New "Green" Insect Control Developed

Today, the open access journal BMC Biotechnology published a collaborative study between EVOLUGATE, LLC (www.evolugate.com) and scientists at the University of Florida that discloses the first use of a new technology to experimentally evolve industrially important filamentous fungi, which are among the most widely used microorganisms for industrial applications. In this case, the goal was to evolve improved "green" bio-pesticides.

The publication of this report coincides with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, who discovered the process of evolution by natural selection. The Evolugate technology exploits the power of Darwinian evolution to select for strains that reproduce faster than their competitors in continuous culture.

While the concept behind the technology is not new, its innovative solutions to intractable problems associated with continuous culture make it a breakthrough in experimental evolution. Previously developed methods of continuous culture are either manually intensive, carry with them a high risk of contamination or invariably select for traits that allow microbes to evade selective pressures rather than adapt to them. This new technology is fully automated and allows experimental evolution to be run indefinitely with little risk of contamination and no risk of incidental selection for undesirable traits.

EVOLUGATE will promote and market the use of its technology for the production of novel bioinsecticides under the name ENTOVIA, a newly created division exclusively dedicated to that purpose.

However, microorganisms are essential players in a variety of other industries. Evolugate technology can be used to rapidly produce the best adapted and most efficient strains for virtually any application, including for the conversion of biomass to biofuels, bioremediation, biosynthesis of fermentation products to compounds like antibiotics. EVOLUGATE aims to become a major player in these exciting fields as well.

"From environmental protection to human medicine, the power of evolution is needed to create solutions to the problems facing us," says Steven Benner, who directs the Gainesville-based research Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution. "The Evolugate methodology harnesses this power in ways previously unavailable, and their work published today proves this for a problem of considerable importance."

A Technology Based On Natural Selection

In the BMC Biotechnology article, researchers started with a naturally occurring fungus, whose ability to kill insects is currently exploited by industry as a bio-pesticide (www.evolugate.com). Unfortunately, this fungus is neither efficient at killing insects nor capable of targeting specific insects. One of the main problems is that insects have acquired special tricks to avoid being killed by pathogenic fungi. Some insects participate in what is called behavioral fever in which they take sun baths to elevate their body temperatures above that which the fungi can grow. Other insects can even elevate their own body temperature in much the same way humans do. Using the Evolugate technology, researchers selected for variants of this fungus that can grow at high temperatures in the hopes that an evolved 'thermo-tolerant' strain could circumvent insect thermoregulation.

"In the same way farmers have developed new crops for millennia by screening large numbers of seeds, we are attempting to accelerate evolution by selecting for fungi that can withstand the insect immune response" says Dr. Thomas Lyons, Principal Scientist at Entovia, LLC. "Thus far, we have selected for strains that can grow at elevated temperatures and preliminary tests performed by the USDA suggest that one of the strains we have developed may be able to kill control insects significantly faster than the original fungal strain.

An Environmentally Safe Technology

"This technology pioneers new avenues for working with natural evolutionary processes to allow for the development of bioinsecticides that target specific insect pests rather than acting as generalized insect toxins. In this manner we can minimize the impact on humans, animals, fish, birds, plants and, more importantly, beneficial insects” says Dr. Lyons.

A Technology with Breathtaking Commercial Potential

The widespread commercial use of bioinsecticides has so far been limited by their lack of efficacy. Basically, the commercially available biocontrol fungi do not kill the insects fast enough to be particularly economical and most of pesticides currently in use are not insect-specific—meaning that they have the potential to kill beneficial insects (and other animals) in addition to the target. The Evolugate technology can dramatically expand the application of bioinsecticides into new commercial arenas.

Problems with sports mouthguards

Although commonly used to protect an athlete's teeth during contact sports, mouthguards are now being questioned for their potential to injure a player's mouth. A new study published in the September/October issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach found that mouthguards may increase the number and intensity of mouth cuts and abrasions, exposing an athlete to an increased chance of infection due to the bacteria, yeast, and fungi that mouthguards routinely collect.

Sixty-two collegiate football players' mouths were examined pre-season and post-season. The players selected their own mouthguards, either a "boil and bite" device or a custom-made device. At pre-season testing, 75 percent of the players had oral lesions located in three different areas of the mouth (gums, cheek, and roof of mouth). By the end of the season, 96 percent of the participants had oral lesions not only in the same three areas of the mouth, but also on the tongue.

"We saw not only an overall increase in the number of lesions, but also a wider distribution," explains author Richard T. Glass, DDS, PhD and professor at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. "While there might be other contributing factors to the oral lesions, the percentage increase and the specific locations of the oral lesions, compared with other studies done of the general population, indicated that mouthguards have a significant negative impact on the mouth."

Researchers stress that even with the increase in oral lesions, mouthguards are still an important piece of safety equipment for contact sports. "By no means should the value of a mouth guard be discounted," Glass emphasizes. "The protection they do offer teeth during contact sports is important. However, the length of time that a mouthguard is used and how often it is cleaned needs to be revised."

Glass and his co-authors suggest in the study that as soon as a mouthguard becomes distorted or develops sharp jagged edges or after 14 days of regular use, it should be discarded, whichever comes first. The study also pointed out that mouthguards have a natural ability to become a breeding ground for micro-organisms and should be sanitized on a daily basis using an antimicrobial denture-cleaning solution.

"This study stresses the importance of informing athletes of the danger of not properly taking care of a mouthguard. A mouthguard will do your mouth good only if you keep it in good shape," adds Glass.

Houston Family Renovates Church with Asbestos Settlement Funds

On a beautiful Sunday morning, the family and friends of Salvador Juarez gathered at El Monte Calvario church in northeast Houston for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the church's newly renovated fellowship hall.

Mr. Juarez was the pastor at El Monte Calvario and a Williams Kherkher client who was stricken with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure.

Mr. Juarez, who passed away earlier this year, had two wishes: one, that his family be taken care of, and two, that his beloved church be taken care of. In honor of his wishes, the Juarez family used the settlement funds from their asbestos case to redo the church's fellowship hall.

Their settlement, from the companies that exposed Mr. Juarez to asbestos, was negotiated by Williams Kherkher attorneys Troy Chandler and Samantha Flores. Ms. Flores attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new fellowship hall and was both honored and taken aback when she was asked to partake in the festivities, including actually cutting the ceremonial ribbon.

"This is one of the most grateful families I've ever met," Ms. Flores said. "I am honored to represent them and to call them my friends. I love that they are following up on their father's wishes to give back to the church. Mr. Juarez and this church are very important in this community, and for the family to continue his legacy this way is a testament to him."

The Juarez family reciprocated Ms. Flores' sentiments. "Samantha, Troy and all the attorneys and staff of Williams Kherkher have been a blessing to us," said Rosalie Lopez, Salvador's daughter. "Without their dedication and commitment to our family and our father we don't know what we would have done. We are so happy Samantha is here to share this day with us. My father would be so happy."

Help for children with ADHD

One of the biggest challenges for the parent of a child with ADHD is that at least one of the parents typically has similar problems. The non-profit association's current newsletter dives right into this issue, with feedback from parents who explain how they feel when they have consumed food additives that are known ADHD triggers.

"My first clue that I am reacting is often when I raise my voice at the kids or I roll my eyes at my husband (or his back)," writes one mom. "As far as feelings go, I feel disorganized, unable to decide what to do next. I sort of wander around my house seeing all the work that needs to be started, but I can't get my mind around a plan that will get anything done. Sometimes I jump from task to task. Often I go back and forth from a chore to the computer to a magazine."

Another mom compares a reaction to a food additive with "a video where they show only the shortest bits of images and keep cutting from one thing to another. All the concepts from the images are fighting in my head for attention but I don't have time to process them because I am being hit with another image immediately that also demands attention."

Another writer notes, "Having a reaction is awful, especially when you have children who behave better than you!" Some parents report physical reactions of all types, from migraine headaches, to asthmatic attacks to hives and eczema when they eat certain artificial food additives. But most people find that it's a lot simpler to select the brand name products that have been researched by the Feingold® Association and have been found to be free of the offending chemicals.

The Feingold Association is a non-profit support group that shows families how to find the foods they enjoy, but minus chemical additives like artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. Volunteers first started the support group in 1976 after they found out that their children's problems were being triggered by some of the chemicals added to foods. Now, those children are grown and are choosing healthy food for their own families.

Earlier this summer the Feingold Association announced a new recipe book titled "Feingold Family Favorites", which promptly sold out it was so popular as consumers are increasingly aware that what they eat affects how they think and feel. The new "Feingold Family Favorites" recipe book is available from the Feingold Association through the website (www.Feingold.org) .

To request a free copy of the current issue of Pure Facts, the Feingold Association's newsletter, call (800) 321-3287 or visit www.feingold.org. Although most of the people using the Feingold diet focus primarily on eliminating things like food dyes, some need to go further and remove common allergens like wheat, eggs, soy, nuts and dairy. For the specialized help that is needed, the Feingold Association suggests a book by Lisa Lundy titled "The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook."

Named in honor of Dr. Ben F. Feingold, the Chief of Allergy at Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center, the Feingold Association website provides medical references on the research that shows how foods and food additives affect health, learning and behavior. Dr. Feingold's success in using diet to help aspirin-sensitive patients led to his discovery that the same foods or additives that can bring on hives and asthma can also trigger what is now being called ADHD. His medical research was presented to the American Medical Association in 1973 and has been published in medical journals.

New Cookbook For Healthier Children

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 16 percent of children (over 9 million) ages 6 to 19 years are overweight or obese - a number that has tripled since 1980. Another 15 percent of child are considered at risk of becoming overweight indicates the "Prevalance of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents".

Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. According to a national household survey published in Pediatrics in 2004, fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970 resulting in an estimated extra six pounds per year, per child. Obesity is a serious health, which is associated with risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. Parents looking for ways to make fast and healthy meals can find help in the form of a new video and tip sheet with recipes from motivational speaker and cookbook author, Lisa A. Lundy, which you can download free from her website at www.TheSuperAllergyCookbook.com.

Lundy's three children have a variety of food allergies, which eliminate foods containing gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and a few other allergens. What that means for Lundy is there is literally no "fast food" for them unless it comes out of the freezer, slow cooker, or is simply a quick cooking meal. As a working mother, time is of the essence for this busy woman. She has learned how to save time and money in the kitchen and still have healthy foods for her family. "You can have delicious tasting and nutritious foods and not spend hours and hours in the kitchen every day," Lundy said. "What is takes is good recipes, planning and preparation. And if you are cooking for children, by all means get them involved."

She practices what she preaches. Her two sons, ages 12 and 10, can make baked goods - from scratch - with no supervision. Her youngest, Anne who is 7 years old, can make a trail mix from scratch and is quickly becoming an expert salad chef. "Getting children involved in the meal planning, shopping and preparation can boost their self-esteem and pride. Plus, it often helps to increase the kinds and numbers of foods a child will eat" said Lundy.

Lundy is the author of The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook - From A Mother Who Knows™, a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, peanut free, tree nut free and other allergen free resource for both beginners and advanced cooks. Her daughter has had severe health issues due to an inability to absorb vitamins and nutrients from her diet - an issue that has set the family back over $100,000 in uncovered medical bills. The prognosis for Lundy's daughter Anne was poor at best given the level of severe malnutrition her blood testing results showed. With the help of several good physicians and multiple therapies, Anne has improved substantially and has a bright future. In the process the whole family has had to learn the importance of nutrition.

To help other parents and consumers, Lundy shares what she has learned by uploading free white papers, tip sheets, recipes, videos and other documents to her website -www.TheSuperAllergyCookbook.com - there for the taking. She loves helping people so this journey lines up with her passion of contributing to others.

Author Debunks Gluten Free Diet Myths

The gluten-free market is exploding with an annual growth rate of over 25% over the last eight plus years with no end in sight. Recent mainstream articles have questioned the benefits of a gluten-free diet stating that there is absolutely no proven benefit to avoiding gluten except for cases of diagnosed celiac disease and have gone as far as labeling the gluten-free diet as a fad.

Based on the scientific literature it seems likely that there are individuals who can benefit from a gluten-free diet beyond the clinical cases that meet a celiac diagnosis.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease often confused with food allergies. In celiac disease eating foods containing wheat, barley, rye and other common grains sets off an immune response that can cause damage to the small intestine. The treatment for celiac disease is strict adherence to a gluten-free diet. An estimated 3 million Americans or roughly 1% of the population have celiac disease although 97% of the people who have celiac disease do not know that they have it according to the University of Chicago, Celiac Disease Program. A recent study by Alberto Rubio-Tapia et al (Gasteroenterology 2009) indicates that during 45 years of follow-up, undiagnosed celiac disease was associated with a nearly 4-fold increased risk of death and the prevalence of undiagnosed celiac disease seems to have increased dramatically in the U.S in the same time frame.

A. Vojdani, et al, states in a paper published in 2008: "Gluten sensitivity, celiac disease (CD) and gluten-sensitive enteropathy are terms that have been used synonymously to refer to a disease process affecting the small bowel and characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms and malabsorption. However since 1966 scientific evidence has been accumulated demonstrating that gluten sensitivity can exist even in the absence of enteropathy." Vojdani's paper indicates that other organs well beyond the gastrointestinal system can be affected by gluten sensitivity including joints, the heart, thyroid, bone, brain cerebellum and the neuronal synapsins, which are involved in the regulation of the neurotransmitter release. Additionally he points out that gluten sensitivity has been associated with the following neurological disorders: cerebellar ataxia, epilepsy, myoclonic ataxia, chronic neuropathies and dementia. Ataxia is defective muscular coordination especially that are manifested when voluntary muscular movements are attempted. He also suggests that the variability of neurologic disorders that occur in gluten sensitivity is broader than previously reported and includes "softer" and more common neurologic disorders such as chronic headache, developmental delay (autism), hypotonia, and learning disorders or ADHD.

Lundy first learned of the comprehensive medical research on gluten and the impact of gluten on human health seven years ago from a retired Registered Nurse, who also happens to be a cloistered nun. Lundy became friends with Sister Mary Theresa, who also coincidently has celiac disease, when she learned of the nun's need for gluten-free shopping. Cloistered nuns, as a rule, do not leave the convent except on special dispensation and grocery shopping does not fit the standard exceptions for leaving the convent. Unfortunately, Lundy did not save the research studies given to her by Sister Mary Theresa, so she had to create a new list of studies - something that she did with the help of Laurette Janak, a researcher who has presented at Autism One Conferences. "It is important that consumers understand that there are published medical studies about the benefits of a gluten-free diet outside of a clinical celiac diagnosis" said Lundy who believes educated consumers are more likely to get the best medical care. "Consumers should get tested for celiac disease before starting a gluten-free diet," she added.

As the author of The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook, a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, peanut free, tree nut free and other allergen free resource filled with helpful information and over 225 recipes, Lundy knows that gluten-free foods can taste just as good as gluten foods. Her website is rich in content all designed to help consumers with free white papers, tip sheets, recipes, videos and a Blog. Her book is available at www.TheSuperAllergyCookbook.com.

Actor Baldwin to endorse antioxidant supplement

The makers of the world's first chewable super fruit, sea vegetable, antioxidant dietary supplement, recently announced actor Stephen Baldwin is endorsing the product across the nation.

Baldwin is currently airing personal endorsements for Chews-4-Health, supplements he takes and enjoys. Baldwin and Kevin McCullough co-host the "Xtreme Radio Show" on the Sun Radio Network, which broadcasts to more than 370 cities nationwide.

"I take Chews-4-Health and I have to tell you, I can feel the difference," says Baldwin. "With antioxidants and Vitamin B-12, it gives you that extra boost, so you don't need all those mid-day energy drinks and snacks."

Baldwin is also promoting the supplements through emails to his listeners. Chews-4-Health's formulator, Dr. David Friedman gladly welcomed Baldwin's endorsement. Friedman is a renowned chiropractic physician and doctor of naturopathy, who is also the Health Expert on Lifetime Television's morning show, "The Balancing Act."

"With many celebrities and sports figures taking and loving the product, we are excited to have Stephen's endorsement," said Friedman. "I am glad he -- like so many others across the country -- has experienced the wonderful health benefits of Chews-4-Health. I thank Stephen for helping to spread the word about these supplements, as many Americans out there are not getting the nutrition they need for optimal health."

Friedman spent three years formulating the chewable supplement, going through 14 different manufacturers before finding one that was able to make the product to his satisfaction. Chews-4-Health contains 16 nutrient-rich ingredients from around the world and from land and sea.

Help for foot problems from Harvard Medical

Our feet provide a steady base when we stand, serve as shock absorbers when we move, and help propel us forward -- and sometimes backward -- when we walk or run. It's no wonder so many people develop foot-related problems.

A special four-page section in the August 2009 Harvard Health Letter focuses on the feet and their common ailments. Dr. James Ioli, chief of podiatry at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, served as guest editor.

In the special section, Dr. Ioli and the editors of the Harvard Health Letter cover these topics and questions:

- Three steps to healthier feet

- Causes and treatments of four common foot problems: bunions, metatarsalgia, plantar fasciitis, and posterior tibial tendon dysfunction.

- Products for the agonies of the feet: Do toe exercisers restore foot health, as they claim? How should you choose an orthotic? Do detoxifying foot pads do anything? And more.

- How bad are flip-flops? (Short answer: very bad when worn often.)

- Should I get a second bunion operation?

- Why would switching from heels to flats cause pain?

Read a section from this special issue: How Your Feet Work -- and Three Steps for Keeping Them Healthy (https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Letter/2009/August/Special-section-Feet-How-your-feet-work---and-three-steps-for-keeping-them-healthy?utm_source=health&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=health0809)

New treatment for skin cancer identified

An international team of researchers has identified a new method for selectively killing metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for drug development in melanoma - a cancer that is highly resistant to current treatment strategies.

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University (http://www.vcu.edu/), in collaboration with a team of researchers led by Maria S. Soengas, Ph.D., with the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid, Spain, found that activation of a specific molecular pathway triggers melanoma cells to begin a process of self-destruction - through self-digestion and programmed cell death. The study is published in the August 4 print issue of the journal Cancer Cell.

"The present research provides a path that could lead with further studies and a phase I clinical trial for safety to the development of a strategy that reenergizes the immune system to destroy this highly aggressive cancer," said lead investigator at VCU, Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D. the first incumbent of the Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research with the VCU Massey Cancer Center.

According to Fisher, the pathway that is activated involves the melanoma differentiation associated gene-5, or mda-5, a gene initially cloned in Fisher's laboratory, that activates a protein called NOXA that is involved with programmed cell death. This series of chemical reactions results in induction of a cell-killing process involving self-digestion that leads to programmed cell death specifically in melanoma cells. Fisher said that mda-5 is a key regulator of innate immunity that induces interferon beta production limiting replication of specific pathogenic viruses.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the Spanish National Cancer Research Center.

The project team in Spain was led by Soengas, with the Melanoma Laboratory, Molecular Pathology Program, Spanish National Cancer Research Center, Madrid, Spain. Fisher, who also is professor and chair of the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics (http://www.gen.vcu.edu/), and director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine in the VCU School of Medicine, lead the investigative team at VCU which included Paola M. Barral, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics; and Rupesh Dash, Ph.D., postdoctoral research scientist, in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine