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Lessons from the Ebola front lines

Nahid Bhadelia appraises an analysis of the fraught campaign to contain the 2013–16 crisis.
Lessons from the Ebola front lines
A new book bravely faces up to the competition, corruption and waste that hinders the unimaginably courageous efforts to stop epidemics, says reviewer Nahid Bhadelia. Bhadelia, an infectious-diseases physician who was on the ground during the 2014–15 Ebola outbreaks in Sierra Leone, lauds the authors’ balanced critique of field in which “where you are born decides whether or not you survive”.

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Nature | 5 min read

Lessons from the Ebola front lines



NASSAU, BAHAMAS
Ocean Atlas
The world’s largest underwater sculpture can be found just off the coast of Nassau.
READ MORE →


FLORA, MISSISSIPPI
Petrified Forest
Mississippi boasts a little-known, well-preserved stretch of ancient fossilized trees.
READ MORE →


Isolated Island
Contrary to what the name suggests, you actually can visit Inaccessible Island, the mysterious South Atlantic slab between Argentina and South Africa. But those who have made the arduous trip say it might not be worth it.
READ MORE →
 

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rbkwp

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confused
as to if its relating to cats or humans
probably us/both animals

hes alright tho'


New research reveals how toxoplasmosis alters the brain
Scientists have shown how the toxoplasmosis parasite hides away in the brain, altering synapses and potentially causing depression, schizophrenia and autism.







Mice infected with toxoplasmosis parasites behave strangely: they lose their natural fear of cats. Presented with the smell of cat urine, they even seem attracted to the deadly predator, scientists have found.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the pathogen Toxoplasma gondii, a unicellular parasite that occurs worldwide.

It affects birds and mammals, including humans. However, it can reproduce only the digestive system of a cat. Somewhere it might quickly end up if it happened to be stowed away in an unusually fearless mouse.

From cat poo to car crashes

Cats excrete the toxoplasmosis pathogen in their feces, meaning you might pick it up cleaning the family pet's litter box, or gardening. Humans can also become infected by eating contaminated food.


The cat curled up in your bed could be harboring a mind-altering parasite

And a great many of us do.

Up to half of all adults are infected with toxoplasma pathogens. But mostly, the parasite goes unnoticed.

Toxoplasmosis is dangerous to people with a weakened immune system or unborn children whose mothers are infected during pregnancy. But for most of us, the most we might suffer is a brief bout of flu-like symptoms with fever, fatigue, muscle pain and diarrhea.

Read more: Five pathogens that can harm an unborn child

Once you're infected, however, the parasite often sticks around in muscle or brain tissue for the rest of your life — what doctors call a "hidden infection."

And, just as it makes a timid rodent dangerously brave, research suggests it may change the way unwitting human carriers behave, too. Toxoplasmosis has been linked to schizophrenia, depression, autism — and even an increased risk of being involved in traffic accidents.

Now, new research is revealing just how the parasite might change the way the brain works.


Toxoplasmosis could be interfering with synapses to cause depression, schizophrenia and autism

Messing with the brain's messengers

Scientists from the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg and the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology (LIN) have shown that Toxoplasma gondii influences the metabolism of its host's brain.

The parasite alters the molecular composition of synapses, which are responsible for signal-processing in the brain, according to the research published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

"Toxoplasma gondii is absorbed by humans via digestion, enters the bloodstream and also migrates into the brain to get into in nerve cells for the rest of one's life," said Karl-Heinz Smalla of the Special Laboratory for Molecular Biology Techniques at LIN.

In cooperation with the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, the team was able to prove that the infection alters the quantities of a 300 synaptic proteins in the brains of infected mice.

In particular, the animals had significantly fewer proteins in the vicinity of glutamate-releasing excitatory synapses. At the same time, proteins involved in immune responses were up.


Fatal attraction: Changes in brain metabolism appear to have the power to override a rodent's basic instincts

"Malfunctions of glutamatergic synapses are associated with depression, schizophrenia and autism. Components of the immune response also show links to these diseases," said Ildiko Rita Dunay, an immunologist who worked on the study.

"This suggests that immune reactions may cause changes in the synapse that may lead to neuropsychiatric disorders," she added.

Treatment at hand

The good news is, sulfadiazine, an antibiotic used to treat toxoplasmosis infections, restored the infected mice's brain metabolism to normal.

"All investigated proteins responsible for the glutamatergic signal transmission were back to normal. The inflammatory activity also decreased measurably," said Björn Schott of the team in Magdeburg.

And hopefully, the rodent's aversion to ending up as lunch was back, too.

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    GUINEA WORM: INCHING TOWARDS ERADICATION
    Close to ending a parasitic disease
    In 1986, there were an estimated 3.6 million cases of Guinea worm disease per year in 21 countries in Africa and Asia. Today, the parasitic disease is close to eradication. In 2017, there were only 30 cases in Chad and Ethiopia. In the first three months of 2018, there were only 3 human cases in one country, Chad.

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DW RECOMMENDS


New research reveals how toxoplasmosis alters the brain | DW | 09.11.2018
 

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NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE
10 Nov 2018
Gut worms may be healthy - research
9:12 pm on 10 November 2018
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Having worms in your gut may sound unpleasant, but New Zealand scientists have good reason to believe they could benefit your health.

eight_col_worm.jpeg

Photo: Supplied

The research, published in Mucosal Immunology, found that the presence of intestinal parasites provides long-lasting protection against infection from other species of parasites in other organs.

The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research's Dr Kara Filbey, said worms had evolved to manipulate their host's immune system, to prevent it from killing them.


"They need a healthy host to live in, but they also need to survive themselves."
Gut worms may be healthy - research
 

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Credit: Katherine Streeter for NPR
How To Adapt To The Dark Winter Days Ahead
Our smartphones automatically adjusted last weekend to the time change. But our internal clocks aren't as easy to re-program. When daylight comes an hour earlier each fall, it throws us off.

Our bodies crave consistent routines. When we disrupt our routines with erratic sleep or eating habits, it can increase the risk of metabolic disease, diabetes and obesity.

And, as the amount of daylight continues to decrease, it's easy to fall into bad habits. Luckily, there are smart ways you can adapt. Changes in what you eat, when you eat, and even your social life can all help.

Read on for tips for adjusting to the darker days of winter.


Stuart Kinlough/Ikon Images/Getty Images






i am sure we all want to attain perfection accoding to them,a humans right huh duh


The Shape Of Sadness In The Human Brain
Scientists may have caught a glimpse of what sadness looks like in the brain.

As NPR’s Jon Hamilton reports, a study of 21 people found that for most, feeling down was associated with greater communication between brain areas involved in emotion and memory. "There was one network that over and over would tell us whether they were feeling happy or sad," says researcher Vikaas Sohal.

The finding could lead to a better understanding of mood disorders, and perhaps new ways of treating them.

The study’s design was pretty unusual. The team inserted tiny wires into the brains of 21 people who were in the hospital awaiting brain surgery for severe epilepsy. They then monitored the patients’ brain activity for up to a week.

The study provides a detailed map of what's going on in the human brain, which is what doctors and scientists need to look for better treatments for patients with mood disorders.

"It's really important that we find the circuits underlying mood so we can learn more about them and treat them," says Dr. Joshua Gordon, who directs the National Institute of Mental Health.

Read more about this novel study.
 

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JUAN PABLO AMPUDIA
WILDLIFE WATCH
The Unlikely Allure of Tarantulas
For some, tarantulas are the stuff of horror movies. But there is a global community of arachnophiles who keep them for fun, fueling a booming illicit pet trade as well as efforts to conserve these gentle giants of the spider world.
 

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worlds last bastion along with Antarctica
leave them alone for future generations you devils
watch out for BRAZILS new leader,apparently

Camp Amazon: Inside the 'lungs of the Earth'
WHY WE WROTE THIS
So much of the climate change story is reported from a high altitude. For this piece our writer burrowed beneath the Amazon canopy to get face-to-face with some of what’s at stake.

1001-41-aerial-mist.jpg

Courtesy of Luciano Lima
Diaphanous clouds settle on the towering trees of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Moisture generated in the Amazon affects rainfall all the way up into the Midwestern United States.
September 24, 2018

CAMP 41, BRAZIL
We hear the high-pitched call long before we see any movement. Looking for life in the most biodiverse landmass on the planet requires a surprising amount of patience. And sharp eyes. While the piercing whistles make it clear an ornate hawk-eagle is nearby – to someone, at least, who knows the hundreds of different birdcalls found in this section of the Amazon – the thick trunks and lianas and bromeliads of the rainforest make seeing anything frustratingly difficult.

Our eyes strain upward, searching, until finally, we’re rewarded with the sight of a magnificent black-crested bird swooping silently through the canopy to land on a branch bathed in light. We gaze in awe as it trains its own sharp eyes on the two-legged intruders in its world.

The setting: Camp 41, a handful of tin-roofed, open-sided structures deep within the world’s largest tropical wilderness and home base for hundreds of ecologists conducting research over the past 39 years. We’re 50 miles north of Manaus, Brazil, 25 miles up a rough dirt road, and a half-mile hike into primary Amazon rainforest, a dark, dense understory of green beneath a canopy of trees more than 150 feet high.


It’s a place that feels enveloped by the pulsing life of the planet.

1001-41-camp-guy.jpg

Courtesy of Luciano Lima
Ecologist Thomas Lovejoy stands in front of Camp 41, part of a long-running research project on the effects of land fragmentation on biodiversity. Camp 41 is in the rainforest outside of Manaus, Brazil.
I’m here with Thomas Lovejoy, a legendary ecologist and “godfather of biodiversity,” who in 1979 began a research project – of which Camp 41 is part – to gather long-term data on the effects of breaking up eco-rich habitat.

Over the years, Dr. Lovejoy, an environmental science professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., has often brought guests – ranging from scientists to senators, CEOs to celebrities (Tom Cruise, Olivia Newton-John) – to sleep in hammocks at this iconic camp and gain an appreciation for the richness and diversity of the Amazon rainforest. On this trip, he’s come with some dozen visitors interested in conservation. As an environmental journalist, I’m tagging along hoping to get an understanding of what role this forest plays in two of the biggest environmental crises facing our planet: climate change and biodiversity loss.

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Camp Amazon: Inside the 'lungs of the Earth'
 

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so much great information out there
we ae lucky to be in this age

As more Texans 'Give a Whoop,' hope for saving iconic cranes – and coast
Conservationists hope that the iconic birds can encourage a rare, ecologically-friendly approach to coastal development in a time of mounting human and environmental pressure on coastlines around the world.

0402%20Whooping_Cranes.jpg

Joe Duff/Operation Migration/AP/File
Henry Gass Staff writer
@henrygass
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
Whooping cranes are, in many ways, a lot like us.

They mate for life. They maintain small, close-knit families. They go through a few years of aloofness and soul-searching between childhood and adulthood. And like the thousands of “winter Texans” who migrate to this stretch of the Gulf of Mexico every year, they like to spend the colder months surrounded by warm, salty air.

Humans, however, only seemed to begin to appreciate these similarities after pushing the birds to the brink of extinction.


More than a century of hunting and the widespread conversion of wetlands to farmland in the American Midwest meant that by the time World War II broke out there were fewer than 20 individuals left overwintering in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in this stretch of what is known as the Coastal Bend of Texas. Thanks to regulation and decades of “Give a Whoop” public education campaigns, the cranes’ numbers have since increased to more than 300.

As they continue to expand across this rural, sparsely populated stretch of coastline, locals and conservationists are hopeful that the iconic birds can encourage a rare, ecologically-friendly approach to coastal development in a time of mounting human and environmental pressure on coastlines around the world.

Whoop-hope-for-saving-iconic-cranes-and-coast
 

rbkwp

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sheer criminality, purpose breeding or not
gives others the thought its ok, damn

apart from that China deserves to be complimented for not using there old tactics of 'losing face'
unlike ignorant deniers unlikely to change

China Restores Rhino and Tiger Parts Ban After International Fury

Great news from China! Following intense international backlash, the Chinese government said Monday that it has postponed a regulation that would have allowed the use of tiger bone and rhino horn for medicine, research and other purposes.

In October, China alarmed animal rights activists around the world when it weakened a 25-year-old ban on the trading of the animal parts. Conservationists said it would be akin to signing a "death warrant" for endangered tiger and rhino populations.




SYUP7Ms5


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China Restores Rhino and Tiger Parts Ban After International Fur

China Restores Rhino and Tiger Parts Ban After International Fury

Ding Xuedong, the executive deputy secretary-general, told the state news agency Xinhua that the October regulation was "postponed after study."

China will continue to enforce its 1993 ban on the import, export and sale of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts, he said.

"I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government has not changed its stance on wildlife protection and will not ease the crackdown on illegal trafficking and trade of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts and other criminal activities," Ding added.

The October plan would have allowed the trade of rhino horns and tiger bones from captive animals for use in medical and scientific research, education and "cultural exchanges," Reuters reported.

Conservation groups say that relaxing any ban on the trade of those parts would confuse consumers and authorities on which products were legal, provide cover for black market sales, stimulate demand for the products and spur morepoaching.

The are currently only 3,900 tigers and 30,000 rhinos left in the wild. The animals are threatened by poaching and habitat loss.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) celebrated China's reversal.

"WWF welcomes the news that China has postponed lifting its ban on the domestic trade in rhino horn and tiger bone, signalling a positive response to international reaction," Margaret Kinnaird, WWF's wildlife practice leader, said in apress release. "Allowing trade from even captive animals could have had devastating impacts on wild rhino and tiger populations. This move helps maintain the leadership role China has taken in tackling the illegal wildlife trade and reducing market demand."

China Restores Rhino and Tiger Parts Ban After International Fury

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hope they start behaving themselves
bad enough that theres talk of BRAZILS new leader
doing something odd there

yZH9BPMofixNKPo7Kz7bedN8v8cQmE8PfEneSk4ZvXAFMMPkVcsMoKOnBPwbkHl61S0p16Up7uVEA4DdFokR3ZlBC95skTMHFz9ensd_RC4K8tgMTzNFAkJgm5Sk5NqNHW4HdtyR-JjMmhzhv9RUDDfSOicZQ8CeFuo=s0-d-e1-ft


Congo Basin Rainforest Could Be Gone by 2100

By Morgan Erickson-Davis

Africa's Congo Basin is home to the second largest rainforest on the planet. But according to a new study, this may soon not be the case. It finds that at current rates of deforestation, all primary forest will be gone by the end of the century.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) in the U.S. who analyzed satellite data collected between 2000 and 2014. Their results were published Wednesday in Science Advances. It reveals that the Congo Basin lost around 165,000 square kilometers (approximately 64,000 square miles) of forest during their study period.



Florida Man Kills 17.5-Foot Burmese Python in Everglades
 

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Camellia - Paradise Blush $5.99 each
A vigorous upright camellia suited for large hedges/screens with masses of deep pink buds that open almost white with a blush pink on the outside petals 3.5m X 3.5m

Amaryllis - Naranja
$17.99 each
Vivid orange blooms accented by their even deeper lustrous throats.

Bergenia - Snow Cloud $5.50 each
A well proven hardy ground cover from the Victorian era. White flowers fading to pink in late autumn to early winter. Prefers shade to partial shade. 40cm X 40cm.

Amaryllis - Moscow $17.99 each
Stunning crisp white blooms with bright green throats and a pink blush on the back of the petals.

Happy gardening from John, Barbara and the team at GardenPost


We LOVE gardening!