Giant ant hill Megalopolis

This is so cool!! Researchers dug up to see the inner structure of ant hole!

Bananas prevent HIV infection

** Chemicals found in bananas are better at preventing HIV than two current synthetic anti-HIV drugs, according to new study!

Your favorite oblong fruit might be even healthier than you realized. According to The Gazette (Montreal) newspaper, a new study has found that chemicals commonly found in bananas are as potent in preventing HIV as two synthetic anti-HIV drugs. Researchers say the findings could lead to a cheap new component for applied microbicides that prevent sexual transmission of HIV.

The miracle substance in bananas is called BanLec, a type of lectin, which are the sugar-binding proteins found in a variety of plants. Scientists have long been interested in lectins because of their ability to halt the chain reaction that leads to certain viral infections. In the case of BanLec, it works by binding naturally to the sugar-rich envelope that encases the HIV virus, thus blocking its entry into the body.

"The problem with some HIV drugs is that the virus can mutate and become resistant, but that's much harder to do in the presence of lectins," said lead author Michael D. Swanson. "Lectins can bind to the sugars found on different spots of the HIV-1 envelope, and presumably it will take multiple mutations for the virus to get around them."

Swanson and his colleagues noted that even modest success in developing BanLec into a vaginal or anal microbicide could save millions of lives. In fact, 20 percent coverage with a microbicide that is only 60 percent effective against HIV may prevent up to 2.5 million HIV infections in three years. Furthermore, a BanLec ointment would be much cheaper to produce and distribute than most current anti-retroviral medications that require the production of synthetic components.

One thing's for sure: new ways of stopping the transmission of HIV are desperately needed. Condoms are effective, but they are often used incorrectly or inconsistently, and in many cultures and developing countries women are not always in control of their sexual encounters. The introduction of a cheap, long-lasting, self-applied ointment derived naturally from bananas could change all of that.

source: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/health/stories/bananas-prevent-hiv-infection

World's smallest orchid discovered with petals only one cell thick!!

The tiny plant, discovered growing inside the root of another small orchid, is just 2.1 mm wide from petal tip to petal tip.
American botanist Lou Jost, one of the world's leading orchid hunters, is responsible for discovering 60 new species of orchid in the last decade alone. But it's his latest discovery that might be the most unique and unusual.

"I found it among the roots of another plant that I had collected, another small orchid which I took back to grow in my greenhouse to get it to flower," he said of his latest discovery. "A few months later I saw that down among the roots was a tiny little plant that I realized was more interesting than the bigger orchid."

As reported by The Independent, the minuscule new orchid is just 2.1 mm wide, and instantly supersedes the species Platystele jungermannioides as the world's smallest. In fact, the petals are so thin that they are just one cell thick and transparent.

It was found in the Cerro Candelaria reserve in the Ecuadorian Andes, a remote region made famous as home to most of the world's smallest orchids. In fact, over 1,000 new species of the storied flowers have been discovered in Ecuador in the past century, a treasure trove made possible by the continued construction of new roads which give orchid hunters access to what was previously some of the most remote and unspoiled forest habitats in the world.

Hopefully the new discoveries — ironically made possible by roads — will lead to increased awareness about the need to conserve remote habitats rather than develop them.

Orchids glean much of their otherworldy mystique from their highly specialized pollination systems, which often makes the chances of pollination scarce. This has allowed orchids to develop a diverse array of structural variations in their flowers, making them prestigious finds for flower hunters and curious botanists.

Another of Lou Jost's most prized discoveries was a group of 28 closely related types of orchid which evolved in a mountainous area the size of London, a patch of land so small that the find was described as a botanical version of Darwin's finches. In fact, Darwin's own study of the cross-pollination of orchids, as explored in his 1862 book Fertilisation of Orchids, played a large role in the development of his theory of natural selection.

source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/worlds-smallest-orchid-discovered-with-petals-only-one

Daily Double

Researchers in China have genetically engineered cows to produce human milk proteins, raising the prospect of one day breeding cattle that could replace the need for infant formula, PhysOrg reports. Humans have been drinking cows' milk for millennia, but it's still not easily digested and absorbed by human infants, making it an unsuitable nursing substitute. For mothers who can't breastfeed, infant formula is therefore the only option — but it can't fully meet an infant's nutritional needs either. Human milk contains a variety of distinctive proteins as well as human lysozome, which is key to fending off bacteria and boosting a baby's immune system.

To address this problem, Ning Li of the China Agricultural University and his colleagues introduced human lysozome and other human proteins into the embryos of Holstein cattle, which they then placed into surrogate cows. When these cows began lactating, their milk contained human lysozome and other human proteins, such as lactoferrin and lactalbumin, which also help fortify the body's immune system during development. The researchers then used a purification process to raise the fat content and milk solids, and to make the milk taste more like actual human breast milk. One day, they say, this genetically modified cow's milk could be available in grocery stores.

While that could be good news for infants who are spared baby formula, it has raised the hackles of those who distrust cloning and genetic modification, PhysOrg notes. (The researchers used cloning technology to insert the human proteins into the cows.) They worry about the potential risk of exposing sensitive infants to this genetically modified milk, as well as about the welfare of the cows themselves. In one of the study's experiments, for example, 10 of the 42 calves died shortly after birth and six others died within a few months.

Source: http://www.mnn.com/home-blog/green-news-roundup/blogs/daily-briefing-tues-108#milk

Ganges River in India

The pollution in Ganges river is serious issue in India, since so many people are relies on the water of this river.

Look at this river! It shared by human and cattle. How wonderful...

Catastrophe: Earth Quake and Tsunami in Japan

8.9 magnitude earth quake happened today in Japan
10 m tsunami is expected from this impact.

Fishery: To stock or not to stock

Chinook Salmon is non native species that stock into the Great Lake since 1966 to control the invasive species. In presence there is conflict between communities whether they continues stocking or not stocking Chinook Salmon.