WASHINGTON (AP) ? The pending $85 billion in federal spending cuts would seem like a tea partyer's dream. Why, then, are tea party activists and other conservatives so wary on the eve of the big reductions, which Congress and the White House seem unable or unwilling to stop?
It's because even ardent cost-cutters see the so-called "sequester" as a ham-handed and unpredictable way to reduce federal spending. While a few tea party activists are claiming all-out victory, others are keeping their distance, calling the across-the-board cuts the least-bad of several unpleasant options.
"I think it's a crazy idea," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a tea party favorite. "The only thing crazier than sequester is to walk away from the cuts that it guarantees."
Rubio's remarks reflect Republicans' nervousness about how the public might react to the domestic and military spending cuts scheduled to begin Friday.
But in many ways, the sequester marks the tea party movement's maturation into a virtually mainstream role in the Republican Party. Cutting the Pentagon's budget once was unthinkable for most Republican lawmakers. But now it is trumped by the drive to keep taxes down while reducing costs wherever possible.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans agreed to the sequester in 2011 only as a consequence so unpalatable that it would goad them into finding a deficit-reduction compromise. The compromise never materialized, however, and now the nation is about to swallow what lawmakers once called a "poison pill" of their own making.
Republicans fear a possible backlash against program cuts and furloughs of government workers and contractors, especially at military bases. They also worry that the cuts will have an economic domino effect, eliminating thousands of private-sector jobs and possibly pushing the nation back into recession.
If that happens, and if voters decide Republicans are chiefly to blame, then the tea party movement could further divide an already roiling GOP.
President Barack Obama and other Democrats say Republican intransigence on tax increases is the sequester's main cause. And public polls indicate Americans are more inclined to fault the GOP if things go badly, although some Republicans believe they can change that.
For now, the approaching cuts are testament to the power of anti-tax sentiment ? and, to a less proven degree, anti-spending sentiment ? in the Republican Party. The tea party movement is strongly associated with these sentiments. But it certainly can't take all the credit.
Long before the tea party's birth in 2009, anti-tax activists such as Grover Norquist were pushing the Republican Party to take inviolable stands against new taxes, even as the deficit soared and the federal tax burden approached historic lows.
Obama won re-election after calling for new taxes on the wealthy. He achieved some of them in January. But Republican lawmakers now say "no more," contributing to the sequester impasse.
The tea party has lost much of its exotic flavor that was punctuated by noisy rallies with costumed activists in 2009 and 2010. Its influence, however, appears larger now. "It has melted into the GOP base," said John J. Pitney, Jr., a former Republican staffer who teaches political science at Claremont McKenna College in California. "Anti-tax voters make up a large share of the vote in GOP primaries," he said, "so Republican lawmakers support tax increases at their peril."
But Republicans could face another kind of peril, Pitney said, if the sequester lasts for months and begins to erode "visible, popular programs."
Duke University political scientist David Rohde said the tea party has become "the populist conservative faction of the Republican Party." It drew well-deserved credit for fueling the Republicans' big congressional and gubernatorial wins in 2010, he said, even though some tea party-backed Senate nominees lost key races.
The movement's future, Rohde said, depends on whether tea party activism is seen as helping or hurting Republican candidates in 2014 and beyond. Fallout from the sequester could play a big role in those elections.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is typical of Republican lawmakers who grudgingly accept the sequester and worry that tea party ideals can go too far.
"I believe that the cuts in defense are ill-conceived and will do a lot of damage," said Graham, whose state includes several military installations. "Some of these tea party folks don't mind losing their bases; others will."
The tea party drive to reduce federal spending at almost every level is potent in GOP circles. Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia, eyeing a Senate race that will draw several hard-right Republican rivals, says the sequester appears inevitable, but it will extract an economic and political price.
Referring to military bases in his Savannah-based district, Kingston said, "my people will take it on the chin." But in constituent feedback about the sequester, he said, "the overwhelming number of people are saying, "Let it happen." They want to see that we are serious about cutting spending."
Even some tea party leaders say the movement's take-no-prisoners approach has its costs.
"Our brand is tarnished, but that's what happens when you get beat up," said Sal Russo, a founder of the California-based Tea Party Express. "It's not the brand" that counts, he said, "it's the ideas."
In the long run, Russo said, the benefits of reducing deficit spending will overshadow any short-term hits to the economy this year. If that happens, he said, the tea party's status will rise in the Republican Party and the nation at large.
The movement "is quite alive and well," he said.
But some question the tea party's willingness to embrace domestic and military cuts that don't touch the greatest causes of deficit spending: the popular but costly "entitlement" programs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
"They're amputating the wrong limb," said Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker. If the tea party movement is to achieve its goal of undoing the government's borrowing habits, he said, it must prove it can blaze a political path to reductions in entitlement spending.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? The Arkansas House voted 53-28 Tuesday to override Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of a bill that would outlaw most abortions starting in the 20th week of pregnancy, hours after a state Senate committee approved a package of even tighter abortion restrictions.
The Republican-controlled state Senate, which overwhelmingly backed the 20-week near-ban on abortions before Beebe, a Democrat, vetoed it, was expected to discuss whether to vote to override the veto Thursday. Like the GOP-led House, only a simple majority in the Senate is needed to override a veto.
The House-sponsored measure is based on the disputed argument that a fetus can feel pain by the 20th week of pregnancy, and thus deserves protection from abortion. Beebe vetoed the bill Tuesday, saying it contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court's 1976 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion until a fetus can viably survive outside of the womb, which is typically at 22 to 24 weeks.
"This is not just any regular bill. It's one that has an eternal impact on each of us and to those children," Republican Rep. Andy Mayberry told House members as he urged them to override.
Two of the House's 48 Democrats joined with all 51 GOP members to support overriding Beebe's veto. Eighteen Democrats and the chamber's only Green Party member did not vote on the override, which has the same effect as voting against it. Republicans hold 21 of the 35 seats in the Senate, which approved Mayberry's bill on a 25-7 vote last week.
Prior to the House vote, the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted 5-2 to advance a bill that would ban most abortions starting in the 12th week of pregnancy, sending it to the full Senate. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill that would have outlawed abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, but amended it to push back the restriction and to add more exemptions.
Beebe declined to say Wednesday whether he would also veto the Senate's proposed 12-week ban, but he said he thinks it's on even shakier legal ground than the House's 20-week version.
"I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do on a bill that's even more problematic than the one I already vetoed, but I won't tell you officially until that time," Beebe said Tuesday.
Seven states have enacted similar 20-week restrictions based on the fetal pain argument, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks laws affecting women's health. A similar law in Arizona has been blocked while a federal appeals court reviews a lawsuit challenging it.
John DiPippa, dean emeritus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's law school, said he agrees with Beebe that the ban is unconstitutional and will likely be decided by the courts. He said he thinks the fetal pain argument will lose in the lower courts but that it's unclear how it might fare if it were to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The core holding of Roe is that a state cannot place an obstacle in the way of a woman who wants to abort before viability," DiPippa said. "If you apply that standard, then these bills that draw the line at 20 weeks ? which by all medical estimates is prior to viability ? would clearly set up a substantial obstacle to a woman's ability to before that age."
GOP Sen. Jason Rapert said he hopes Beebe lets it stand but said he was confident the 12-week ban would have enough support to override a veto.
"The governor has his own conscience," Rapert, R-Conway, told reporters. "I think probably the best route would be that he just simply not sign the bill and let it become law, if that's what he decides to do. If he doesn't, then we'll override the veto and it'll become law in the state of Arkansas."
___
Associated Press writer Michael Stratford contributed to this report.
___
Andrew DeMillo can be reached at www.twitter.com/ademillo
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? The Arkansas House voted 53-28 Tuesday to override Gov. Mike Beebe's veto of a bill that would outlaw most abortions starting in the 20th week of pregnancy, hours after a state Senate committee approved a package of even tighter abortion restrictions.
The Republican-controlled state Senate, which overwhelmingly backed the 20-week near-ban on abortions before Beebe, a Democrat, vetoed it, was expected to discuss whether to vote to override the veto Thursday. Like the GOP-led House, only a simple majority in the Senate is needed to override a veto.
The House-sponsored measure is based on the disputed argument that a fetus can feel pain by the 20th week of pregnancy, and thus deserves protection from abortion. Beebe vetoed the bill Tuesday, saying it contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court's 1976 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion until a fetus can viably survive outside of the womb, which is typically at 22 to 24 weeks.
"This is not just any regular bill. It's one that has an eternal impact on each of us and to those children," Republican Rep. Andy Mayberry told House members as he urged them to override.
Two of the House's 48 Democrats joined with all 51 GOP members to support overriding Beebe's veto. Eighteen Democrats and the chamber's only Green Party member did not vote on the override, which has the same effect as voting against it. Republicans hold 21 of the 35 seats in the Senate, which approved Mayberry's bill on a 25-7 vote last week.
Prior to the House vote, the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted 5-2 to advance a bill that would ban most abortions starting in the 12th week of pregnancy, sending it to the full Senate. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill that would have outlawed abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, but amended it to push back the restriction and to add more exemptions.
Beebe declined to say Wednesday whether he would also veto the Senate's proposed 12-week ban, but he said he thinks it's on even shakier legal ground than the House's 20-week version.
"I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do on a bill that's even more problematic than the one I already vetoed, but I won't tell you officially until that time," Beebe said Tuesday.
Seven states have enacted similar 20-week restrictions based on the fetal pain argument, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks laws affecting women's health. A similar law in Arizona has been blocked while a federal appeals court reviews a lawsuit challenging it.
John DiPippa, dean emeritus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's law school, said he agrees with Beebe that the ban is unconstitutional and will likely be decided by the courts. He said he thinks the fetal pain argument will lose in the lower courts but that it's unclear how it might fare if it were to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The core holding of Roe is that a state cannot place an obstacle in the way of a woman who wants to abort before viability," DiPippa said. "If you apply that standard, then these bills that draw the line at 20 weeks ? which by all medical estimates is prior to viability ? would clearly set up a substantial obstacle to a woman's ability to before that age."
GOP Sen. Jason Rapert said he hopes Beebe lets it stand but said he was confident the 12-week ban would have enough support to override a veto.
"The governor has his own conscience," Rapert, R-Conway, told reporters. "I think probably the best route would be that he just simply not sign the bill and let it become law, if that's what he decides to do. If he doesn't, then we'll override the veto and it'll become law in the state of Arkansas."
___
Associated Press writer Michael Stratford contributed to this report.
___
Andrew DeMillo can be reached at www.twitter.com/ademillo
Wolf in sheep's clothing: Uncovering how deadly bacteria trick the immune system Public release date: 28-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Champeau rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu 310-794-2270 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
UCLA study could provide insight into recent TB outbreak in L.A.'s skid row
An outbreak of tuberculosis in the skid row area of downtown Los Angeles may have exposed up to 4,500 individuals to the bacterium that causes the deadly disease and has left federal officials scrambling to intervene.
The outbreak is occurring during winter, when homeless individuals are driven to crowded shelters, when influenza is peaking and when people's vitamin D levels, typically boosted by sunlight exposure, are low. A new UCLA study offers critical insight into how various bacteria may manipulate such factors to their advantage.
In a study published online Feb. 28 in the journal Science, UCLA researchers demonstrate that certain cunning bacteria including the type that causes tuberculosis can pretend to be viruses when infecting humans, allowing them to hijack the body's immune response so that they can hide out, unhindered, inside our cells. The findings may also help explain how viral infections like the flu make us more susceptible to subsequent bacterial infections such as pneumonia.
The study is particularly relevant to tuberculosis, which kills 1.4 million people worldwide each year. In the case of the recent Los Angeles outbreak, the findings could provide clues as to how the flu and a lack of vitamin D may have given the tuberculosis bacterium an edge.
"With 8.7 million in the world falling ill with tuberculosis each year, a better understanding of how these bacteria avoid our immune system could lead to new ways to fight them and to better, more targeted treatments," said senior author Dr. Robert L. Modlin, chief of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the UCLA Division of Life Sciences.
The protection our immune system provides against bacteria-based diseases and infections depends on the critical response of T cells white blood cells that play a central role in fighting infections and in particular on the release of a protein called interferon-gamma. Interferon-gamma utilizes the vitamin D hormone to alert and activate cells to destroy invading bacteria.
The research team found that bacteria can pretend to be viruses, triggering the immune system to launch an attack with a different protein, called interferon-beta, which is designed to fight viruses, not bacteria. Not only is interferon-beta ineffective against bacteria, but it can also block the action of interferon-gamma, to the advantage of bacteria. Further, if a real virus were to infect the body, triggering interferon-beta, it would divert the attention of the immune response, preventing an attack on the bacterial invader. The researchers say this may explain why the flu can lead to a more serious bacterial-based infection like pneumonia.
"Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, the bacteria can fool the immune system into launching an attack against the wrong type of infection, thus weakening the response against the bacteria," said first author Rosane M. B. Teles, a researcher in the dermatology division at the Geffen School of Medicine.
For the study, the team examined the mechanisms by which the virus-fighting interferon-beta protein suppresses the interferon-gamma defense response to bacterial infections, tricking the immune system into making the wrong defense choices.
The researchers studied leprosy as a model and then applied what they learned to understand tuberculosis, given that leprosy and tuberculosis are caused by related bacteria. Modlin noted that leprosy is an outstanding model for studying immune mechanisms in host defense since it presents as a clinical spectrum that correlates with the level and type of immune response of the pathogen.
The scientists first compared the genetic expression of the virus-fighting interferon-beta protein and the bacteria-fighting interferon-gamma protein in skin lesions from leprosy patients. They found that interferon-gamma was expressed in patients with the milder form of the disease and that interferon-beta was significantly increased in those with the more serious, progressive form of leprosy.
The researchers then compared the genes triggered by interferon-beta in these leprosy skin lesions with those found by two other groups of investigators in the blood of tuberculosis patients. Remarkably, there was a significant overlap. The interferon-beta genes were more frequent in both the skin lesions of leprosy patients with extensive disease and the blood of tuberculosis patients with more severe disease.
"We found this common interferon-beta gene pattern correlated with the greater extent of disease in both leprosy and tuberculosis, which are two very distinct diseases," Teles said.
Previous work by the UCLA team demonstrated that the interferon-gamma defense pathway relies on a specific mechanism involving vitamin D, a natural hormone that plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections. The current study found that interferon-beta suppressed elements involved in the interferon-gammatriggered vitamin D pathway, preventing the immune system from killing the bacteria.
"The study raises the possibility that a decrease or increase of one of these two interferon proteins could shift the balance from mild to more serious disease," Modlin said. "We may find that therapeutic interventions to block or enhance specific interferon responses may be an effective strategy to alter the balance in favor of protection against bacterial diseases."
The new findings may indicate why, in winter, Los Angeles skid row residents are at an added disadvantage in dealing with tuberculosis for at least three reasons. First, because of colder weather at night, indigent homeless people tend to stay in shelters, where they live in close proximity with others, facilitating the spread of the infection. Second, due to the seasonal rise in influenza, the body's immune system could be diverted by the flu virus to produce interferon-beta, blocking an effective immune response to the tuberculosis bacteria. And finally, the drop in vitamin D levels associated with a decrease in exposure to sunlight during the winter months could diminish the ability of individuals' immune systems to kill the tuberculosis bacteria.
"With TB on the rise, this scenario could play out not only in cities in the United States but all over the world," Modlin said. "We hope that our findings may provide insight into harnessing new methods to combat TB and other bacterial infections as well."
Modlin noted that 8.7 million become ill with tuberculosis each year, and 1.4 million die from the disease. He added that an increase or decrease in one of the two interferon proteins could help explain why some people may be more resilient against or susceptible to the infection or have a more serious course of the disease.
The next step, according to Teles, is to further understand the mechanisms that bacterial pathogens use to activate interferon-beta and how bacteria can manipulate the immune system to block the potent interferon-gamma host antimicrobial responses in human infections.
###
The study was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH P50; ARO63020; RO1s AI022553, AR040312 and AI047868; and CTSA Grant UL1TR000124).
Additional authors are listed in the manuscript.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
-UCLA-
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Wolf in sheep's clothing: Uncovering how deadly bacteria trick the immune system Public release date: 28-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Champeau rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu 310-794-2270 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
UCLA study could provide insight into recent TB outbreak in L.A.'s skid row
An outbreak of tuberculosis in the skid row area of downtown Los Angeles may have exposed up to 4,500 individuals to the bacterium that causes the deadly disease and has left federal officials scrambling to intervene.
The outbreak is occurring during winter, when homeless individuals are driven to crowded shelters, when influenza is peaking and when people's vitamin D levels, typically boosted by sunlight exposure, are low. A new UCLA study offers critical insight into how various bacteria may manipulate such factors to their advantage.
In a study published online Feb. 28 in the journal Science, UCLA researchers demonstrate that certain cunning bacteria including the type that causes tuberculosis can pretend to be viruses when infecting humans, allowing them to hijack the body's immune response so that they can hide out, unhindered, inside our cells. The findings may also help explain how viral infections like the flu make us more susceptible to subsequent bacterial infections such as pneumonia.
The study is particularly relevant to tuberculosis, which kills 1.4 million people worldwide each year. In the case of the recent Los Angeles outbreak, the findings could provide clues as to how the flu and a lack of vitamin D may have given the tuberculosis bacterium an edge.
"With 8.7 million in the world falling ill with tuberculosis each year, a better understanding of how these bacteria avoid our immune system could lead to new ways to fight them and to better, more targeted treatments," said senior author Dr. Robert L. Modlin, chief of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics in the UCLA Division of Life Sciences.
The protection our immune system provides against bacteria-based diseases and infections depends on the critical response of T cells white blood cells that play a central role in fighting infections and in particular on the release of a protein called interferon-gamma. Interferon-gamma utilizes the vitamin D hormone to alert and activate cells to destroy invading bacteria.
The research team found that bacteria can pretend to be viruses, triggering the immune system to launch an attack with a different protein, called interferon-beta, which is designed to fight viruses, not bacteria. Not only is interferon-beta ineffective against bacteria, but it can also block the action of interferon-gamma, to the advantage of bacteria. Further, if a real virus were to infect the body, triggering interferon-beta, it would divert the attention of the immune response, preventing an attack on the bacterial invader. The researchers say this may explain why the flu can lead to a more serious bacterial-based infection like pneumonia.
"Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, the bacteria can fool the immune system into launching an attack against the wrong type of infection, thus weakening the response against the bacteria," said first author Rosane M. B. Teles, a researcher in the dermatology division at the Geffen School of Medicine.
For the study, the team examined the mechanisms by which the virus-fighting interferon-beta protein suppresses the interferon-gamma defense response to bacterial infections, tricking the immune system into making the wrong defense choices.
The researchers studied leprosy as a model and then applied what they learned to understand tuberculosis, given that leprosy and tuberculosis are caused by related bacteria. Modlin noted that leprosy is an outstanding model for studying immune mechanisms in host defense since it presents as a clinical spectrum that correlates with the level and type of immune response of the pathogen.
The scientists first compared the genetic expression of the virus-fighting interferon-beta protein and the bacteria-fighting interferon-gamma protein in skin lesions from leprosy patients. They found that interferon-gamma was expressed in patients with the milder form of the disease and that interferon-beta was significantly increased in those with the more serious, progressive form of leprosy.
The researchers then compared the genes triggered by interferon-beta in these leprosy skin lesions with those found by two other groups of investigators in the blood of tuberculosis patients. Remarkably, there was a significant overlap. The interferon-beta genes were more frequent in both the skin lesions of leprosy patients with extensive disease and the blood of tuberculosis patients with more severe disease.
"We found this common interferon-beta gene pattern correlated with the greater extent of disease in both leprosy and tuberculosis, which are two very distinct diseases," Teles said.
Previous work by the UCLA team demonstrated that the interferon-gamma defense pathway relies on a specific mechanism involving vitamin D, a natural hormone that plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections. The current study found that interferon-beta suppressed elements involved in the interferon-gammatriggered vitamin D pathway, preventing the immune system from killing the bacteria.
"The study raises the possibility that a decrease or increase of one of these two interferon proteins could shift the balance from mild to more serious disease," Modlin said. "We may find that therapeutic interventions to block or enhance specific interferon responses may be an effective strategy to alter the balance in favor of protection against bacterial diseases."
The new findings may indicate why, in winter, Los Angeles skid row residents are at an added disadvantage in dealing with tuberculosis for at least three reasons. First, because of colder weather at night, indigent homeless people tend to stay in shelters, where they live in close proximity with others, facilitating the spread of the infection. Second, due to the seasonal rise in influenza, the body's immune system could be diverted by the flu virus to produce interferon-beta, blocking an effective immune response to the tuberculosis bacteria. And finally, the drop in vitamin D levels associated with a decrease in exposure to sunlight during the winter months could diminish the ability of individuals' immune systems to kill the tuberculosis bacteria.
"With TB on the rise, this scenario could play out not only in cities in the United States but all over the world," Modlin said. "We hope that our findings may provide insight into harnessing new methods to combat TB and other bacterial infections as well."
Modlin noted that 8.7 million become ill with tuberculosis each year, and 1.4 million die from the disease. He added that an increase or decrease in one of the two interferon proteins could help explain why some people may be more resilient against or susceptible to the infection or have a more serious course of the disease.
The next step, according to Teles, is to further understand the mechanisms that bacterial pathogens use to activate interferon-beta and how bacteria can manipulate the immune system to block the potent interferon-gamma host antimicrobial responses in human infections.
###
The study was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH P50; ARO63020; RO1s AI022553, AR040312 and AI047868; and CTSA Grant UL1TR000124).
Additional authors are listed in the manuscript.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
-UCLA-
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Let?s sting you into action here in the nicest possible way by telling you all about the wonders of bee pollen and its fantastic uses. Our winged friends are around us all summer doing great work for all of us.
So What is Pollen?
Well most people know it?s the male seed from flowers needed for the fertilisation of the plant. As for bee pollen then this is the food of the young bee containing 40 percent protein, half of which contains amino acids ready to use. It can balance the nutrients within the body.
Bee Pollen Is Nature?s Complete Food
How Is It Gathered?
This is the wonderful bit??.the bee spots a flower and then settles herself in before scraping off loose pollen from the stamen. To do this she uses both her jaws and front legs and wets the stamen with a little honey brought from the hive. Her legs contain thick bristles called pollen combs for obvious reasons.
She can then both fly away and sweep the gold powder from both her coat and legs into her baskets by using her auricle which acts like a hammer. These baskets are found on the outside of her tibias and once this microscopic powder is hammered down it becomes a single particle. Then it?s back to the hive and the process continues.
One teaspoon of pollen takes one bee a single month to gather working eight hours a day.
So What Can It Do? ? An Overview.
This magnificent nutrient can increase longevity as well as stimulating glands and organs. It can enhance vitality and push up your energy levels making you feel just great. It can treat a number of ailments from skin conditions to chronic pain. It can even help our pets!
Studying animals in the lab has shown the ingestion of bee pollen has a superb effect on the composition of blood. This results in a considerable and simultaneous increase of both white and red blood cells. When bee pollen is given to anaemic patients, their levels of haemoglobin increase considerably.
Check this video out for more information on bee pollen:
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Bee pollen is great for a weight-stabilization programme as it corrects a possible chemical imbalance in body metabolism involved in either abnormal weight gain or loss. It can actually stimulate the metabolic processes so calories are rapidly burned off with amazing results.
Pollen is considered an energy and nutritive tonic in Chinese medicine.
It doesn?t stop there as the pollen honey bees produce can also help in reducing cravings and helping to prevent things like colds and flu. And yes it can safeguard you against cancers. The pollen can also act as an antibiotic and protect against radiation. It can also work wonders on skin wounds:
It can quickly clear infecting bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains.
The osmotic effect honey provides lifts dirt out of the wound bed.
The anti-inflammatory action of honey soothes and promotes healing, reducing pain and swelling.
Honey forms a protective barrier to prevent cross-infection of wounds.
The honey draws body fluids and nutrients to the wound area and helps cell growth.
The list is seemingly endless!
Pollen from Bees is a terrific remedy for hay fever and allergies. But it must be taken at least six weeks before the season begins and then continued throughout the season, to get the full benefits. The pollen can stimulate the ovaries and so help with infertility problems. It can control bronchitis and help heal digestive ulcers.
Bee pollen can help with both migraines and headaches
According to German holistic physician and psychologist G. Liebold ?Bee pollen is an excellent prophylaxis and therapeutic treatment against all the precocious symptoms of old age. It should be considered a universal geriatric treatment in the form of a natural remedy.?
Take a look at this fascinating video:
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If you?ve had serious illness or any form of operation bee pollen will build up the immune system quite quickly. It can also stimulate your mental and psychological resistance to stress. There are so many vitamins and nutrients contained within bee pollen you won?t even need to take a multi-vitamin if you use this wonderfully natural supplement.
Studies are going on all the time but it would seem the benefits of bee pollen are there for everyone to behold. But remember if you suffer from any form or allergy then check with your doctor first before taking bee pollen.
We have so much to thank Bees for so next time you see one raise a smile and celebrate their lives!
Introduction Have you ever wondered what makes a paper plane fly? Some paper planes clearly fly better than others. But why is this? One factor is the kind of design used to build the plane. In this activity you'll get to build a paper plane and change its basic design to see how this affects its flight. There's a lot of cool science in this activity, such as how forces act on a plane so it can fly. So get ready to start folding!
Background The forces that allow a paper plane to fly are the same ones that apply to real airplanes. A force is something that pushes or pulls on something else. When you throw a paper plane in the air, you are giving the plane a push to move forward. That push is a type of force called thrust. While the plane is flying forward, air moving over and under the wings is providing an upward lift force on the plane. At the same time, air pushing back against the plane is slowing it down, creating a drag force. The weight of the paper plane also affects its flight, as gravity pulls it down toward Earth. All of these forces (thrust, lift, drag and gravity) affect how well a given paper plane's voyage goes. In this activity you will increase how much drag a paper plane experiences and see if this changes how far the plane flies.
Materials ? Sheet of paper ? Ruler ? Scissors ? Large open area in which to fly a paper plane, such as a long hallway, school gym or basketball court. If you're flying your paper plane outside, such as in a field, try to do it when there isn't any wind. ? Something to make at least a one-foot-long line, such as a long string, another ruler, masking tape, rocks or sticks. ? Paper clips (optional)
Preparation ? Make a standard, "dart" design paper airplane (for instructions, go to the Amazing Paper Airplanes Web page ). ? Fold your paper into the basic dart paper plane. Fold carefully and make your folds as sharp as possible, such as by running a thumbnail or a ruler along each fold to crease it. Do not bend up the tailing edge of the wings (step 6 of the online folding instructions). ? Go to a large open area and, using string, a ruler, masking tape, rocks or sticks, make a line in front of you that's at least one foot long, going from left to right. This will be the starting line from which you'll fly the paper plane.
Procedure ? Place your toe on the line you prepared and throw the paper plane. Did it fly very far? ? Throw the plane at least four more times. Each time before you throw the plane, make sure it is still in good condition (that the folds and points are still sharp). When you toss it, place your toe on the line and try to launch the plane with a similar amount of force, including gripping it at the same spot. Did it go about the same distance each time? ? Once you have a good idea of about how far your plane typically flies, change the plane?s shape to increase how much drag it experiences. To do this, cut slits that are about one inch long right where either wing meets the middle ridge. Fold up the cut section on both wings so that each now has a one-inch-wide section at the end of the wing that is folded up, at about a 90-degree angle from the rest of the wing. ? Throw your modified paper plane at least five more times, just as you did before. How far does the paper plane fly now compared with before?Why do you think this is, and what does it have to do with drag? ? Extra: Make paper planes that are different sizes and compare how well they fly. Do bigger planes fly farther? ? Extra: Try making paper planes out of different types of paper, such as printer paper, construction paper and newspaper. Use the same design for each. Does one type of paper seem to work best for making paper planes? Does one type work the worst? ? Extra: Some people like to add paper clips to their paper planes to make them fly better. Try adding a paper clip (or multiple paper clips) to different parts of your paper plane (such as the front, back, middle or wings) and then flying it. How does this affect the plane's flight?Does adding paper clips somewhere make its flight better or much worse?
Samsung announces its own take on Passbook, Pandora introduces a 40-hour mobile listening limit, Amazon adds a new perk for Subscribe and Save customers, and Office 365 gets three new tiers, .
Samsung Wallet API beta Samsung is launching its own ticket and pass management app. Much like Passbook on iOS, it will allow you to purchase and store tickets, boarding passes, membership cards and coupons displaying their scannable barcodes onscreen. No word on when it will actually be released into the wild, but Samsung will make the developer tools publicly available in May of this year. Expect to possibly hear more when Samsung unveils the Galaxy S IV on March 14th. [Samsung Developers]
A note to our listeners Due to rising royalty costs, Pandora has instituted a 40 hour per month listening limit for free users. After you reach 40 hours, you'll be prompted to pay 99 cents to keep listening for the rest of the month (or subscribe to Panroda One for unlimited listening every month). Pandora notes that only 4% of its users ever listen to more than 40 hours per month, so chances are this change will not affect you. [Pandora Blog]
NEW: The More You Subscribe, the More You Save Amazon has added a new perk for subscribe and save customers. Now when you have five or more subscriptions delivered in the same month, Amazon will give you a 15% discount on the entire delivery.
Microsoft Launches Updated Office 365 for Business Users Microsoft's Office 365 has been expanded to offer three new packages for business users: ProPlus, Midsize, and Small Business Premium. Each tier is intended for a different number of users and work with a corresponding version of Microsoft Office. [ZDNet]
Spotify's Social Network Arrives: New Follow Tab Is Now Gradually Rolling Out to Users Spotify is starting to roll out it's new Follow feature, which will replace the People tab on the desktop app. The new feature will allow for profiles independent of Facebook, allowing for a social experience not connected to the social network (and more like Rdio). [The Next Web]
The New York Times Offers Enhanced Access to NYTimes.com Through Starbucks Digital Network The New York Times will now offer Starbucks customers increased access to NYTimes.com, allowing them to read up to fifteen articles per day as long as they access the website via the coffee chain's free AT&T Wi-Fi. However, there are some restrictions. Customers are limited to three articles across five sections. Four of these are set (Top News, Business, Technology, and Most E-Mailed), while the fifth will rotate based on the special section that runs in the print version that day. [The New York Times]
Photo by photastic (Shutterstock), a2bb5s (Shutterstock), and Feng Yu (Shutterstock).
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Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
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Samsung announces its own take on Passbook, Pandora introduces a 40-hour mobile listening limit, Amazon adds a new perk for Subscribe and Save customers, and Office 365 gets three new tiers, .