Smart Economy

Will 2010 be known as the year of the "Black Hurricane"? Wild Card Scenario; Hurricanes carry Gulf of Mexico oil across Southern USA, contaminating fields, ground water, aquafers, lakes and streams killing crops, fish, wildlife and people?

Back in January I speculated  on the increase in risk of earthquakes, volcanos and methane burps.

Less then a month and a half ago, the possibility of a mass uncontrolled oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by an uncontrolled methane release, was a distant possibility and an improbable wild card.

Now that it's a reality, very few people are considering an even more dangerous set of consequences.

BP is unsuccessfull in capping the spill and oil continues to spew into the Gulf of Mexico. Imagine a hurricane picking up oil polluted Gulf of Mexico water and carrying it across the Carribean, Mexico,  to Florida or across the US southern states.

Crop lands would face immeasurable damage and contamination, along with lakes, rivers, aquafers and ground water from contaminated runoff. Spontaneous oil fires caused by lightening could  accelerate forest blazes and  become a new problem. Both food crops, wildlife and man would be at risk. The ensuing economic spinoff consequences could lead to a double dip depression in the USA and curtail food exports to Canada and around the world.

Walter Derzko, The Opportunity Clinic, Smart Economy, Toronto

UPDATE: May 25, 2010

Original Message -----
From: Barbara Lupien
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:26 PM
Subject: .[..].. It is raining oil in Florida - fourwinds10.com

http://fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/environment/pollution/news.php?q=1274767889

It is raining oil in Florida >> Four Winds 10 - fourwinds10.com
It is raining oil in Florida
Hi all,

Making this quick, don't feel well. About 4:15pm or so eastern, coming back from Tampa, Florida north on Veteran's Expressway...about 7 miles perhaps from SR 54...it sprinkled some gray watery and solid black oil on my car. Thought it was bugs, but so fast did not make sense and windshield wipers just smeared it. Got out of car at store and looked on the paint and solid black dots on my car...I touch? huh? it's wet? it's OIL!!!!!

I had several folks verify it before I sprayed it off and it came off easier than the few love bugs. Two hours later still wet like OIL! nope, not water, smell it, OIL!!!

Anyone on Gulf try not to smear touch it as it is harder to wash off if it happens to you. Bands of storm clouds coming this way from Gulf of Mexico...has not actually rained at least where I have been, just ran through the sprinkle. I smell it now I am inside the house...it's just hard for me to believe also. One can think of a other things...oh maybe it was a vehicle in front of you...there was no vehicles near me at the time. So coincidence oil spill in the gulf and it rains oil on my car? okay believe what you will...but I know my gut and what happened to me, what I saw, others witnessed, I took pics of (sorry don't know how to post them, and it photos could be debatable anyway, take my word or not whichever...but we are in deep hocky doo folks.

I was noticing that big black blotch closer to west coast FL on some images that someone posted yesterday on Disasters board...wondering. Well, maybe wrong board but felt more may see it here and ones that live here. Be careful, if it gets on your clothes, pets, hair, eyes, skin...it won't be so easy to wash off as a well waxed car is.

Not checking this for now, gotta wash out my ears, eyes, nose and lay down...change clothes as I smell it now inside the house on my clothes. I did not smell it while out though and my nose is now desensitizing, but I feel nauseated. I am really sensitive though, some may not be so much or get the heavy warnings I do.

Thanks for letting me post this bopp, if you want to move it, okay with me I understand...maybe nobody pay attention anyway and I am not super pops here as it is!

~Eve

  

Hydrated Fullerenes (C60-HYFN) stimulate seed germination & improve plant growth by 60%

Ukraine used to be known as the bread basket of Europe in the 19th and 20th century. It could regain and improve that title-the bread & food basket to the world if Ukrainian farmers start micro-watering their crops with Fullerene Water Solutions.

Lab and field trials have shown that fullerene laced water solutions at nano-quanities of ten to the minus nine concentrations of hydrated or water soluble fullerenes can stimulate wheat seed germination and plant growth by upto 60%. (see side by side results in petri dish below)

HHmm, I think I'll try it out on my tomatoes when I plant them next week

Other extensive health benefits of HyFNs are summarised below:

http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/fullerenes-and-water-left/74-med-bio-prop-hyfn

Conducting large-scale research, by the end of 2005 we had already known the following main biological properties of hydrated C60 fullerene (C60HyFn).

 

For example, experiments in vitro revealed that C60HyFn, in C60 concentrations up to 100 µM:

 

 

- are not cytotoxic, including non-hepatotoxicity;

- do not suppress, but promote the growth of isolated cell cultures (microbes, fungi, etc.); promote survival rate and enhance viability of spermatozoa in the process of “cryopreservation – thawing”;

- stimulation seed germination and plant growth;

- do not inhibit cell respiration;

- do not inhibit catalytic activity of membrane-bound ATPases;

- have antioxidant properties more significant than ionol (BHT), vitamin E and ß-carotene;

- stabilize cell membranes and enhance their stability in unfavourable conditions;

- do not affect blood coagulation systems;

- enhance the temperature of biomolecules denaturation (DNA, albumin, collagen, etc.) by 5-10 degrees C.

- increase catalytic activity of isolated enzymes (e.g., serine proteinases).

 

 

Simultaneously with research on molecular and cell level, experiments in vivo (with laboratory animals) revealed that C60HyFn in wide scale of C60 total dose (from super small and up to 25 mg/kg of body weight):

 

 

- are non-toxic, non-immunogenic, non-allergenic;

- enhance the resistance of plasma membranes to disturbing factors;

- have positive influence on antioxidant and energetic systems;

- have radioprotective properties due to inhibition of the excessive level of free radicals;

- have strong and long-lasting antihistaminic and antiallergic action, i.e. can act as anti-inflammatory agents;

- have positive influence on the activity of adreno-, GABA-, histamine- and especially, serotonergic systems, and as a result, enhance adaptogenic functions of the organism;

- have potent hepatoprotective activity;

- have expressed neuroprotective (including Alzheimer's disease) and non-specific analgetic action;

- inhibit the development of tumour pathologies without killing cancer cells;

- have antiatherosclerotic (antiatherogenic) properties;

- able to protect organisms against viral infections (e.g., influenza virus) (HyFn do not kill viruses, but prevent their effective penetration into the cell);

- improve and enhance reproductive (genital) functions.

Nowadays on the basis of complex analysis of numerous experimental facts, official bio-medical trials, own observations we arrive to a conclusion tat water solutions of hydrated fullerene C60 have broad and universal spectrum of positive biological activity and, in particular, they:

- are “wise” and long-acting antioxidants that in the organism not only normalize the processes of lipid peroxidation and lipid composition of cell membranes, but also protect and activate its own systems of antioxidant protection;

- enhance resistance of cell membranes to the action of unfavourable factors and restore disturbed energy supply inside the cells;

- promote the processes of cell differentiation and tissue regeneration;

- inhibit cell apoptosis, i.e. so called programmed cell death;

- are non-immunogenic, but have positive immunomodulating properties and protect the immune system against disturbing factors;

- have adaptogenic and antistress properties, which is related to positive influence on the functions of the central nervous system, and also are able to protect nervous tissue against disturbing action of free radicals;

- have long-term antihistaminic and anti-inflammatory action;

- protect cardio-vascular system from the development of pathologies connected with atherosclerosis, and also effectively inhibit the causes of the development of atherosclerosis itself;

- have expressed neuroprotective properties, including protection of brain tissues against disturbances caused by the action of free radicals and other chemical agents and thus can be used in the therapy of different neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, etc.);

- are highly effective hepatoprotectors in therapy and prevention of liver pathologies of different etiology, including liver cirrhosis;

- effective in ulcer diseases of the stomach and duodenum;

- effective in the diseases of gallbladder and urinary bladder, pancreas, including different forms of diabetes;

- have expressed anti-burn, regenerative, antiulcer and wound healing properties (especially in combination with mild antibacterial preparations);

- shorten the period of the recovery of the organism after surgeries;

- protect by natural manner from viral infections, acute respiratory diseases, and is rather effective for ENT-diseases;

- in case of preventive intake, decrease the probability of development of oncological pathologies, and in case if it has already developed, depending on the stage, help the organism inhibit, restrain and control its spreading.  In addition to independent use, they are potent additional agents in combined, rational therapy of oncological states;

- significantly prolong the terms of remission in patients after surgical removal of tumor neoplasm and decrease the risk of backset of active tumor process;

- promote decrease of side effects caused by the use of active antitumor chemotherapy (improve its tolerance);

- have non-specific analgetic action, and, in pain syndrome patients, improve quality of life;

- are radioprotectors and their administration is quite grounded for elimination of side effects caused by radiation therapy;

- have expressed positive influence on human reproductive functions and can be used for treatment of different functional forms of sterility;

- improve by natural manner the sexual potency;

- alleviate alcohol withdrawal syndrome in alcohol excesses;

- effective for chronic fatigue syndrome;

- on the whole, have general positive action as for supporting of normal functioning of the organism and inhibition of development of negative manifestations connected with age-related alterations (aging, climacteric, etc.).

 

Undoubtedly, this list of positive biological activity will grow, basing on already known facts one can assume that in general the action of hydrated fullerene C60 and its water solutions directed to restoration of disturbed functions both on the level of cells, organs and systems, and normalization of numerous biochemical indexes of the whole macroorganism.  All of these are realized owing to improvement of adaptive, immune, metabolic and reparative processes.

All the above health claims are supported by research and clinical studies the following academic publications http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/research/48 

Fullerenes and Water http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/fullerenes-and-water

Medical and biological properties of Hydrated Fullerenes HyFN’s http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/fullerenes-and-water-left/74 (all supported by research papers below)

History of research collaboration: http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/-cooperation-left/53

Current and future Research Directions (very extensive and very interesting): http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/researches

Published research papers: http://www.ipacom.com/index.php/en/research/48

Evidence of increasing antibiotic resistance in soil bacteria

I've never been a big fan of antibiotics, perferring natural antimicrobials such as onions , garlic or oil of oregano. My favourite natural product are hydrated fullerene (HyFn) water solutions, which is just coming out on the Ukrainian market. It's a super high antioxident , antiviral and antimicrobial at ten to the minus nine concentrations-it doesn't kill bacteria the way that traditional antibiotic do-which  eventually leads to genetic resistance in surviving bacteria. Water clusters around the fullerenes molecules and prevents bacterial or viral spread from cell to cell or organ to organ. Your natural immune response then kicks in to fight the foreign invaders.

More proof (from the American Chemical Society) of the danger of antibiotics, that can last for decades:

Evidence of increasing antibiotic resistance in soils

A team of scientists in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are reporting disturbing evidence that soil microbes have become progressively more resistant to antibiotics over the last 60 years. Surprisingly, this trend continues despite apparent more stringent rules on use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, and improved sewage treatment technology that broadly improves water quality in surrounding environments. Their report appears in ACS' bi-weekly journal Environmental Science and Technology.

David Graham and colleagues note that, although scientists have known for years that resistance was increasing in clinical situations, this is the first study to quantify the same problem in the natural environment over long time-scales. They express concern that increased antibiotic resistance in soils could have broad consequences to public health through potential exposure through water and food supplies. Their results "imply there may be a progressively increasing chance of encountering organisms in nature that are resistant to antimicrobial therapy."

The study involved an analysis of 18 different antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) to four different classes of antibiotics in soil samples collected in the Netherlands from 1940 to 2008. ARGs are genes chosen to assess potential changes in resistance in microbes. Using data from sites around the Netherlands, the scientists found increasing levels in 78 percent of the ARG tested, clearly indicating increased potential for resistance over time. Because soil samples were only collected from the Netherlands, the scientists conclude their report by suggesting that further studies need be performed around the world so that the scope and possible ramifications of their results can be better understood.

###

Source: "Evidence of Increasing Antibiotic Resistance Gene Abundances in Archived Soils since 1940"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE

http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/es901221x

Walter Derzko, The Opportunity Clinic, Smart Economy, Toronto

When will the recession end? Part 84 What's the next natural disaster to hit after drought and volcano ash? eventual food shortages

They say catastrophes happen in clusters. What can we expect after the Icelandic volcano (not over by a long shot -pun intended), the spread of toxic red tide algae (what? you don't know about this either?), the global drought which is getting very little media attention and the oil spill off the Gulf coast?

My bet? A global food shortage due to the  continued bee colony collapse, which is in it's forth year.

Bees pollinate 90 % of the commercial crops worldwide, and it's a global die-off. During the last 1930's depression food prices actually dropped. With potential global shortages this time around, the reverse is likely to happen.

The Guardian Newspaper reports this weekend:

Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe

The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US bee colonies did not survive the winter

Disturbing evidence that honeybees are in terminal decline has emerged from the United States where, for the fourth year in a row, more than a third of colonies have failed to survive the winter.

The decline of the country's estimated 2.4 million beehives began in 2006, when a phenomenon dubbed colony collapse disorder (CCD) led to the disappearance of hundreds of thousands of colonies.  Since then more than three million colonies in the US and billions of honeybees worldwide have died and scientists are no nearer to knowing what is causing the catastrophic fall in numbers.

The number of managed honeybee colonies in the US fell by 33.8% last winter, according to the annual survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the US government's Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

The collapse in the global honeybee population is a major threat to crops.  It is estimated that a third of everything we eat depends upon honeybee pollination, which means that bees contribute some £26bn to the global economy.

Potential causes range from parasites, such as the bloodsucking varroa mite, to viral and bacterial infections, pesticides and poor nutrition stemming from intensive farming methods.  The disappearance of so many colonies has also been dubbed "Mary Celeste syndrome" due to the absence of dead bees in many of the empty hives.

US scientists have found 121 different pesticides in samples of bees, wax and pollen, lending credence to the notion that pesticides are a key problem.  "We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies," said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS's bee research laboratory.

A global review of honeybee deaths by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported last week that there was no one single cause, but pointed the finger at the "irresponsible use" of pesticides that may damage bee health and make them more susceptible to diseases.  Bernard Vallat, the OIE's director-general, warned: "Bees contribute to global food security, and their extinction would represent a terrible biological disaster."

Dave Hackenberg of Hackenberg Apiaries, the Pennsylvania-based commercial beekeeper who first raised the alarm about CCD, said that last year had been the worst yet for bee losses, with 62% of his 2,600 hives dying between May 2009 and April 2010.  "It's getting worse," he said.  "The AIA survey doesn't give you the full picture because it is only measuring losses through the winter.  In the summer the bees are exposed to lots of pesticides.  Farmers mix them together and no one has any idea what the effects might be."

Pettis agreed that losses in some commercial operations are running at 50% or greater.  "Continued losses of this magnitude are not economically sustainable for commercial beekeepers," he said, adding that a solution may be years away.  "Look at Aids, they have billions in research dollars and a causative agent and still no cure.  Research takes time and beehives are complex organisms."

In the UK it is still too early to judge how Britain's estimated 250,000 honeybee colonies have fared during the long winter.  Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers' Association, said: "Anecdotally, it is hugely variable.  There are reports of some beekeepers losing almost a third of their hives and others losing none."  Results from a survey of the association's 15,000 members are expected this month.

John Chapple, chairman of the London Beekeepers' Association, put losses among his 150 members at between a fifth and a quarter.  Eight of his 36 hives across the capital did not survive.  "There are still a lot of mysterious disappearances," he said.  "We are no nearer to knowing what is causing them."

Bee farmers in Scotland have reported losses on the American scale for the past three years.  Andrew Scarlett, a Perthshire-based bee farmer and honey packer, lost 80% of his 1,200 hives this winter.  But he attributed the massive decline to a virulent bacterial infection that quickly spread because of a lack of bee inspectors, coupled with sustained poor weather that prevented honeybees from building up sufficient pollen and nectar stores.

The government's National Bee Unit has always denied the existence of CCD in Britain, despite honeybee losses of 20% during the winter of 2008-09 and close to a third the previous year.  It attributes the demise to the varroa mite – which is found in almost every UK hive – and rainy summers that stop bees foraging for food.

In a hard-hitting report last year, the National Audit Office suggested that amateur beekeepers who failed to spot diseases in bees were a threat to honeybees' survival and called for the National Bee Unit to carry out more inspections and train more beekeepers.  Last summer Mps on the influential cross-party public accounts committee called on the government to fund more research into what it called the "alarming" decline of honeybees.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has contributed £2.5m towards a £10m fund for research on pollinators.  The public accounts committee has called for a significant proportion of this funding to be "ring-fenced" for honeybees.  Decisions on which research projects to back are expected this month.

WHY BEES MATTER Flowering plants require insects for pollination.  The most effective is the honeybee, which pollinates 90 commercial crops worldwide.  As well as most fruits and vegetables – including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots – they pollinate nuts, sunflowers and oil-seed rape.  Coffee, soya beans, clovers – like alfafa, which is used for cattle feed – and even cotton are all dependent on honeybee pollination to increase yields.

In the UK alone, honeybee pollination is valued at £200m.  Mankind has been managing and transporting bees for centuries to pollinate food and produce honey, nature's natural sweetener and antiseptic.  Their extinction would mean not only a colourless, meatless diet of cereals and rice, and cottonless clothes, but a landscape without orchards, allotments and meadows of wildflowers – and the collapse of the food chain that sustains wild birds and animals.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/02/food-fear-mystery-beehives-collapse

Walter Derzko, The Opportunity Clinic, Smart Economy

When will the recession end ? Part 77 Why the drought and dustbowl in IndoChina -China, India and Thailand could derail the global economic recovery

Most westerners haven’t noticed yet, but the familiar “dust bowl” images-- typical of the US mid west in the 1930’s Depression, are being replayed today in IndoChina, specifically India, China and Thailand, three of the key countries in the developing world that the rest of the lagging developed world is counting on to grow us out of this global economic recession. The 1930's dust bowl was one of the main contributing factors that delayed the US recovery for 15-20 years till after the war in the 1950's.

 

Here are some of the current significant points to consider:

 

• The next time you are shopping at Wal-mart or your local supermarket, pick up a can of food and see where it comes from and consider its continued availability and relative low cost. The current April issue of  National Geographic magazine has a special issue –Water our thirsty world. Look on the Geography page that has a fold-out map called Back to the Source. It shows all the “water stressed” regions of the globe, where  surface water availability does not match the water needed for human use and healthy ecosystems. A red "drought" band stretches along the entire western half of the US North American continent-up to Alberta , Canada, the western coast of South America, across northern Africa, east across  the Persian Gulf and north to Turkey and the Caspian Sea. It then cuts across a massive swath of land through India, China, Mongolia, the Himalayan mountains  and Thailand.

• The UN Food and Agricultural Organization says that it’s likely due to the short term El Nino effect. But what if they are wrong. Just recently published archeological forensic hydroclimatology work has shown that Cambodia was a victim of massive 100 year long back to back drought, flooding and drought, back in the 14 century that likely led to the collapse of the Angkor city state empire. Historic mega droughts led to the collapse of several Egyptian pharoh rulers and the fabled Trypillian culture, who errected the first modern city states in the West (in the present day Ukraine) in 7000-3000 BC. (centuries before the more familiar cultures of Mesopotamia, Alexandria, Greece and Egypt) This ecocrisis could happen again. We just do not know what triggers this once-in-a-thousand year super drought event.
• A perfect storm Locusts have swarmed in Australia to destroy crops. A similar natural plague in China would be a global disaster. Ug99 wheat blight could eventually spread into India and China
• Wild Card N.B. Both the US South West and the Canadian Prairies experienced century long (100 year) super drought episodes in the past 1000 years.  Had the first Canadian prairie settlers (Ukrainians, Germans and Icelanders) arrived a decade  earlier in 1890, they would have encountered the tail end of a punnishing mega-drought. Australians are still enduring a decade long drought.  
• Crop failure in Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter, could cause prices to spike, that could lead to shortages and famine in some parts of the world
• Sugar futures contracts spiked this week in London due to possible sugar shortages in India and China due to drought
• The western media is reporting that the half year long drought in China in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and the city of Chongqing has affected more than 50 million people. Chinese media claim only half that amount or  26 million people.
• The state-run Chinese media continues to praise communist government relief efforts, claiming that their wheat targets of 50 billion tons will be met with new agricultural methods that require less water intensive farming methods (just like the Soviet Union propaganda machine did in 1932, hiding the real conditions of famine in front of the rest of the world  -- the Russian state triggered and orchestrated Holodomor or mass famine/starvation in Ukraine, which killed between 10-15 million people. Ukraine at that time was considered the bread basket of the world.
• Toxic, polluted "grey water"  and sewage water is being sold to desperate farmers by corrupt government officials in dozens of developing countries, says New Scientist magazine. So, think twice about buying imported food. Makes you want to shift to "buy local"
• The head of drought relief in China last week found himself denying media reports of abandoned villages and an exodus of refugees from stricken areas.

  “I don’t think there are any refugees,” said Liu Ning, secretary general of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

  But the reports continue, and things could get a lot worse if the hoped-for rainy season does not arrive next month. At least 22 million people and 7.4 million hectares of farmland are affected by the drought in the south. Moreover, Liu, who is also vice minister of water resources, has admitted that three northern provinces – Shanxi, Hebei and Gansu – have also been hit by drought, as has the autonomous region of Ningxia. That means the livelihoods of millions more farmers are at risk, and that drinking water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity.

• This story from Inner Mongolia admits that in some parts of China-the drought is in its 12th year, since 1999..."

  CHIFENG, Inner Mongolia, April 10 (Xinhua) - As a massive drought is plaguing most parts of southwest China, the dry spell is also spreading to many areas of the country's north. More than 250,000 people are short of drinking water in the sparsely populated Chifeng City of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. More than 272,800 cattle also lack drinking water, an official with the municipal water conservancy bureau told Xinhua Saturday.The nine major reservoirs in the city of 90,000 square kiloters in territory just hold 91.75 million cubic meters of water, down 73.7 per cent from the same time last year. Adding to the woe, 62 per cent of the city's mid-and small-sized reservoirs have dried up, the official said. Major rivers also see a decrease of 77.4 per cent in water volume.

  Even though Chifeng city has suffered from successive years of drought since 1999, this year's has been the gravest in the past decade, the official said.

  The government has mobilized more than 626,300 people in the drought relief work, with more than 30.33 million yuan (about 4.46 million US dollars) of special-use fund, the official said.

  Credit: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1600 10 Apr 10"

• Just google the terms "water shortage or water scarcity". Stories appear each day in India that major cities are running short of drinking water. Water tables are dropping, wells are drying out and farmers are abandoning farms. Anecdotes of suicides are appearing with increased frequency in the local press.
• Water levels of the Mekong River watershed have dropped to as low as 13 inches-the lowest level in 50 years. 60 million people in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam rely on the 3.9 million tons of fish that are caught in the river each year in good times.
• Hungry people eventually mass to become angry crowds, so that the prospect of social unrest worsens every month. In 2009, we witnessed food riots in over 30 countries. (see Bangkok protests and riots this week). Not good for commerce and exports and imports..

 

(source: Epoch Times, various newswire services,  and Chinese news media)

 

 

Walter Derzko

The Opportunity Clinic

Smart Economy

Toronto

Neutragenomics Add flaxseed to your porridge, expect cholesterol shortage but cholesterol level drop seen only in men not women

A new study from Iowa State's Nutrition and Wellness Research Center study found that men who consumed at least 150 milligrams of flaxseed lignans per day decreased cholesterol by just under 10 percent over the three months that they were given the flaxseed.

 

Suzanne Hendrich, an ISU professor in food science and human nutrition, led a study that examined the effects of flaxseed lignan in 90 people diagnosed with high cholesterol.  The results showed that consuming at least 150 milligrams of flaxseed lignans per day (about three tablespoons) decreased cholesterol in men, but not women, by just under 10 percent over the three months that they were given the flaxseed.

 

While Hendrich admits that's considerably less than the expected outcome from cholesterol-lowering drugs -- approximately 10 to20 percent for three months, depending on the individual -- it's still enough to make flaxseed a more natural option for some men.

 

"Because there are people who can't take something like Lipitor, this could at least give you some of that cholesterol-lowering benefit," Hendrich said.  "The other thing is, there are certainly some people who would prefer to not use a drug, but rather use foods to try to maintain their health.  So this potentially would be something to consider."

 

Americans suffer from high blood cholesterol According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 17 percent of Americans suffer from high blood cholesterol -- a fat-like substance found in the body that can clog arteries and contribute to heart disease.

 

Hendrich developed the study with ISU master's student Kai Ling Kong and doctoral graduates Zhong Ye, Xianai Wu, and Sun-Ok Lee to determine whether the main lignan in flaxseed, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, could lower cholesterol.  They'll be presenting results of the research at the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2010, April 24-28, in Anaheim, Calif.

 

The study's 90 subjects -- which included twice as many men as women -- all had high cholesterol, but no other underlying health conditions.  The participants were divided into three groups and were randomly assigned to daily consume tablets that contained zero, 150, or 300 milligrams of flaxseed lignans for 12 weeks.

 

It's the flaxseed lignans -- a group of chemical compounds found in plants that are known for their protective health effects -- that may help lower cholesterol, according to Hendrich.  These compounds are converted to their bioactive forms by gut microbes.  Hendrich reports that they made a healthy conversion in the subjects in this study, with no adverse health consequences.

 

No cholesterol-lowering effect in women

 

While the study found that the flaxseed lignans lowered cholesterol in men, it did not produce a significant change in women.

 

"We're really puzzled about that because we were looking at post menopausal women and these lignans are known as plant estrogens, so they have a very weak but measurable estrogen effect," Hendrich said.  "So potentially, they would have a mild effect for substituting some estrogens in women.  It's really hard to know why [there was no effect in women] and whether these substances are counteracting, possibly, some testosterone in men, which of course women don't have.  It's definitely something we'd like to investigate further."

 

Hendrich reports the flaxseed lignan tablets used in this study are not currently available in the U.S. to her knowledge.  In the absence of tablets, she says flaxseed can also be sprinkled on cereal, or added in a muffin mix or bread, although whole seeds are not very digestible.  Ground flaxseed meal can also provide the desired cholesterol-lowering lignans, according to Hendrich, but it will oxidize over time and could potentially affect the flavor of the foods that it's in.  She points out that the oxidation of the product also would diminish the flaxseed's omega-3 fatty acids, which can prevent heart attacks, so freshness is important in the product's impact.

 

The ISU researcher hopes to publish the study in a professional journal.  She also plans further investigation on whether flaxseed can be taken in combination with other known cholesterol-lowering substances, and whether it could prevent high cholesterol in the first place.

 

The $190,000 research study was jointly funded by the Archer Daniels Midland Company and Grow Iowa Values Fund.

Walter Derzko

Scope of Hydrated Fullerene (C60- HYFN) Research in Ukraine; Nanomedicine, nanomaterials on demand, sports medicine, cosmetics, pharmacology, agriculture, veterinary medicine etc

UPDATE  Nov 2010: HYFNs have been approved for manufacturing as Fullerene Water Solution (FWS)  drink in Ukraine by the  Ministry of Health  as of Nov 2010. It's the first nanotech based health drink in the world. For information about availability  contact me privately by email.

I received this updated list of research directions and activities surrounding hydrated fullerenes (C60) otherwise known as water soluble bucky balls, from my colleagues in Ukraine,who discovered and patented hydrated fullerenes (HyFn's) in the 1990's. They are looking for business and academic research collaborators around the world.

Scope of Hydrated Fullerene (C60- HYFN) Research in  Ukraine

  

Development of nanomaterials.

•  Synthesis of new nanosized composition on the bases of metal, dielectric and semiconducting materials.

•  Development and research of bio-nanocomposites.

  

Physical and chemical research of nanostructures.

•  Research of physical and chemical properties of nanostructural materials, and in the first place – fullerenes in hydrated state.

•  Research of structural organization of water and water solutions. Cluster nature of water.

•  Research of behaviour peculiarities of physical and chemical processes in heterogeneous media, structured by hydrated fullerenes.

•  Research of behaviour peculiarities in water solutions of substances at their small and super small concentrations.

•  Research of the heat-conduction process in media containing nanostructural materials.

•  Research of photocalytic processes in presence of nanomaterials in different media.

  

Biological research of nanostructures. 

•  Toxicological research of nanomaterials.

•  Development of biocompatible materials on the basis of nanostructural composites.

•  Research of biochemical reactions and biological processes in heterogeneous water media, structured by hydrated fullerenes.

•  Research of the biological role of cluster water structures.

•  Research of the influence of specific cluster organization of water on increasing of biological system stability against unfavourable environmental factors, including action of different electromagnetic fields and ionizing radiation.

•  Research of the use of nanoparticle solutions as components of nutrient medium for microorganisms growth, producers of specific antibiotics, vitamins, proteins, etc.; and as components of biological test-systems for biomedical analyses.

•  Research of the use perspectives of hydrated fullerenes for preservation, including cryoconservation, of different biological material (biomolecules, cells, blood and its components, organs and tissues).

•  Research of the influence of hydrated fullerenes on the processes of aging and their ability to slow down such kind of processes.

  

Nanostructures for pharmacology.

•  Development of medicinal forms of hydrated fullerenes for parenteral, oral, intranasal and other ways of administration.

•  Efficiency enhancement of existing pharmaceuticals due to incorporation of hydrated fullerenes into their composition.

•  Development and creation of new vaccines and serums with decreased allergenic and side effects.

  

Nanostructures for medicine.

•  Research and application of nanostructures as additional agents and components, enhancing efficiency of standard schemas of treatment of human diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes as antioxidative, immunoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antiallergic agents.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes as highly effective radioprotective agents.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of cardio-vascular diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for prevention and treatment of oncological diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of digestive organs’ diseases and kidney and urinary tract diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of bronchopulmonary diseases.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and diseases of ear, throat and nose.

•  Research of the efficiency and application of hydrated fullerenes for children’s diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of surgical diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in clinic of women's diseases.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for lesions of internal organs in case of alcoholism and toxicomania.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in geriatric practice.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in sports medicine.

•  Research and application hydrated fullerenes in balneology.

  

  

Nanostructures in sports.

•  Enhancement of exercise tolerance in sportsmen and their sport results without use of dopes, stimulators, anabolics, etc.

•  Improvement of adaptive abilities in sportsmen under stress conditions.

  

Nanostructures for cosmetics, perfumery and personal hygiene products.

•  Research and application of nanostructures with bioantioxidative and structure-organizing properties as components that significantly improve consumer properties of cosmetic and perfumery products.

•  Protection of “gentle” components of such products and prolongation of their shelf life.

•  Creation of brand new cosmetic and perfumery products and personal hygiene products with health-improving properties.

  

Nanostructures for food.

•  Research and application of nanostructures with bioantioxidative and structure-organizing properties as components that significantly improve consumer properties of food.

•  Protection of “gentle” components of such products and prolongation of their shelf life.

•  Substitution by hydrated fullerenes of hazardous conserving agents and stabilizers for food products.

  

Nanostructures for agriculture.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes in agriculture for accelerated germination and growing of plants.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for enhanced plant resistance to disease-producing agents.

  

Nanostructures in veterinary medicine.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for prevention of animal diseases, including viral ones.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes to enhance reproductive qualities, viability and quality of life of elite animals.

•  Research and application of hydrated fullerenes for animals in sports.

Anyone wishing to collaborate in joint academic research, outsource their research or start  contract research, please contact me directly. (from your business email)

Here is the Institute's new web page:  http://ipacom.com/index.php?lang=en.

Walter Derzko

Why does an apple a day keep the doctor away? The science of apple pectin and good gut bacteria

Ever wonder about old wives tales and if they are actually based on any scientific proof?

Every school child is taught: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," but  how many people ask the followup question -why?  New research by scientists in Denmark have explored the science behind the classic truth.

It appears that rats fed a diet of apples (with skins), over at least a 14 wek period,  have a higher amount of beneficial bacteria in their digestive systems. 

As part of the EU Isafruit.org project, microbiologists from the National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark fed one group of rats a control diet and another group of rats a diet that was rich in whole apples (with pectin), apple juice, purée, or pomace. 

On feeding them, the scientists observed the microbial content of the rats’ digestive systems.

"Certain bacteria are believed to be beneficial for digestive health and may influence the risk for cancer,” said research leader Dr. Tine Rask Licht of the Technical University of Denmark, in a press release.

"In our study we found that rats eating a diet high in pectin, a component of dietary fiber in apples, had increased amounts of certain bacteria that may improve intestinal health,” said co-researcher Dr. Andrea Wilcks, also from the Technical University of Denmark. 

"It seems that when apples are eaten regularly and over a prolonged period of time, these bacteria help produce short-chain fatty acids that provide ideal pH conditions for ensuring a beneficial balance of microorganisms (and a reduced rate of certain cancers).  They also produce a chemical called butyrate, which is an important fuel for the cells of the intestinal wall.”

The research was published in the journal BMC Microbiology.  Further research is required to determine whether a human’s digestive system would respond to apples the same way a rat's did...more then likely I bet.

To read the research paper, please visit http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2180-10-13.pdf

Walter Derzko, Smart Economy, Toronto

Author of the soon-to-be published book- Opportunity 45 Scenarios to Drive Your Business in Challenging Times,  published by J. Wiley and Sons

ISBN13: 978-0-470-73761-3

ISBN10: 0-470-73761-1

Contact us about the Opportunity Clinic workshop and to invite Walter Derzko as a keynote speaker at your next event 

 

Breeding super plants with the plant hormone auxin could eliminate all inflammatory diseases

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany, describe that the plant hormone auxin together with an increased cell cycle activity leads to a boost in root branching in the common thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana. In addition, they showed that two proteins that are crucial for embryo development also play a critical role in root branching.

These results could be used to raise plants that are fast-growing even in dry and nutrient-poor soils.

If we move livestock back to a grazing of fast growing natural grass, away from corn based feed it could eliminate all the inflammatory deseases that humans suffer from now when we switch 1oo years ago to a diet high in omega-6 and 9 fatty acids vs the more natural high omega-3 to omega 6 and omega-9 ratio diet

 

Walter Derzko

 

 

 

Author of the soon-to-be published book- Opportunity 45 Scenarios to Drive Your Business in Challenging Times,

published by J. Wiley and Sons

ISBN13: 978-0-470-73761-3

ISBN10: 0-470-73761-1

 

 

The first Boom and Bust cycle in the UK ? 6,000 years ago

Was the first Boom and Bust cycle in the UK  6,000 years ago or 60 generations ago when the  French introduced farming to Britain? Yes according to a new study.

Simon Fraser University archeologists Mark Collard and Kevan Edinborough and colleagues from University College London have uncovered evidence that French farmers introduced agriculture to Britain some 60 centuries ago.

The researchers note that without the civilizing influence of their Gallic neighbours, the Brits might have continued running around with spears for hundreds of years more instead of cultivating plants and animals.

Their work, published in the most recent Journal of Archeological Science, contradicts previous theories that indigenous British hunter-gatherers developed farming independently.

The archeologists studied carbon-14 dates for bones, wood and grains from about 6,000 years ago at locations throughout Great Britain and determined that the population of the island more than quadrupled in just 400 years.

“We also found evidence that this increase occurred first in southern England and shortly afterwards in central Scotland,” says Collard, an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in human evolutionary studies.

“These findings are best explained by groups of farmers from the Continent independently colonizing England and Scotland,” most likely from Brittany in northwest France.

“The case for believing that the Neolithic transition in Britain was mediated by a large influx of farmers from continental Europe is compelling,” the authors conclude.

“The migrants’ arrival resulted in sudden and dramatic economic, demographic and social change that seems to have led to a ‘boom-to-bust’ cycle lasting 600-700 years, with the initial rapid rise in population followed by an equally rapid decline, heralding the very different cultural patterns of the later Neolithic (period).”

More information: Radiocarbon evidence indicates that migrants introduced farming to Britain, Journal of Archaeological Science, doi:10.1016/j.jas.2009.11.016

Abstract

Archaeologists disagree about how farming began in Britain. Some argue it was a result of indigenous groups adopting domesticates and cultigens via trade and exchange. Others contend it was the consequence of a migration of farmers from mainland Europe. To shed light on this debate, we used radiocarbon dates to estimate changes in population density between 8,000 and 4,000 calBP. We found evidence for a marked and rapid increase in population density coincident with the appearance of cultigens around 6000 calBP. We also found evidence that this increase occurred first in southern England and shortly afterwards in central Scotland. These findings are best explained by groups of farmers from the Continent independently colonizing England and Scotland, and therefore strongly support the migrant farmers hypothesis.

Keywords: Transition to farming; Neolithic; Britain; demography; radiocarbon dates

Source: Simon Fraser University

N.B....This may explain why earlier successful cultures such as the Trypillian culture from 7,000 to 4,000 years ago (which predated Egypt and Messopotamia) suddenly disappeared from eastern Europe and Ukraine--Walter Derzko

Walter Derzko

 

 

 

Author of the soon-to-be published book- Opportunity 45 Scenarios to Drive Your Business in Challenging Times,

published by J. Wiley and Sons

ISBN13: 978-0-470-73761-3

ISBN10: 0-470-73761-1