Category Archives: Doomsday News
Fly turns honeybees into little zombies
Latest woe is horrific, but is not what’s crashing bee populations
zombie bee
A researcher at Oregon State University has reported Oregon’s first documented case of a “zombie” fly infecting a honeybee, but he doubts that the parasite at the moment poses a threat to the bee, which is a vital pollinator of some of the state’s key crops.
Ramesh Sagili, a honeybee specialist with the OSU Extension Service, stumbled upon a belly-up bee on a sidewalk under a street light on campus in Corvallis one morning in late July, according to a press release Tuesday from OSU. He placed it in a vial in his lab, and four days later seven maggots crawled out of the bee’s neck. Almost three weeks after that, one matured into an Apocephalus borealis fly, commonly called a zombie fly because of the disoriented behavior it is suspected of causing the bees to exhibit at night.
The finding comes amid rising concern about the health of honeybees, which have been hit by a mysterious phenomenon called colony collapse disorder in which adult honeybees disappear from a hive, either entirely or in large numbers. It came to light in late 2006 when beekeepers on the East Coast began to see their honeybee colonies dwindle. The disorder has since spread to other states. A cause has not been determined, but suspects include mites, viruses, malnutrition, pesticides, a lack of genetic diversity, and stress that results from commercial hives being trucked around the country to pollinate crops.
Sagili doubts that the fly is playing a role in the widespread die-off of honeybees, which are crucial pollinators for various Oregon crops, including blueberries, pears, cherries, apples, clover, cranberries and vegetable seeds.
“It’s a stretch to say the fly is correlated to colony collapse disorder,” he said. “At this point, I don’t think it’s a threat. I don’t think it’s at the level where it can depopulate hives in large numbers.”
Earlier this year in a journal article, researchers in California became the first to document that the fly attacks honeybees. They discovered the parasite in honeybees in California and South Dakota, the only states besides Oregon where fly-infected honeybees, or ZomBees, have been reported.
The fly is known to parasitize bumblebees but little is known about its impact on them in Oregon, said Sujaya Rao, an entomologist at OSU.
Sagili hypothesizes that the fly is just now being found in honeybees because it may be trying to branch out from its other hosts when they’re not available. He added that although honeybees are widely studied, it’s possible that scientists just never saw the parasite because they usually preserve their collected bees in alcohol, which would kill the larvae and keep them from popping out.
The brownish-red fly lays its eggs inside the bees and is smaller than a fruit fly, is native to North America and has been found in Canada and states including Alaska, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico and New York, said Brian Brown, the curator of entomology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and an expert on the parasitic fly.
Brown said the fly has been in Oregon for thousands of years, but it just never has been found in a honeybee in the state until no
Yosemite hantavirus warnings extend to Britain
The Health Protection Agency said in a statement Monday that officials were “providing health advice and information … about the ongoing situation in the U.S.” to about 100 people believed to have traveled to the national park between June 10 and Aug. 24.
The organization said it was also working with the U.S. and European centers for disease control and prevention in responding to the outbreak.
Six cases of the rare, rodent-borne disease have been linked to the park, two of which were fatal. Park officials have traced five of the cases to the “signature tent cabins” in Curry Village, one of the Yosemite’s most popular campgrounds, and said a design flaw allowed mice to get inside the walls of the insulated cabins.
Spread through urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents, hantavirus takes between one and six weeks before causing symptoms in humans, officials said. The disease is generally transmitted when people come in contact with an enclosed area that has been infested by mice.
The disease is rare — 587 cases were diagnosed nationwide from 1993 and 2011, of which about one-third were fatal, according to the CDC.
But the cases at Yosemite are perhaps even more rare. Both park officials and public health authorities said they had not heard of more than one case of the disease in the same location within a year.
News of the outbreak has rattled recent visitors. Rangers have fielded thousands of calls from concerned travelers, and a spokeswoman with the concessionaire that handles park lodging said there was a 20% cancellation rate on a usually sold-out Labor Day weekend.
Doomsday 2012 Fact Sheet
There is widespread and unnecessary fear of doomsday on December 21, 2012. Some people worry about a Maya prophesy of the end of the world, others fear a variety of astronomical threats such as collision with a rogue planet. Opinion polls suggest that one in ten Americans worry about whether they will survive past Dec 21 of this year, and middle-school teachers everywhere report that many of their students are fearful of a coming apocalypse. Following are brief facts that address these doomsday fears.
Mayan Calendar: The Maya calendar, which is made up different cycles of day counts, does not end this year. Rather, one cycle of 144,000 days (394 years) ends and the next cycle begins.
Mayan Prophecy: The ancient Maya did not predict the end of the world or any disaster in December 2012. Such doomsday predictions are a modern hoax.
Planet Nibiru: Nibiru is probably the minor name of a god found in ancient Mesopotamian writing. There is no planet named Nibiru, and the fictional books by economist Zecharia Sitchin about a civilization on this planet are a hoax.
Rogue Planet Headed for Earth. For the past decade there have been reports of a rogue object (Planet X, or Nibiru, or Hercubolus, or even Comet Elenin) that will collide with Earth in December 2012. These claims are not true. If such a threatening world existed, it would be one of the brightest objects in the sky, and astronomers would have been tracking it for years. If it existed, its gravity would be distorting the orbits of planets, especially Mars and Earth. Astronomers know that it does not exist.
Planet Alignments: There is no alignment of planets in Dec 2012. There is an approximate lining up of the Earth and Sun and the center of our Galaxy in late December, but this happens every year. In any case, planet alignments have no effect on the Earth.
Pole Shift: There is nothing strange this year about either the magnetic poles or the rotational poles of the Earth. The magnetic polarity changes every million years or so, but that is not happening now, and it probably takes thousands of years when it does happen. A sudden change in the rotational axis has never happened and is not possible. If there were any change in the Earth’s rotation, it would be instantly apparent by failure of our GPS systems.
Increasing Disasters. Our planet is behaving normally in 2012, although we see more and more news stories about natural disasters. There has been no increase in earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. There has been an increase in extreme weather, including both droughts and floods, which are partly attributable to global warming, but this has nothing to do with a 2012 doomsday.
Solar Outbursts: The Sun’s ongoing 11-year activity cycle is expected to peak in 2013, not 2012. Solar outbursts (flares and CMEs) can damage orbiting satellites but will not hurt us on the surface. The strength of the 2013 solar maximum is predicted to be lower than average, not higher.
Bunker Conspiracy: Accusations of a massive government cover-up are nonsense. No government could hide an incoming planet or silence hundreds of thousands of scientists. Rumors that huge bunkers have been built in the U.S. or elsewhere to shelter the elite are lies. Apparently a few people are building private shelters, but their fear of 2012 is misplaced and they are wasting their money.
Scaring Children: The group most vulnerable to doomsday claims is children. Teachers report that many of their students are frightened and some are even considering suicide. This is the most tragic consequence of the 2012 hoax.
The End of the World: The idea of the sudden end of the world by any cause is absurd. The Earth has been here for more than 4 billion years, and it will be several more billion years before the gradual brightening of the Sun makes our planet unlivable. Meanwhile there is no known astronomical or geological threat that could destroy the Earth.
Cosmophobia: Many young people write to me that they are scared of astronomy. When they read about some new discovery, the first thing they think is that it might hurt them, even if it is happening in a distant galaxy. There is no reason for such fears, which I call cosmophobia (fear of the universe). This rash of concern seems to be the result of too many conspiracy theories and sensational stories featured on the Internet and irresponsible news outlets. Astronomical objects are so distant that they cannot threaten the Earth. Please don’t be afraid of the Sun or the planets or comets or asteroids. The universe is not your enemy.
PANDEMIC OUTBREak – West Nile virus prompts public health emergency in Dallas County, Texas
A West Nile virus epidemic has prompted a public health emergency in Dallas County, Texas, where the disease has killed nine people, a judge declared Friday.
The virus there infected 175 people, said Patricia Huston of Dallas County Health and Human Services.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared the emergency in his capacity as director of the county’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management and instructed the department to file a local disaster declaration with the state.
“This declaration will expand our avenues for assistance in our ongoing battle with West Nile virus,” Jenkins said in a statement.
Insecticide spraying by planes will be offered to certain communities hit hard by the virus as long as those local governments request it, Jenkins told reporters.
The aerial spraying would occur from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., when children are inside, Jenkins said.
“The insecticide is safe,” Jenkins said. “The planes are quite sophisticated, and they get the spray to where it needs to go.”
The judge organized an invitation-only work session Friday with county, state and federal officials to discuss a response to the epidemic.
The United States is experiencing its biggest spike in West Nile virus since 2004, with 241 cases of the disease reported nationwide this year so far, including four deaths, health officials said last weekend, before the latest totals.
Of the 42 states that have reported infections in people, birds or mosquitoes, 80% of them have been in Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The CDC listed a breakdown of infections by state.
“It is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years,” said Marc Fischer, a CDC medical epidemiologist. “Regardless of the reasons for the increase, people should be aware of the West Nile virus activity in their area and take action to protect themselves and their family.”
The virus is transmitted through infected mosquitoes.
In the United States, most infections occur between June and September, and peak in August, according to the CDC.
Symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea or rash.
“Less than 1% develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues),” the CDC said.
Those at greater risk are people older than 50 and those with conditions such as cancer, diabetes and kidney disease, or with organ transplants.
There are no medications to treat West Nile virus or vaccines to prevent infection. People with milder illnesses typically recover on their own, but those more seriously affected may need hospital care.
Health experts say prevention measures include avoiding mosquito bites, using insect repellant and getting rid of insect breeding sites.
ZOMBIE SURVIVAL – When the Food Runs Out
Survival food storage is becoming a major concern for Americans, mainly due to the vulnerability of the food supply. According to a recent online article from Absolute Rights, there is now a go-to source for the most valuable emergency food preparation information available anywhere.
“When the Food Runs Out: How to Choose and Store the Goods You’ll Need in a Crisis Situation” is the latest Special Report from the experts at Absolute Rights. The article said it is giving people the power and confidence to successfully prepare the food, water, and other essential items they’ll need in any disaster.
Absolute Rights knows that a major food supply disruption is only a few small steps away from happening. When it does, the article said the store shelves will empty faster than a vampire bar at dawn.
Written by uber-survivalist Wallace Streete, “When the Food Runs Out” is putting the capability of total preparedness into the hands of anyone with the motivation to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Nobody is paying close enough attention to the impending disasters, said the article, but the Special Report brings them into the spotlight. A number of drastic catastrophes could arise, rendering the modern food system useless.
One way to make sure the plethora of disaster incidents don’t interfere with the health and safety of yourself and loved ones is to start to plan for the most important items needed, said the article. That’s what “When the Food Runs Out” does for you, as well as providing useful calculators, lists, and suggestions.
From our trust in modern society’s fancy systems, the article said we’ve forgotten the lessons of simpler times and millions of Americans are completely unprepared for what’s coming.
The article said the good news is that those who are prepared will survive this. But the bad news is that the disruption could be long enough that people will needlessly starve to death before the food network is brought back on line.
People may have items set aside, but they could be missing out on the most vital survival supplies, including enough food and water, to get them through any disaster’s recovery period.
Absolute Rights informs patriotic Americans on their given rights, plus helps protect those rights from government or disaster intrusion. Most importantly, it prides itself on alerting people when their rights are being threatened, creating an active and informed community. For more information, be sure to visit AbsoluteRights.com.
That’s why “When the Food Runs Out” is being released to the public. The article said the experts at Absolute Rights hope it will reach most everyone in time before real threats to the survival of mankind happen.