Blood in a Mosquito’s Belly Could Reveal How Diseases Spread.

Keven is a doctoral student at Michigan State University, and leader of the mosquito-catching team. Over the last few summers, John Keven has spent many long nights under the stars in Papua New Guinea. For 12 hours at a time, he’ll scour a giant green net set up between thatched huts, looking for resting mosquitoes every 20 minutes. When he spots one with his headlamp, he quietly approaches, extending a long rubber tube to suck the bug off the net. Then he blows it from the tube into a container for analysis—in a lab halfway around the world. The undigested blood inside the Anopheles punctulatus mosquitoes Keven collects is going to the research team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which uses DNA markers to identify what the insects feed on through the night—information that could help predict how they spread disease. The team’s recent testing, published last month in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, revealed that this type of mosquito feeds on a wider range of species than expected, potentially influencing the way it transmits malaria. The bugs feast on the humans in the villages, but also the pigs, dogs, mice and even marsupial species in the area. But this study is only one of a growing number of attempts to characterize mosquito behavior by analyzing the blood they suck. The recent emergence of Zika virus, entomologists say that matching the DNA fingerprint of human blood inside mosquitoes with individuals could help shed light on how these insects spread disease—and who is most vulnerable. “The extent to which mosquitoes don’t bite on everyone the same might actually be important when you think about who’s most important to vaccinate,” says Steve Stoddard, an entomologist at San Diego State University who has studied mosquito feeding behaviors. Data from this type of work could influence how researchers mathematically model the possible future spread of diseases carried by mosquitoes. In 2014, Stoddard and his colleagues analyzed the feeding behaviors of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that is a prime suspect in the current spread of Zika virus. This species can carry dengue, too, and it likes to hang around inside human dwellings, making it even riskier. The scientists collected mosquitoes from inside 19 households in Iquitos, a Peruvian port city on the Amazon, along with cheek swabs to capture DNA from 275 residents. read more here http://www.wired.com/2016/04/blood-mosquitos-belly-reveal-diseases-spread/

Yellow fever outbreak first reported in Angola kills 21 people in Congo.

Yellow fever outbreak that killed hundreds in Angola appears to be moving to neighboring Congo, where it has left at least 21 people dead. The Democratic Republic of Congo reported the deaths this week, the World Health Organization said in a statement that between January and March, at least 151 people were suspected of having the disease in the Congo. Some of the cases were detected in areas bordering Angola and "were imported" from there, according to the organization. At least 225 deaths have been reported in Angola as of this week, the nation's worst yellow fever outbreak in three decades. Most of the cases have been in the capital, Luanda. "The report of yellow fever infection in travelers returning from Angola ... highlights the risk of international spread," the WHO statement said. Yellow fever is transmitted by two types of mosquitoes, one of which is responsible for the Zika virus that has ravaged the Americas.The yellow fever virus is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected monkey and then bites a human. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite, and can be confused for malaria or other mosquito-borne illnesses. A small percentage of infected people experience a second phase within 24 hours of becoming ill. It comes with more advanced symptoms, including jaundice, hemorrhaging and bleeding from the eyes, nose and mouth. At least half of the patients who get the second phase of the disease die within 10 to 14 days. There is no treatment for yellow fever, but patients can get supportive care.

RISKS OF HAVING A FAT CAT.

Overweight cats are exposed to a lot of risks with grave health consequences, the most common health problems associated with obesity are diabetes, liver disease, lameness and chronic skin conditions. Other diseases linked to obesity are dental disease, lower urinary tract disease and cancer. Obese cats are at increased risk during anesthesia or surgery, their immune function is decreased, their mobility may be poor, and they have decreased exercise and heat tolerance. Adjustment of diet is the first step to weight loss,followed by exercise. The important point to note is not to put your cat on a crash diet. When you cut your fat cat’s food intake suddenly and dramatically, you are putting your pet at high risk for hepatic lipidosis, also know as fatty liver disease. Write a log of your cat's feed and calculate how much food to feed, when to feed it and type of diet to provide. The next step is to change the relationship with your cat, by altering the way your cat interacts with food. Instead of using food as a show of your love, be generous instead with praise, affection and exercise. Exercising your cat is not only fun for you both, but it also helps preserve your cat’s lean body mass so what gets lost is fat, not muscle. You can also make your cat exercise without you by turning him into the hunter he was born to be. That can be as simple as hiding small bowls of food throughout the house for him to nose out on his own or by making him work a little harder by putting kibble in food puzzles.The use of interactive cat toys such as a cat “fishing pole” and balls for 10-15 minutes twice a day to play will really help the weight loss programme. Slow and steady wins the race, slowly but surely the weight will drop off.

FELINE OBESITY.

Obesity is a big problem in cats — literally. So many cats are overweight or obese . The difference between overweight and obese: Overweight cats are 10 to 29 percent over ideal weight while obese cats are 30 percent or more over ideal weight.) More than half of our feline friends — nearly 58 percent — could stand to shed a few pounds. That’s not something to take lightly. Its not easy to put your cat on a diet and exercise plan, especially if he lives a sedentary indoor life. And the answer isn’t to let him roam outdoors — unless you have a safely enclosed area for him. But you can work with your veterinarian to develop a feline weight-loss program designed to improve your cat’s health and activity level. And that will leave both of you purring.Any diet starts with decreasing the number of calories your cat takes in and increasing the number of calories he burns through activity Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/got-a-fat-feline-how-to-help-your-cat-shed-those-extra-pounds.html#ixzz45vQ5GChB

PEPPER SPRAY!!!!

There are a million reasons to be cautious because of various forms of external assaults, and numerous ways and methods are available. I want to talk about a simple and easy method to protect yourself. The pepper spray, the materials needed are cheap and readily available. MATERIALS. 1) Spray bottle. 2) finely grounded dry pepper. 3) ethanol. METHOD. Pour the finely grounded dry pepper in a vat,then add ethanol to the same vat. Stir mix thoroughly and dispense in bottles. The next time you need to go out alone,or pass through a dark path,remember to carry your spray bottle. vetpreneur@ pepper spray maker.

Researchers increase red bell pepper carotenoid solubility for food and beverage applications

Researchers increase red bell pepper carotenoid solubility for food and beverage applications: By mixing red bell pepper carotenoid with a sugar compound, researchers found that the carotenoid’s solubility was enhanced, enabling application as natural pigment or bioactive substance.

Device harnessing thoughts allows quadriplegic to use his hands .

An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord. Scientists on Wednesday described accomplishments achieved by 24-year-old quadriplegic Ian Burkhart using an implanted chip that relays signals from his brain through 130 electrodes on his forearm to produce muscle movement in his hands and fingers. Burkhart first demonstrated the “neural bypass” technology in 2014 when he was able simply to open and close his hand. But the scientists, in research published in the journal Nature, said he can now perform multiple useful tasks with more sophisticated hand and finger movements. The technology, which for now can only be used in the laboratory, is being perfected with an eye toward a wireless system without the need for a cable running from the head to relay brain signals. “This study marks the first time that a person living with paralysis has regained movement by using signals recorded from within the brain,” said bioelectronic medicine researcher Chad Bouton of the New York-based Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, who worked on the study at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Ohio. Burkhart said the technology lets him function like “a normal member of society.” The technology potentially could help people not only after spinal cord injuries but after strokes or traumatic brain injuries, Bouton added. Burkhart, a former lacrosse goalie, suffered a broken neck and spinal cord damage at age 19 diving into a wave ( http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/device-harnessing-thoughts-allows-quadriplegic-to-use-his-hands/#MXp5F33Tom2uXhRI.99) Surgeons implanted the pea-sized chip into his motor cortex, which controls voluntary muscular activity. The chip, connected to a cable running from his head to a sleeve containing the electrodes wrapped around his forearm, sends brain signals that stimulate muscles controlling the hands and fingers. Burkhart, with six wrist and hand motions, could rotate his hand, make a fist, pinch his fingers together, grasp objects like a bottle, spoon and telephone, swipe a credit card and play the video game simulating guitar strumming. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center neurosurgeon Ali Rezai called the results a “milestone in the evolution of brain-computer interface technology.” Burkhart said “Things are kind of moving along better than I imagined,” B