a waste-water treatment plant in Uppsala, Sweden. The researchers gathered sludge from the plant each week for four months. Out of the of 77 samples collected, 79 per cent of these tested positive for the drug resistant super bugs known as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), enterococci are bacteria that are normally present in the human intestines and the female genital tract. They can also sometimes be found in the environment. However, if the immune system doesn’t keep these germs in balance, enterococci can gain an upper hand and cause infections of the urinary tract, the bloodstream and wounds — and the resulting illnesses can range from mild to life-threatening.
Vancomycin is an antibiotic long used to treat these infections but some enterococci have become resistant to this drug and evolved into VRE strains. Virtually all VRE infections have become resistant to high levels of several other antibiotics, including ampicillin, too. That means that someone with a serious VRE infection may have to undergo tests to find an antibiotic that will hopefully be effective in treating their specific VRE infection. Although many people recover from VRE infections without any treatment, the CDC notes that some people, especially liver transplant recipients and certain cancer patients, are at particular risk for serious and even fatal VRE infections.
But the risk VRE strains pose by getting into the food supply isn’t only related to the possibility people and animals may get infections from them. The Finnish research points out this disturbing possibility: VRE in the fertilizer-used sewage sludge may pass on their resistance genes to other bacteria, creating a host of new super bugs.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat in veterinary medicine and human healthcare. Resistance genes can spread from animals, through the food-chain, and back to humans. Sewage sludge may act as one link in this chain,” Dr. Sahlstrom said in a statement to the media. “Our results demonstrate a need for more efficient hygienic treatment of sewage sludge, in order to avoid possible spread of antimicrobial resistance through use of sewage sludge on arable land.”
In another new study recently published in Clinical Biology and Infection, researchers point out that antibiotic resistant infections are on the rise and that VRE infections that get into the bloodstream have a particularly negative impact on death rates, length of hospital stays and medical costs.
Click here for the full story from NaturalNews.com
Tests Raise Life Extension Hopes
July 9, 2009
BBC News
A drug discovered in the soil of a South Pacific island may help to fight the ageing process, research suggests.
When US scientists treated old mice with rapamycin it extended their expected lifespan by up to 38%.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, raise the prospect of being able to slow down the ageing process in older people.
However, a UK expert warned against using the drug to try to extend lifespan, as it can suppress immunity.
Rapamycin was first discovered on Easter Island in the 1970s.
It is already used to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients, and in stents implanted into patients to keep their coronary arteries open. It is also being tested as a possible treatment for cancer.
Researchers at three centres in Texas, Michigan and Maine gave the drug to mice at an age equivalent to 60 in humans.
The mice were bred to mimic the genetic diversity and susceptibility to disease of humans as closely as possible.
Rapamycin extended the animals’ expected lifespan by between 28% and 38%.
The researchers estimated that in human terms this would be greater than the predicted increase in extra years of life, if both cancer and heart disease were prevented and cured.
Researcher Dr Arlan Richardson, of the Barshop Institute, said: “I’ve been in ageing research for 35 years and there have been many so-called ‘anti-ageing’ interventions over those years that were never successful.
“I never thought we would find an anti-ageing pill for people in my lifetime; however, rapamycin shows a great deal of promise to do just that.”
Professor Randy Strong, of the University of Texas Health Science Center, said: “We believe this is the first convincing evidence that the ageing process can be slowed and lifespan can be extended by a drug therapy starting at an advanced age.”
Click here for the full report from BBC News.
Scientists Claim Sperm ‘First’
July 8, 2009
BBC News
by Fergus Walsh
Scientists in Newcastle claim to have created human sperm in the laboratory in what they say is a world first.
The researchers believe the work could eventually help men with fertility problems to father a child.
But other experts say they are not convinced that fully developed sperm have been created.
Writing in the journal Stem Cells and Development, the Newcastle team say it will be at least five years before the technique is perfected.
They began with stem cell lines derived from human embryos donated following IVF treatment.
The stem cells had been removed when the embryo was a few days old and were stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen.
The stem cells were brought to body temperature and put in a chemical mixture to encourage them to grow. They were “tagged” with a genetic marker which enabled the scientists to identify and separate so-called “germline” stem cells from which eggs and sperm are developed.
The male, XY stem cells underwent the crucial process of “meiosis” – halving the number of chromosomes. The process over creating and developing the sperm took four to six weeks.
Click here for the full report and video from BBC News.
Billions in Aid Go to Areas That Backed Obama in ’08
July 9, 2009
USA Today
by Brad Heath
“There’s no politics at work when it comes to spending for the recovery,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says.
Counties that supported Obama last year have reaped twice as much money per person from the administration’s $787 billion economic stimulus package as those that voted for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, a USA TODAY analysis of government disclosure and accounting records shows. That money includes aid to repair military bases, improve public housing and help students pay for college.
The reports show the 872 counties that supported Obama received about $69 per person, on average. The 2,234 that supported McCain received about $34.
Investigators who track the stimulus are skeptical that political considerations could be at work. The imbalance is so pronounced — and the aid so far from complete — that it would be almost inconceivable for it to be the result of political tinkering, says Adam Hughes, the director of federal fiscal policy for the non-profit OMB Watch. “Even if they wanted to, I don’t think the administration has enough people in place yet to actually do that,” he says.
“Most of what they’re doing at this point is just stamping the checks and sending them out,” Hughes says.
The stimulus package Obama signed in February includes about $499 billion in new spending, and to date, the Obama administration has allocated about $158 billion to specific projects and programs. Most of that money has gone directly to state governments, which then disperse the money to prevent school layoffs, repair roads and fund social services. That contrasts with the $17 billion that Washington distributes directly to local communities.
Including the larger chunk of money given to state governments, the aid favors states that voted for Obama, which have received about 20% more per person
Not all of the money favors places that supported Obama. About a third of the $17 billion, or $5.5 billion, in contracts that the federal government has signed for projects ranging from repaving runways to cleaning up nuclear waste has gone overwhelmingly to counties that supported McCain.
Jake Wiens, an investigator with the non-profit Project on Government Oversight, says it’s too soon to draw meaningful conclusions about whether the type of aid in the stimulus favors Obama’s constituents.
But, he says, “it will be important to pay close attention as the data come in to ensure that political favoritism plays no role.”
The imbalance didn’t start with the stimulus. From 2005 through 2007, the counties that later voted for Obama collected about 50% more government aid than those that supported McCain, according to spending reports from the U.S. Census Bureau. USA TODAY’s review did not include Alaska, which does not report its election results by county.
Click here for the full report from USA Today.
My Anti-Viral/Influenza Kit
July 8, 2009 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
I would like to share some natural products with you that I use to keep from getting sick or become better in the rare instance I do come down with a virus. Some of these prevent, others cure, and some are responsible for both! These products will help with all sorts of viruses, including influenza. Act fast to protect yourself from the deadlier strain of swine flu coming this fall! Please click on any of the names to be transferred directly to that product.
PREVENTS VIRUSES
Lypo-SphericTM Vitamin C
Guardian of Eden Jutrian Rx Blue
Bio-Alternatives Colloidal Silver
Fermented Wild Mountain Papaya Extract
VIRUS CURES
Miracle Mineral Solution
Guardian of Eden Jutrian Rx Blue
Bio-Alternatives Colloidal Silver
Herb Pharm Virattack™ Compound
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 07-08-09
Ever wonder what really happened between Kevin Trudeau and the FTC? Well, wonder no more. Today, Kevin gives you the unbelievable story of his time in prison and the events that led up to this life altering event.
Plus, find out why…
Physical Detriments Can Occur From Not Having Enough Calcium and Vitamin D
Flax Seed Oil Cures Breast Cancer
Tylenol WILL Kill You
Vitamin D Cuts Risk of Cancer in Half
Vaccinations Cause More Disease Than They Are Curing
Tamiflu is Causing so Many Deaths
United States has Highest Percentage of People in Prison
Also, click here to find Kevin’s recommended Vitamin D supplements and click here for the organic sunscreen he suggested on the show.
Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC at iTunes! Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed to get The Kevin Trudeau Show automatically sent to your player of choice and never miss a must-hear Kevin Trudeau Show!
Click below to hear The Kevin Trudeau Show!
Google to Challenge Microsoft With Computer Operating System
July 8, 2009
Bloomberg
By Brian Womack
Google Inc., owner of the most- visited Internet search engine, is developing a computer operating system based on its Chrome Web browser, taking aim at Microsoft Corp. in its strongest market.
The system will be designed at first for low-cost laptops called netbooks, Google said in a blog post. The company is in talks with partners on the project and computers running the software will be available in the second half of 2010.
The plan escalates Google’s rivalry with Microsoft, which extends to Web search, browsers and business applications such as word processing and spreadsheets. Windows, Microsoft’s flagship product, runs about 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. Google is also trying to spur Web-ad sales after reporting its first sequential revenue drop as a public company.
“There is a possibility that the new OS can break the paradigm Microsoft and Intel created over the past 20 years,” said Yukihiko Shimada, a computer analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo. “There is plenty of business opportunity for Google in this market.”
Google said it’s working with computer makers to introduce a number of netbooks next year, without identifying any of the companies. The Chrome OS will be open-source, meaning the program code will be open to developers, Google said. The software will work on top of the Linux operating system.
Netbook Competition
Frank Shaw, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment. Windows accounted for 28 percent of the company’s $60.4 billion annual revenue in the 12 months ended June 30, 2008.
Microsoft has stepped up its efforts in the netbook market. It said in May it plans to remove a restriction of running three applications at a time on its forthcoming Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is designed for netbooks. The announcement eliminated one of the most significant differences between the basic edition of the operating system and a pricier one.
Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $2.61 to $399.24 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 9:32 a.m. New York time. Microsoft fell 22 cents $22.31. Before today, Google had risen 29 percent this year and Microsoft had added 16 percent.
Online Strategy
The Chrome OS is consistent with Google’s focus on getting people to use software online, which contrasts with Microsoft’s approach of providing programs on the computer itself. Google started offering business software in 2007, allowing users to access spreadsheets and word-processing documents via the Web, just as anyone might access the search engine or Google News.
“We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better,” Google said. “The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no Web.”
Google is trying to encourage people to spend more time online to fuel demand for Internet ads, which accounted for more than 90 percent of its 2008 revenue of $21.8 billion. In the first quarter of this year, Google had its first sequential sales drop since it went public in 2004 as the recession prompted companies to curb advertising spending.
The open-source Chrome OS will probably win over companies that don’t want to pay for Windows, said Jim Friedland, an analyst at Cowen & Co. in New York. The system may also help Google sell Web-based applications, such as the Gmail e-mail service, that run on top of it, he said.
“They really haven’t cracked the enterprise yet,” said Friedland, who rates Google’s shares “outperform” and doesn’t own any. “We’ve seen some inroads around the edges.”
‘More Options’
Computer makers such as Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. already have plans to offer computers running Android, an open- source operating system backed by Google and initially designed for mobile phones. Acer, the world’s second-largest laptop maker, said last month it plans to release a low-cost notebook powered by Android. Asustek Computer has also developed a netbook that runs on Google’s software.
“Having another OS or another interface does create more options, and with the weight of the Google name behind it, does lift its prominence,” said Bryan Ma, a computer analyst at IDC in Singapore.
Google said that while the Chrome OS is separate from Android, the two will overlap in some areas. The Chrome operating system is designed to save users from having to deal with viruses and security updates, Google said.
“Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the Web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems,” Google said. “While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.”
‘Beneficial to Users’
Tony Chen, chief operating officer of Asustek’s notebook unit said by phone the company will consider “anything that’s beneficial to users.” Fujitsu Ltd. spokeswoman Nozomi Endo said the company will monitor market conditions before deciding whether to introduce products using Google’s operating system.
Faith Brewitt, a Dell Inc. spokeswoman, and Hewlett-Packard Co. spokeswoman Liana Teo didn’t answer calls to their Singapore offices. Spokespeople for Acer, Sony Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., NEC Corp., Panasonic Corp., and Toshiba Corp., declined to comment.
The Chrome OS — which will run on traditional Intel Corp.- based x86 chips along with semiconductors designed by ARM Holdings Plc — will work on lightweight netbooks along with more powerful computers, including desktop PCs, Google said.
Google’s Chrome still faces an uphill battle against Microsoft’s browser. Chrome, which was unveiled last year, had 1.2 percent market share in February, compared with 67 percent for Microsoft‘s Internet Explorer, according to research firm Net Applications, which tracks Web statistics.
In May, Microsoft introduced a search engine called Bing that has enhanced shopping, travel and sorting features. Bing’s market share climbed to more than 10 percent in June, according to Comscore Inc.
Google’s search engine is No. 1 in the U.S., holding more than 60 percent market share. Microsoft is No. 3, according to ComScore.
Click here for the full report from Bloomberg.
FDA Warns of Fatal Overdose Risk with Propoxyphene, but Leaves Narcotic on Pharmacy Shelves
July 8, 2009 by mike
Filed under Government
July 8, 2009
ABC News
by Crystal Phend
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has called for a boxed warning of overdose risk on packages of Darvon, Darvocet and other painkillers containing the drug propoxyphene — but it will not order their withdrawal from the market.
The agency ordered manufacturers to study higher-than-expected fatality rates in propoxyphene overdoses compared with other painkillers — and possible toxic effects on the heart in when consumers exceed recommended doses.
However, the FDA rejected a petition from the consumer group Public Citizen calling for phased withdrawal of these products.
In its action, announced during a press briefing on Tuesday, the agency rejected the advice of its own advisory panel, which voted 14-12 for a ban on propoxyphene products because of overdose risk and doubts about their painkilling effectiveness.
Propoxyphene is an opioid painkiller chemically similar to methadone. Some pain specialists, such as Dr. Lloyd Saberski of the Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, criticize propoxyphene as a weak narcotic with no place on the shelf.
“There is no legitimate medical advantage to keeping propoxyphene available,” Saberski said. “You are much better off using small amounts of a potent narcotic; there will be little in the way of side effects.”
Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, defended propoxyphene as an effective combination treatment option that goes beyond the strength of acetaminophen — commonly known by the brand name Tylenol — alone.
“All current pharmacologic options for pain have significant liability,” she said in a media briefing. “Given the data currently available to FDA, propoxyphene is an acceptable choice for the treatment of mild to moderate pain when it’s taken as directed.”
Today’s announcement comes just a week after an FDA advisory panel recommended a black box warning for prescription products containing acetaminophen. That panel also voted by a narrow margin to recommend that the FDA pull prescription acetaminophen-containing analgesics from the market.
Click here for the full report from ABC News.
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 07-07-09
While the mainstream media is focusing on Michael Jackson, Kevin Trudeau is here to tell you what is REALLY going on in the world.
Find out why…
There are More Commercial Vaccines Than Ever Before
The FTC is trying to Gain Control Over Websites Making “False Claims”
The Government had to Create an AIG Bailout Cover Up
Plus, don’t miss Kevin’s conversation with Rolling Stone Columnist Matt Taibbi About How Goldman Sachs is Controlling the United States!
Take Trudeau on the Go! Click here to download this show to your iPod, mp3 player, or PC at iTunes! Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed to get The Kevin Trudeau Show automatically sent to your player of choice and never miss a must-hear Kevin Trudeau Show!
Click below to hear The Kevin Trudeau Show!
Statins May Cause Muscle Damage in Some Patients
July 6, 2009
Forbes
Statins, medications widely used to lower cholesterol, may cause structural damage to the muscles of people experiencing muscle aches and weakness, a new study has found.
The damage may occur even when tests for a protein thought to signal injury are normal, and may persist even after statin use is halted, according to the study in the July 7 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The researchers stressed that people not experiencing significant pain had no cause for alarm and should continue taking the medicine.
About 10 to 15 percent of people taking statins report myalgia, or minor muscle aches and weakness, according to the study authors. A smaller number have stronger, persistent pain, called myopathy.
In the study, researchers biopsied leg muscle tissue from 83 patients: 44 were taking statins and had serious and persistent muscle pain; 19 were taking statins and had no myopathy, and 20 had never taken statins or suffered myopathy.
Of the 44 with myopathy, 29 were still taking a statin at the time of the biopsy, while 15 had discontinued their use for at least three weeks.
Biopsies showed that 25 of the 44 with myopathy had muscle damage, defined as injury to 2 percent or more of the muscle fibers.
Yet only one patient showed elevated levels of creatine phosphokinase (CPK), an enzyme expressed inside skeletal muscle cells, said study co-author Dr. Richard Karas, director of preventive cardiology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
Elevated levels of CPK in the blood can mean the enzyme is leaking out of the muscle cells, indicating muscle damage.
“This paper is challenging the dogma that if the CPK level is low, it rules out the possibility of muscle damage,” Karas said. “You can have microscopic muscle damage and the level of CPK can still be normal.”
The researchers also found that most participants showed signs of muscle injury even after they’d stopped taking statins.
“Although in clinical practice, the majority of patients with muscle symptoms improve rapidly after cessation of therapy, our findings support that a subgroup of patients appears to be more susceptible to statin-associated myotoxicity, suffering persistent structural injury,” said senior study author Dr. Annette Draeger of the University of Bern, Switzerland.
A study presented in September at the American Physiological Society meeting found that statins may hinder the body’s ability to repair muscles. Muscle cells exposed to increasing doses of simvastatin (Zocor) showed less ability to multiply and, therefore, heal and regenerate.
Over the past decade, statins have become the best-selling drug in America, accounting for $14.5 billion in sales in 2008. The drugs, which work in the liver to prevent the formation of cholesterol, are used in the prevention of coronary artery disease.
In the new study, 41 percent of those experiencing myopathy were taking simvastatin (Zocor); 31 percent were taking pravastatin (Pravachol); 17 percent were taking atorvastatin (Lipitor); 7 percent were taking fluvastatin (Lescol), and 3 percent were taking rosuvastatin (Crestor).
The study participants were experiencing pain severe enough to interfere with daily tasks and exercise.
The authors note that the sample size was too small to determine if one drug was associated with increased complaints of muscle pain or damage.
American Heart Association spokesman Dr. Roger Blumenthal said studies such as this may help doctors learn why some people develop statin-related side effects while others don’t.
In the study, the researchers noted that expression of ryanodine receptor 3 was heightened in those with structural muscle damage, offering a clue to the genetic underpinnings for those who suffer statin-related side effects.
“It’s a very interesting study,” said Blumenthal, director of the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Preventive Cardiology Center in Baltimore. “This whole issue of why about one in 50 people on statins gets recurrent or severe muscle pain is very frustrating for physicians.”
Known risk factors for muscle pain include old age, high doses of statins, exercising vigorously while on statins and certain medications, including warfarin (Coumadin), cancer drugs, oral medications for fungal disorders and certain antibiotics, which interfere with the removal of statins from the body.
In 2001, cerivastatin (Baycol) was withdrawn from the market because of a high incidence in rhabdomyolysis, a widespread breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue.
Click here for the full report from Forbes.com
