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Science To The Rescue
Posted by: bob parmelee
After the E-Coli /Spinach disaster of 2006 which caused several deaths and many severe illnesses in over half the states, little has been heard. However, the repercussions are still reverberating throughout the farming community. In a typical display of overkill farmers have been subjected to hoards of auditors. Among their duties these auditors roam the fields looking for animal feces. Crop circles are then drawn around these “piles” and no crops within 25 ft. are supposed to be harvested. I am no farmer but I can imagine trying to dodge a field full of circles and trying to make a living out of what is left. At great cost fences are being erected to keep the free roaming animals out of the crops. Animals known to carry the E-Coli bacterium include cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and deer. Ponds are being filled in and huge buffer zones are being established around irrigation water sources and livestock waste depositories. However, the invasion doesn’t stop with land animals. We need also to be concerned with snails, frogs and tadpoles, slugs, rats and field mice, and, of course, air born attacks from flies, butterflies, and the birds and the bees, etc.
Obviously we cannot protect ourselves from everything which might carry a disease. To suggest we can sterilize all animals roaming millions of acres along with the ground they cover is ridiculous. However, science may soon provide a way to do one better. It seems E-Coli and other bacteria have a sweet tooth. Tests have indicated these bugs have an affinity for particular types of sugars. When nanoparticles of iron are coated with a pathogens’ particular favorite, they readily bond to the coating. Passing these solutions by a magnet can draw away an astounding 88% of the pathogens in as little as 45 minutes of exposure. Because nanoparticles are extremely cheap to produce they could assist in decontaminating not just food, but blood reserves, water sources, etc. Virtually anything the little bugs live in we can trick them out of. Isn’t science grand?
Bob Parmelee www.parmsplace.com
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Happy Holiday Tips
Posted by: My2cents
Why is this in Health and Fitness? Lighten UP! :)
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it’s rare. In fact, it’s even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can’t find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
Remember this motto to live by:
“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
Have a great holiday season!
Is there a cure for cancer on the horizon?
Posted by: bob parmelee
According to information provided by Health Sciences Institute they are here already. However, major drug firms have been unable to synthesize proteins close to those responsible for the beneficial cures from the natural substances. Until they can, much of the work they have been doing is not patentable. In other words, until the derivatives from the research can be protected financially, the benefits will continue to be unavailable to the public, or a least very slow in coming.
About 30 years ago an extract from the bark of the yew tree called taxol was determined to reduce or eliminate a half a dozen types of cancer, without the serious after effects of chemotherapy treatments. However, it took 30 years to reach the market. Recently, promising products from a tree called the graviola tree are demonstrating even more potent cancer fighting abilities. After 10 years and millions of dollars the main antihumorous chemical annonacin has been synthesized. Scientists finally recreated this chemical and several other active acetogenins in the lab. The next step is to change these chemicals enough for them to be “novel” so they can be awarded patents, but not enough that they loose their beneficial properties. So far these attempts have failed. It seems as soon as the chemicals are altered they loose their potent antihumorous action.
Unless, or until, the government takes direct action via the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Health a full scale assault on cancer with this promising therapy will not be available in a timely fashion. The risk is too great and the cost too large for a single drug company to assume. The drug companies cannot be faulted for failing to release their results for free. That would be a form of corporate suicide. Research of this nature, which would truly benefit all mankind, should be a government mandate. That way the cost would be easily affordable and the products which resulted would be affordable by rich and poor alike. Unfortunately, here in the USA, our ruling elite is focused on wasting trillions on a war machine, which leaves precious little for improving the health and welfare of it’s citizens.
I am ambivalent about the harvesting of herbal or tribal remedies from sources such as the Amazon. The tree at the root of a modern day cure for most cancers comes from one of the most delicate and critical environments on the planet, the rain forest. Should a world wide demand for a cancer cure spur yet another mauling of the tropical forests, global warming will certainly shift into a higher gear. Synthetic products will eventually be discovered and become available without the devastation of our forests. We must demand that our government reorder it’s priorities and provide adequate funds for health research so future generations don’t have to pay the price of our lack of responsible fiscal management.
Bob Parmelee
For more information on the graviola tree or to review the complete reports go to http://www.newcancerfacts.com/graviolacancer.