Thursday, June 28, 2012

Biology Lecture Videos: Fantastic !

http://www.learnerstv.com/

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Puget Sound Pollution -PBS Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm1lbwz3Dz8

Poisoned Storm Drain Water

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2009/2009-04-27-091.asp

Washington State Seeks Public Help to Clean Puget Sound

OLYMPIA, Washington, April 27, 2009 (ENS) - Carrying millions of pounds of toxic contaminants each year, stormwater is the biggest urban water quality threat in the rainy state of Washington, the state Department of Ecology has determined.

Broadcast to mark Earth Day, the PBS Frontline documentary "Poisoned Waters" put Puget Sound's water quality issues in the national spotlight, and Josh Baldi, the Department of Ecology's special assistant for Puget Sound, said studies conducted by the department support Frontline's observations of toxic materials entering the water.

Baldi says the Department of Ecology now is cleaning many near-shore areas with high levels of toxic chemicals in sediments and is reaching out to involve the more than four million people who live and work around the Puget Sound in reducing the amount of toxics flowing into the Sound.

In addition to the major cities of Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Everett, Puget Sound hosts seven military bases, including Fort Lewis with its population of more than 19,000, and the Bangor submarine base where ballistic missile submarines, armed with Trident missiles, are homeported.

The Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma if combined, comprise the second largest container port in North America after Los Angeles/Long Beach.

"Our greatest challenge is getting everyone who lives around the Sound to help reduce the constant stream of toxics entering the Sound every day," Baldi said.

Tugs compete in the world's largest tugboat race during Maritime Festival in Puget Sound. (Photo by Don Wilson courtesy Port of Seattle)

To help focus its efforts, Ecology has developed a new computer prediction tool that analyzes how toxic chemicals move through the Sound's water, sediment, and marine life. The tool will boost the state's understanding of how stormwater pollution affects conditions of Puget Sound.

The Ecology computer model simulates water circulation, transport of toxic chemicals in water and sediments, and the buildup of toxics in the Puget Sound food web.

The tool tells scientists that stormwater is still carrying polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, into Puget Sound, even though the family of chemicals was banned 30 years ago. For decades, PCBs were commonly used in adhesives, asphalt roofing materials, paint, lubricants, caulking and grout, and as a coolant for hot electrical equipment.

When PCBs were banned in 1979, the action decreased sources of the chemical in the region. While no longer manufactured, PCBs are still in limited use, and toxic chemicals with similar properties are in use throughout the region.

Ecology used PCBs as a test case for the model because, relative to other toxic contaminants, there is a great deal of existing information on concentrations in different parts of the Sound.

"PCBs are probably a good indicator of how other toxic chemicals with similar properties such as banned flame retardants, chlorinated pesticides and mercury are getting into and moving through the Puget Sound ecosystem," said David Dicks, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, a community effort of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses to restore and protect the Sound.

Department of Ecology scientists will use this model to look at other toxic contaminants in Puget Sound, such as zinc, copper, lead and petroleum products.

"This new science and the advances of the last several years show us how enormous and complex the stormwater problem is, and that we are going to need a lot of help to fix it," said Baldi. "Orca whales, salmon, herring and rockfish accumulate and carry PCBs in their bodies. The toxic pollutants make our resident orcas more vulnerable to infectious disease, impair reproduction, and impede normal growth and development."

Although PCBs are found in greater concentrations in urban areas � especially where significant spills have occurred � forested lands also are contaminated due to air deposition.

Today, a key source of PCBs is accumulated deposits from air pollution, Baldi said. Erosion of disturbed soil due to land use changes like development, releases these accumulated deposits onto hard surfaces, such as roads, into stormwater and into Puget Sound.

"Traditional methods of developing land are one of the main reasons PCBs and similar toxic chemicals today are being washed into Puget Sound," said Rob Duff, manager of Ecology's environmental assessment program. "Our modeling tool predicts that if we can decrease the toxics in surface runoff now, we can decrease concentrations of toxics in our sediments, fish and other marine life in Puget Sound."

"The model predicts that more than 95 percent of the PCBs already in the aquatic ecosystem are present in sediments and from there begin to bioaccumulate in various aquatic species," Dicks said. "We need to zero in on the sources of contamination as well as continue targeted cleanup efforts in our urban bays throughout the region."

Baldi says the new computer model will be useful in evaluating how Puget Sound's health responds to various levels of reductions in inputs of toxic chemicals.

The Washington State Legislature has passed a bill to establish a stormwater technology resource center to provide a place where state agencies, local governments and private parties can find practical solutions to stormwater challenges. This includes research, development, technology demonstration, technology transfer, education, outreach, recognition, and training programs.

Baldi said that Department of Ecology inspectors, local source control inspectors, industrial environmental coordinators and other "boots on the ground" face continued hard work to control sources of toxic chemicals and prevent them from reaching the waters of the Sound.

He said establishing good management practices, such as low-impact development and use of porous materials for hard surfaces where possible, will help reduce the load of toxic chemicals coming from stormwater. These efforts will directly benefit Puget Sound fish and shellfish and everyone who eats them.

Baldi pointed again to the documentary, "Poisoned Waters," with its message that effective restoration of water quality takes local action by committed citizens. Restoration can improve the quality of life as well as protect the Sound, he said.

People can learn how to help reduce toxics in stormwater online at the site Washington Waters � Ours to Protect at www.ecy.wa.gov/washington_waters/ and at the Puget Sound Partnership at: www.psp.wa.gov.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Investigating Medicinal Uses of Mushrooms/Fungi

Mushroom Research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinal_mushrooms

Welcome to Medical Mushrooms .net, information about Reishi, Lingshi, Shiitake, Shitake, Cordyceps, Maitake etc

Many species of medicinal mushrooms have been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. In the East we find the best documentation about the use of medicinal mushrooms in folk medicine. Medicinal mushrooms are now the subject of study for many ethnobotanists and medical researchers and the ability of some

mushrooms to inhibit tumor growth and enhance aspects of the immune system has been a subject of research for approximately 50 years. In the span of this time, compounds from more than 200 different species of mushrooms were found to possess anti-cancer activity. Recent research has found that the oyster mushroom naturally contains the cholesterol drug lovastatin, mushrooms produce large amounts of vitamin D when exposed to UV light, and that certain fungi may be a future source of taxol. International mushroom research continues today, with a focus on mushroom's that may have hypoglycemic activity, anti-cancer activity, anti-pathogenic activity, and immune system enhancing activity.

Research conducted in the past with fungi has led to the discovery of penicillin, lovastatin, ciclosporin, griseofulvin, cephalosporin, and ergometrine.

Medicinal Mushrooms, Chinese medicine / Herbal medicine

The concept of a "medicinal mushroom" is far from new. The Ancient Egyptians has hieroglyphics dating back 4,600 years associated mushrooms with immortality and they considered mushrooms a special food item for royalty.

For thousands of years in China, mushrooms were thought to promote health and longevity and in general civilizations spanning throughout Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia have long been mushroom-friendly, taking part in mushroom hunting, and incorporating mushrooms in local cuisines.

Mushrooms have been viewed from a different light in places like the UK, Ireland, and North America. There are numerous possible explanations but one explanation is due to the fact the Ancient Greeks and Romans were silent about any possible health benefits of mushrooms. Another explanation is that these countries often associated mushrooms with filth and were acutely aware of the fact some are poisonous. Other factors which may have contributed to the negative image of mushrooms was the death of Roman emperor, Claudius, who was long rumored to be killed by mushroom poisoning.

Another event which helped give mushrooms a negative image was the Middle Ages, where mushrooms and folk medicine were associated with the devil.

Currently in the East, mushrooms continue to enjoy a great reputation and the Western world is beginning to examine the concept of medicinal mushrooms and their potential. In 2008, UC Davis published a review of medicinal mushroom research and encouraged further research by way of clinical trials. However, the review stated that currently there is not enough known about medicinal mushrooms to begin promoting their use in the treatment of specific diseases.

Institutions furthering medicinal mushroom research include the City of Hope National Medical Center, as well as the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Research suggests the compounds in medicinal mushrooms most responsible for up-regulating the immune system, are a diverse collection of polysaccharides, particularly beta-glucans, and to a lesser extent, alpha-glucans. These polysaccharides are made up of repeating units of D-glucose monomers and come in a huge variety of shapes (due to the multiple locations available for glycosidic bonding between D-glucose units) and molecular weights (due to the varying lengths possible for D-glucose chains). Proteins can also be attached to these mushroom polysaccharides. An example of this would be the protein-bound beta-glucans that are contained in Polysaccharide-K.

Beta-glucans are currently known as "biological response modifiers", and their ability to activate the immune system is well documented. Specifically, beta-glucans stimulate the innate branch of the immune system. Research has shown beta-glucans have the ability to stimulate macrophage, NK cells, T cells, and immune system cytokines. The mechanisms in which beta-glucans stimulate the immune system is only partially understood. One mechanism in which beta-glucans are able to activate the immune system, is by interacting with the Macrophage-1 antigen (CD18) receptor on immune cells. Other human receptors have been identified as being able to receive signals from beta-glucans such as Toll-like receptor 2, Dectin-1, lactosylceramide, and scavenger receptors.

Mushrooms may be able to influence the production of certain human hormones, due to evidence from enzyme assay analysis. Mushrooms like Agaricus bisporus may be able to partially inhibit the activity of aromatase, the enzyme responsible for producing estrogen. Mushrooms like Reishi may be able to partially inhibit the activity of 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme responsible for producing dihydrotestosterone.
[edit] Direct anti-viral and anti-microbial properties
HSV-1 cultured in a petri dish.

Research has shown that some mushrooms exhibit in vitro anti-viral properties.

* Agaricus blazei - Polio, Western equine encephalitis
* Cordyceps sinensis - Hepatitis B
* Coriolus versicolor - HIV
* Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) - HSV-1, HSV-2, Influenza virus, Vesicular stomatitis
* Hypsizygus tessellatus - Epstein-Barr virus
* Inonotus obliquus (Chaga) - Influenza virus
* Kuehneromyces mutabilis - Influenza virus
* Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) - HSV-1, HIV, Influenza virus, Vesicular stomatitis (contains a proteinase inhibitor.)
* Piptoporus betulinus - Pox virus
* Pleurotus eryngii - Tobacco mosaic virus
* Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster mushroom) - HIV

Research has also shown that some mushrooms exhibit in vitro anti-microbial effects on the following organisms.

* Agaricus blazei - escherichia coli
* Flammulina velutipes (Enokitake) - staphylococcus aureus
* Fomes fomentarius - escherichia coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa
* Ganoderma applanatum - Bacillus cereus, escherichia coli
* Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) - aspergillus niger, Bacillus cereus, candida albicans, escherichia coli
* Grifola frondosa (Maitake) - candida albicans
* Hericium erinaceus - aspergillus niger, Bacillus cereus, candida albicans
* Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) - candida albicans, listeria monocytogenes, mycobacterium tuberculosis, staphylococcus aureus, steptococcus pneumoniae, streptococcus pyogenes
* Piptoporus betulinus - Bacillus cereus, pseudomonas aeruginosa, pseudomonas fluorescens
* Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster mushroom) - aspergillus niger, Bacillus cereus, escherichia coli, plasmodium falciparum, pseudomonas aeruginosa, pseudomonas fluorescens
* Sparassis crispa - Bacillus cereus
* Trametes versicolor - aspergillus niger, candida albicans, escherichia coli, steptococcus pneumoniae

Mushroom medicine

Return of the Fungi | Mother Jones

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Moms Roses fertilizer: best recipe

Bone meal, 20lbs
Fish Meal, 20 lbs
Epson salt, 20 lbs
Mixed thoroughly,
Spread on top soil of roses, makes fuller blooms, 2 blooms sometimes

Friday, June 15, 2012

Microbial Stains

Buy Microbial Stains for Identification:

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/c0775?lang=en&region=US&cm_sp=Customer_Favorites-_-Detail_Page-_-Text-C0775

Teratology

Teratology: the study of birth defects and more

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratology

BioRemediation: Using Bacteria to clean up metal wastes/pollution - Hexavalent Chromium

Hexavalent Chromium:
http://www.environmental-expert.com/Files%5C5306%5Carticles%5C12672%5C397.pdf

Thursday, June 14, 2012

African Crop Preservation - Wangari Maathai (Nobel Prize)

http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/

Founded in 1977 by Professor Wangari Maathai, the Green Belt Movement (GBM) has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. GBM works at the grassroots, national, and international levels to promote environmental conservation; to build climate resilience and empower communities, especially women and girls; to foster democratic space and sustainable livelihoods.

The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region.

Biology Global Issues