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Gut bacteria and a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan can play a protective role against pathogenic E. coli, which can cause severe stomach upset, cramps, fever, intestinal bleeding and renal failure, according to a study. The research reveals how dietary tryptophan—an amino acid found mostly in animal products, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes—can be broken down by gut bacteria into small molecules called metabolites. It turns out a few of these metabolites can bind to a receptor on gut epithelial (surface) cells, triggering a pathway that ultimately reduces the production of proteins that E. coli use to...

In early 2020 in the midst of the covid lockdowns, blue states run by leftist governors pursued mandates with extreme prejudice. In red states like Montana, after the first month or two most of us simply ignored the restrictions and went on with life as usual. It was clear that covid was not the threat federal authorities made it out to be. However, in states like Michigan the vice was squeezed tighter and tighter under the direction of shady leaders like Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer used covid as an opportunity to institute some bizarre limitations on the public, including a mandate...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket launched a secretive military spaceplane to orbit last night after weeks of delays, though scant details about the mission have been released to the public. The Falcon Heavy lifted off on the clandestine mission at 8:07 PM Eastern from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B space plane, a reusable vehicle that acts as a classified testbed for experiments in space, was the sole payload on the massive rocket. As with the other six uncrewed X-37B missions, little is known about this mission. The target orbit, mission duration and many of the payloads are...

The state of Arkansas is forcing a Chinese-owned seed producer to sell 160 acres of farmland it owns in the state within the next two years over national security concerns. Syngenta, the mother company of Northrop King Seed Co. — which also creates crop-protection ingredients — has owned the land in Craighead County for more than 30 years. But in 2017, it was acquired by China National Chemical Corp. — which is on the US Department of Defense’s list of Chinese military companies that pose a threat to our national security. “Seeds are technology,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said...

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, Ph.D. suggests that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) decreases an essential fatty acid, preventing the formation of a class of protective molecules and reducing repair potential. The discovery may also open new therapeutic avenues for AMD. The study shows that AMD decreases peripheral retinal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 22:6 in rod photoreceptor cells, limiting the elongation of fatty acids to form very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs). VLC-PUFAs are precursors of elovanoids, bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very- long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Elovanoids, discovered by the Bazan lab, have been shown to restore the structure and...

The director of research at a Massachusetts biotech firm has been accused searching online for deadly poisons and purchasing 800 castor bean seeds so he could extract the toxin ricin from them, federal prosecutors say. Dr. Ishtiaq Ali Saaem, 37, was charged on Tuesday with obstruction of justice after he allegedly lied to FBI agents when they were investigating why he was trying to acquire the deadly toxin. Authorities say Saaem had ordered 100 packets of castor beans, which each contained eight seeds, online.

Long War Journal reports that the Obama administration has released Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri from a U.S. prison – not from Gitmo, but from a civilian jail after a federal terrorism conviction. Al-Marri is an al-Qaeda operative who was planted as a “sleeper” in the United States by Khalid Sheikh Mohamed to await instructions on carrying out a second wave of attacks after the 9/11 atrocities – against water reservoirs, the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. military academies, and other targets. The Justice Department quietly sprung him on Friday so he could return to his native Qatar, a country the...

British couple was kidnapped, murdered and fed to crocodiles while searching a nature reserve in South Africa for rare seeds, a court heard Tuesday. Horticulturist Rod Saunders, 74, and his wife, microbiologist Dr. Rachel Saunders, 63, were camping in the remote Ngoye Forest Reserve when they disappeared in February 2018, the Daily Mail reported. The couple was last heard from on Feb. 8, when they told an employee about their plans to camp in the reserve 30 miles north of Durban. Police now say that Sayefundeen Aslam Del Vecchio, his wife, Bibi Fatima Patel, and their tenant Mussa Ahmad Jackson...

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Wednesday that he plans to give his wealth to his foundation. In a Twitter thread that doesn’t allow replies, Gates announced he was transferring $20 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s endowment this month and will increase spending to $9 billion per year by 2026. “As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation,” Gates wrote. “I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.” Gates is currently the fourth-richest person on earth and has a net...

Last month, Senator Dianne Feinstein and other Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the executive summary of their final report investigating the CIA's controversial detention and interrogation program. As part of their study, the Democrats compiled twenty case studies, which were intended to address claims made by the CIA regarding the efficacy of its interrogations. One of those case studies focused on the identification and arrest of Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri, who was freed from a US prison just days ago. Al Marri served as a "sleeper" operative for al Qaeda inside the US in 2001....

In many grocery stores across the country, there are shortages of certain items, and food supplies have become scarce globally. Many farmers will find it impossible to plant corn this year due to dramatically increased fertilizer costs, according to a new report. Below is an excerpt from an email from an insider in the industry. “Things for 2022 are interesting (and scary). Input costs for things like fertilizer, liquid nitrogen and seeds are like triple and quadruple the old prices. It will not be profitable to plant this year. Let me repeat, the economics will NOT work. Our plan, is...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mark 8:36 I brought my tomato plants inside the house about a Month ago to allow the tomatoes that were still on the plants to mature instead of letting the plants die in the cold. A Month later one plant has mostly died, but there is still one the last tomato that is almost ready to harvest. As you can see, the other plant is still hanging in there and even has some new tomatoes growing.Now while the plants themselves are wilting...

Why did so many Americans receive strange packages they didn’t think they’d ordered?Sid miller, the Texas agriculture commissioner, sat atop his stallion Smokey and faced the camera. It was Saturday, August 1, 2020. Miller had a message to share. “Good morning, patriots,” Miller began, raising the coiled lasso in his right hand by way of greeting. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of all these surprises coming out of China. First it was the Chinese virus, then we had the murder hornets, then we had to close the embassy in Houston because of espionage … Now we’ve...

Forty-two years after the state of Michigan became the state of Michigan, a botanist named William Beal buried 20 open bottles of seeds to see how long they could remain viable. A few weeks ago Frank Telewski, a professor of plant biology at Michigan State University, along with a few colleagues, continued the decades-long experiment by digging up one of those bottles on the MSU campus. This excursion happened early in the morning before most of the world was awake. It’s sort of a secret; you don’t want someone stumbling upon or messing with your 142-year-long experiment. The 50 seeds,...

"Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world." - Henry Kissinger (1974) From : www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/committees/cac/about/en/ "Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) The Codex Alimentarius Commission or CAC is the body responsible for all matters regarding the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO … "

It was just about week ago that we highlighted a mysterious trend that was sweeping the U.S.: citizens were receiving unsolicited packages of seeds, with return addresses from China, for apparently no reason at all. Now, the U.S. has started to identify "14 types of plants" that the seeds belonged to, revealing a “mix of ornamental, fruit and vegetable, herb and weed species,” according to the NY Times. Cabbage, hibiscus, lavender, mint, morning glory, mustard, rose, rosemary and sage have all been identified. Osama El-Lissy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said: “This...

Some think the packages [of seeds marked as "jewelry"] could be part of a "brushing scam" — an effort to create fake customer reviews on online retail platforms — but that appears unlikely. For one thing, there is no indication these seeds — there are several varieties of them — are either branded or are offered for sale. "DO NOT plant them," officials in every state have warned. There is also an infamous statement attributed to General Chi Haotian. In a secret speech to senior Communist Party officials sometime around 2002, Chi, then the Chinese defense minister, stated there was...

All 50 U.S. states have issued warnings about unsolicited packages containing unknown seeds sent to random U.S. households from China. According to various photos shared by the state departments, people across the country have received packages that appear to have been processed by China Post, which operates the official postal service of China. Labels on the packages indicate there is jewelry inside, only to reveal clear packets of seeds. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday that the labels appear to be forged and that China Post has asked the U.S....