Scientists Identify a Secret Ingredient in Honey That Kills Bacteria

Sweet news for those looking for new antibiotics: A new research published in the July 2010 print edition of the FASEB Journal explains for the first time how honey kills bacteria. Specifically, the research shows that bees make a protein that they add to the honey, called defensin-1, which could one day be used to treat burns and skin infections and to develop new drugs that could combat antibiotic-resistant infections.

"We have completely elucidated the molecular basis of the antibacterial activity of a single medical-grade honey, which contributes to the applicability of honey in medicine," said Sebastian A.J. Zaat, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Medical Microbiology at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. "Honey or isolated honey-derived components might be of great value for prevention and treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria."

To make the discovery, Zaat and colleagues investigated the antibacterial activity of medical-grade honey in test tubes against a panel of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. They developed a method to selectively neutralize the known antibacterial factors in honey and determine their individual antibacterial contributions. Ultimately, researchers isolated the defensin-1 protein, which is part of the honey bee immune system and is added by bees to honey. After analysis, the scientists concluded that the vast majority of honey's antibacterial properties come from that protein. This information also sheds light on the inner workings of honey bee immune systems, which may one day help breeders create healthier and heartier honey bees.

"We've known for millennia that honey can be good for what ails us, but we haven't known how it works," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal, "Now that we've extracted a potent antibacterial ingredient from honey, we can make it still more effective and take the sting out of bacterial infections."

http://refreshingnews9.blogspot.com/2010/07/scientists-identify-secret-ingredient.html

Abstract from FASEB Journal:

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/7/2576?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Honey&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=24&issue=7&resourcetype=HWCIT

China’s Solar Valley: biggest solar energy production base in world

China is in the process of building what it calls “the biggest solar energy production base in the world.”

Called “Solar Valley,” the experimental venture has claimed the land of tens of thousands of farmers in an effort to construct China’s answer to California’s Silicon Valley, according to a new Washington Post report.

The $740 million project, which is located near the northern city of Dezhou, is supposed to demonstrate how China can both promote and profit from cleantech.

It has attracted some 100 companies and already inspired the construction of factories, a research center and wide boulevards illuminated by solar-powered lights.

But it’s a difficult vision to reconcile with China’s growing manufacturing economy. The Post’s Andrew Higgins explains:

Short of a calamitous economic collapse or a game-changing technological breakthrough, China’s chances look slim: Its mostly coal- and oil-fueled economy is growing so fast that its real but relatively modest green gains simply can’t keep up.

Higgins outlines the catch-22 that Dezhou city officials are in: they have spent $10 million to install solar lighting along miles of road and erected billboards advertising low-carbon living as the city’s 600,000 residents bought twice as many new cars as the year before.

More interesting takeaways from Higgins’ report:

• Dezhou has positioned itself as a hub for greentech, calling itself China Solar City.
• Last year, China invested $34 billion in solar panels, wind turbines and other alternative energy tech. That’s almost twice as much as the U.S.
• Goldman Sachs has invested $100 million in local power Himin Solar Energy Group, the world’s largest supplier of solar water heaters.
• China aims to get 15 percent of its power from renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric dams, by 2020. (It’s at 9 percent now.) The challenge: increasing coal consumption offsets gains.

Will China take the lead on renewables?

http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/chinas-solar-valley-biggest-solar-energy-production-base-in-world/7326/

300 million sq m in North China for the Solar Energy Valley, according to Al-Jazeera report:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INUc6C3H-p8

Solar Plane

An experimental plane, powered only by rays from the sun, has taken off from Switzerland for its first 24-hour test flight.

The "Solar Impulse" took off on Wednesday from Payerne airfield shortly after dawn.

Clear blue skies meant that the prototype aircraft was able to soak up plenty of solar energy as it made a gradual ascent to a final altitude to 27,900 feet or 8,500 metres.

As the sun began to set, a decision needed to be made whether to continue through the night using solar power stored in its batteries, or whether to land.

Al Jazeera's Charles Straford reports on the experimental plane:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzHTeqOg4dA&playnext_from=TL&videos=xZmPbHcBUaI

 

Stroke Risk Temporarily Increases for an Hour After Drinking Alcohol, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (July 15, 2010) — Call it the not-so-happy hour. The risk of stroke appears to double in the hour after consuming just one drink -- be it wine, beer or hard liquor -- according to a small multi-center study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100715162910.htm

Brain Training Reverses Age-Related Cognitive Decline

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2010) — Specialized brain training targeted at the regions of a rat's brain that process sound reversed many aspects of normal, age-related cognitive decline and improved the health of the brain cells, according to a new study from researchers at University of California, San Francisco.

The results indicate that people who experience age-related cognitive decline, including slower mental processing and decreased response to new stimuli, might also benefit from specially designed mental exercises.

"From middle age onward, there are universal changes in the brain affecting perceptual processing," said Etienne de Villers-Sidani, MD, a neurologist and post-doctoral fellow with the UCSF Department of Otolaryngology who was the lead author on the study. "We used to think these were permanent changes and now are beginning to think maybe they're not."

The study found that intense auditory training greatly improved sound perception and processing among rats that had previously experienced normal, age-related sensory-processing degradation ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100720091153.htm

'Runaway' Development Implicated in Loss of Function of the Aging Brain

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2010) — The brain undergoes rapid growth and development in the early years of life and then degenerates as we progress into old age, yet little is known about the biological processes that distinguish brain development and aging. In a report published online in Genome Research, researchers have identified a gene regulatory link between changes in the young and aging brain, describing "runaway" development as a potentially significant factor in age-related loss of function.

The brain grows and changes dramatically during the early years of life, with some developmental processes extending well into adulthood. In later years, the brain undergoes destructive changes, such as a drop in brain volume, synapse loss, and cognitive decline. While brain development and aging are areas of intense research, they are traditionally studied separately, and little is known about the boundaries between the two processes.

Underlying brain development is the complex and coordinated process of gene regulation. "In development, many genes are turned on and off by regulators, such as transcription factors and microRNAs." said Mehmet Somel, postdoctoral researcher at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences. "The question is, do all of these regulatory processes cease once adulthood is reached, or are they still active in aging?"

Somel and an international team of researchers addressed this question by investigating messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA, and protein expression changes in the prefrontal cortex of humans and rhesus macaque monkeys over the life span of each species. The prefrontal cortex is believed to be involved in functions such as complex behavior, personality, and decision-making.

The group found that distinct patterns of gene regulation in the prefrontal cortex do not stop at maturity, instead persisting into old age, a phenomenon that was observed for many different functional processes. One particularly striking example was the down-regulation of genes related to neuronal function. ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100719174903.htm

Academic Language Impedes Students' Ability to Learn Science, Expert Argues

ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2010) — With a little guidance, educators can help students learn to read and understand the complex language of science texts, according to Catherine E. Snow of Harvard University and the SERP Institute

Middle and high school students who read fluently in English class and on the Web may find that they cannot understand their science texts. And their science teachers may be ill prepared to guide them in reading the academic language in which science information is presented...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100422153758.htm