The link between flowers and bacteria transmission in wild bees.

A study has shown that multiple flower and wild bee species share several of the same types of bacteria,as these bacteria may play important roles in bee health. The research, published in the journal Microbial Ecology, shows for the first time that multiple flower and wild bee species share several of the same types of bacteria. Wild bees although not as widely studied as honey bees or bumblebees, are a critical in the pollination puzzle. Wild bees could become more important because of the decline in numbers of honey bees due to colony collapse disorder, which has resulted in the loss of more than 10 million hives in the past decade. The team collected wild bees and flowers from 2 locations,they simulated bee nests by drilling holes into wood and placing these nests in fields with wildflowers,because wild bees naturally nest in abandoned holes in trees created by beetles. The bees established nests in wood and they were collected , the microbiomes of their guts and the pollen they were carrying was analyzed. They also collected flowers at the site including those that the bees visited and flowers that they didn't visit. They ensured flowers that had not been visited by bees, had bags placed over them before they bloomed and then picked them once they matured and opened. The result showed that the bacteria were present on the flowers whether they were bagged or not. The presence of bee-associated bacteria in bagged flowers suggests the bacteria may be transmitted to flowers via plant surfaces, the air or small insects. The bacteria shared by flowers and wild bees is believed to be beneficial because of the presence of Lactobacillus bacteria, which was found on all the flower and bee samples.

Rapid test to detect salmonella in meat and poultry.

A study published in the journal of food safety,shows a rapid test to detect salmonella in meat and poultry. Salmonella is the leading cause of food borne illnesses so an early detection of the pathogen, by a rapid and sensitive test is important to prevent the illness and economic losses. Scientists led by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers has found a faster and more precise way to detect salmonella in beef and chicken. In the study, researchers artificially contaminated food with salmonella, and then tested the food samples using Salmonella-specific antibodies combined with a unique signal amplification technique. The test found salmonella present after 15 hours and removed other microorganisms that sometimes clutter laboratory results. This is shorter than the two to three days it takes to detect salmonella in a culture.This test is an effective simple monitoring system for food borne pathogens in food samples, which can improve food safety .

Small implanted device limits metastatic breast cancer.

A new finding reported in Cancer Research shows how a medical device implanted under the skin can improve breast cancer survival by catching cancer cells, slowing the development of metastatic tumors in other organs and allowing time to intervene with surgery or other therapies. This study shows that in the metastatic setting, early detection combined with a therapeutic intervention can improve outcomes. Early detection of a primary tumor is generally associated with improved outcomes.This study, done in mice shows that the implantable scaffold device effectively captures metastatic cancer cells. The scaffold is made of FDA-approved material commonly used in sutures and wound dressings. It's biodegradable and can last up to two years within a patient. The researchers envision it would be implanted under the skin, monitored with non-invasive imaging and removed upon signs of cancer cell colonization, at which point treatment could be administered. The scaffold is designed to mimic the environment in other organs before cancer cells migrate there. The scaffold attracts the body's immune cells, and the immune cells draw in the cancer cells. This then limits the immune cells from heading to the lung, liver or brain, where breast cancer commonly spreads.Typically, immune cells initially colonize a metastatic site and then pave the way for cancer cells to spread to that organ. In the mouse study at day 5 after tumor initiation, the researchers found a detectable percentage of tumor cells within the scaffold but none in the lung, liver or brain, suggesting that the cancer cells hit the scaffold first. At 15 days after tumor initiation, they found 64 percent fewer cancer cells in the liver and 75 percent fewer cancer cells in the brains of mice with scaffolds compared to mice without scaffolds. This suggests that the presence of the scaffold slows the progress of metastatic disease. The researchers removed the tumors at day 10, which is after detection but before substantial spreading, and found the mice that had the scaffold in place survived longer than mice that did not have a scaffold. While surgery was the primary intervention in this study, the researchers suggest that additional medical treatments might also be tested as early interventions. This system is early detection and treatment, not a cure, the researchers emphasize. The scaffold won't prevent metastatic disease or reverse disease progression for patients with established metastatic cancer.

New mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti.

University of Florida researchers have identified a patient in Haiti with a serious mosquito-borne illness that has never before been reported in the Caribbean nation. Its known as "Mayaro virus," and it is closely related to chikungunya virus and was first isolated in Trinidad in 1954. Most reported cases, however, have been confined to small outbreaks in the Amazon. Whether this case signals the start of a new outbreak in the Caribbean region is currently unknown. The case was identified from a blood sample taken in January 2015 from an 8-year-old boy in rural Haiti. The patient had a fever and abdominal pain but no rash or conjunctivitis.The symptoms of Mayaro fever are similar to those of chikungunya fever: fever, joint pain, muscle pain and rashes. Abdominal pain is also a feature of Mayaro fever, however, and joint pain can last longer.

Detection of mad cow disease using cattle retina.

A study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal PLOS ONE shows that examining the retinas of cattle can give information about mad cow disease 11 months before signs are noticed. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy BSE, known more commonly as mad cow disease, is an untreatable neurodegenerative disorder caused by misfolded brain proteins known as prions . Classic BSE incubates for years before farmers,herdsmen or veterinarians notice symptoms, which is usually discovered when the animal can no longer stand on its own. The cow's retina could give secrets about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the retina is part of the central nervous system,the part of the brain that windows the outside world. Studies have shown that changes occur in the retina of animals that have prion diseases. The study used noninvasive technologies to access the retinas and determine the health status of the animal. This can easily be adapted for inspection and selection of animals both for import and slaughter to ensure food safety. Examination of retinas of cattle will be a much faster way to check for mad cow disease and prevent economic loses.

The CashMinder; helping you to track your money.

A new farm management tool has been launched to help farmers track and monitor their money and provide data quickly to their accountant. CashMinder, developed by Agrinet, is designed to work primarily around electronic data from online banking systems and also from online dairy co-op systems. The cashminder is a simple and quick farm cash management system that allows you to track your money and provide data quickly to farmers’ accountants, farm advisers and to the Teagasc eProfit Monitor. CashMinder has been developed using its own database with its own access username and password.It requires no names, addresses or contact phone numbers. There is no connection at all with any other Agrinet databases, for example, the Agrinet grass database. The software gives farmers the option to ask their accountant or farm adviser to sign them up on CashMinder and they may be the only people who know your identification on CashMinder. One of the benefits of the software are that it allows farmers to create a simple and quick cash flow budget, project the current account bank balance for the rest of the year and track cash flow via the bank as time passes and compare to the budget. The tool also allows banks realize and take a significant interest in seeing farmers ability to track the cashflow and projected cashflow. The CashMinder will allow the farmer,investors and would-be partners to access the state of business and projections of the venture. Its a simple farm management tool,see it

Food Safety : Use of banned drugs in food animal production and the health implication in man.

Animals raised and processed for food have a great deal of impact on the health and well being of man. The saying "you are what you eat" hold true ,as whatever you throw in or gulp down shows up in terms of fat or a trim frame. 

Now a days the term is modified to you are "what your animals eat", meaning if you feed crap,you get crap at the end. The business of raising animals for consumption is not a minor issue, aside the monetary issue(profit margin),the health status of the animals and by extension humans that consume these products is very important as the drugs used in the production line must be safe for the animals and humans as well. 

 The superbugs issue has actually been traced to misuse or overuse of antibiotics in food animal production and this has birthed the antibiotic free production movement ,everyone is alert and aware of nutrients,health benefits,side effects and most importantly,people are going organic. 

This awareness has helped to enforce certain regulation and formulation of new regulations regarding what drugs to use and what not to administer during production. The regulation coupled with surveillance and strict inspection during slaughter to test for residues has helped to prevent greedy producers from passing dangerous products to the public. 

 This is the case of a cattle breeder;Stanley Richardson (67) from Woodford, Newtowngore,convicted and fined €500 and ordered to pay costs of €5,000 after he was found guilty of selling an animal which had been given bute, a banned substance.

Richardson was found guilty of selling a bull which had been administered the banned substance phenylbutazone, also known as bute. 

 Phenylbutazone is known to induce blood dyscrasias, including aplastic anemia, leukopenia, agranulocytosis, and thrombocytopenia, and can result in death. Hypersensitivity reactions of the serum-sickness type have also been reported. 

 The banned substance has the potential to have a carcinogenic effect on humans, thus why it is prohibited in food producing animals. Bute can be used to treat horses, as it is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, provided horses treated are not intended for human consumption.