Thick Cloud of Bees in ‘Tornado Pattern’ Menace Diners at Mexican Restaurant

Friday, April 25, 2008

A thick swarm of thousands of bees suddenly showed up at a Mexican restaurant in Florida and inexplicably began spiraling in a “tornado pattern,” according to Local 6 News.

Diners at Oxie’s in DeLand at first thought the huge cloud in the sky had formed Thursday because a rainstorm was coming.

But they soon fled to their cars in fear when they realized the cloud was actually a mass of bees — and the insects seemed to be taunting customers.

“It was scary,” restaurant owner Oxie Ochiana told Local 6. “I was panicking. I didn’t know what to do.”

Bee experts said the insects were since resting in a tree in two giant cone-shaped formations, and would likely be gone within 24 hours. Ochiana said he called to get the bees removed.

Click here for more on this story from Local6.com.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352602,00.html

Man Beaten With Hammer, Bat at Maine Hotel in Case of Mistaken Identity

Oops! – GT

—–

Saturday, April 19, 2008

BANGOR, Maine – Police say a Virginia man who was beaten with a hammer and baseball bat at a Bangor motel was apparently a victim of mistaken identity.

Bangor police say two men wearing black ski masks were apparently looking for drugs when they forced their way into a room at the Riverview Motel and attacked 37-year-old Will Chan of Virginia Beach, Va., on Thursday night.

Once inside, the men hit Chan with the bat and hammer while demanding his “stuff.” Lt. Tim Reid says the attack was apparently a drug rip-off, but the men got the wrong room.

Chan, who has been working on a natural gas project in Brewer, received 12 staples in his head. He told the Bangor Daily News that the man with the bat hit him so hard the bat broke in half.

Police are seeking the public’s help in tracking down the two suspects.

 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351828,00.html

Alligator Blood Could Be New Antibiotic For Superbugs

The future of medicine?

—–

Scientists in the US have discovered that proteins in alligator blood could be a powerful source of antibiotics for use against superbugs that are resistant to conventional drugs, and for treating serious infections and burns.

The discovery was presented at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society currently taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana, from April 6th to 10th.

The research that led to the discovery was the work of Dr Mark Merchant, a biochemist at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and co-investigators Drs Kermit Murray and Lancia Darville, both of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and other colleagues.

The investigation is the first piece of research to explore the antibiotic properties of alligator blood in a detailed fashion.

Merchant and colleagues found other potential uses for the antibiotic proteins in alligator blood, including the treatment of a range of infections caused by the yeast Candida albicans, which poses serious problems for patients with weak immune systems, for example people being treated for AIDS or who have received an organ transplant.

In a press statement Merchant said they were “very excited” about the potential of the alligator blood proteins, both as antibacterial and antifungal agents:

“There’s a real possibility that you could be treated with an alligator blood product one day,” he added.

Merchant and colleagues had already shown in previous research projects that alligators have an immune system that is very different to that of humans. It is very strong and helps the reptile to heal quickly, thus conferring a significant survival advantage to creatures that suffer significant wounds during territorial fights.

An alligator’s immune system has the unusual ability of combating microorganisms such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria even if it has not been exposed to them before.

Merchant and colleagues isolated leucocytes (white blood cells that fight disease organisms) from blood samples taken from American alligators and extracted their active proteins.

Under laboratory conditions, small amounts of these active proteins killed a range of bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the highly resistant bacterial that until recently was mostly linked to hospital settings and is now making headway in the community.

MRSA and other “superbugs” are resistant to conventional antibiotics and kill thousands of vulnerable people every year.

Merchant and colleagues also tested the potency of alligator blood proteins against Candida albicans, and found it killed six of the eight different strains of the yeast. In previous studies the investigators had already suggested that these proteins could also work against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The next step is to discover the chemical structure of the alligator blood proteins and establish which ones have the most antimicrobial power. Merchant and his team expect at least four chemicals are involved.

Knowing the exact chemical composition of the antimicrobial agents in alligator blood will help scientists develop experimental antibacterial and antifungal drugs that one day could be applied as creams or taken as pills.

Merchant said he could see these drugs being used as topical ointments.

Patients with diabetes could one day be rubbing “gator-blood cream” onto their foot ulcers, and this might help them avert amputations, said Merchant. Another potential application would be to protect burned skin from infection while it heals.

Speculating on a name for the new protein discovery, Merchant suggested it might be called “alligacin”, and he hoped that if it continues to show the promise it has revealed thus far, it could be on the market within ten years.

The researchers urged people not to try and make their own alligator blood medicines, as unprocessed alligator blood is dangerous and can kill you if injected.

Suggesting that the the blood of alligator relatives like the crocodile may have similar antimicrobial properties, Merchant said he planned to study the disease fighting properties of blood from both reptile families throughout the world.

Source: American Chemical Society press statement: “Alligator blood may put the bite on antibiotic-resistant infections”, 06 April 2008.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103400.php

Parents Argue Over Which Gang 4-Year-Old Son Should Join

It’s great to know that these parents have their priorities in order. – GT

Friday, April 11, 2008

A fight about the decision led to a public disturbance with the father’s arrest. Joseph Manzanares went to the video store where his girlfriend worked, threatened to kill her and knocked over several video displays, police told KMGH Denver.

Police arrested Manzanares at his home, Commerce City police Sgt. Joe Sandoval told KMGH Denver.

The girlfriend told authorities they were fighting over which gang their son should join. The girlfriend, who is black, is a member of the Crips while Manzanares, who is Hispanic, belongs to the Westside Ballers.

“They have different ideas on how the baby should be raised,” Sandoval said. “Basically, she said they cannot agree on which gang the baby would ‘claim.’”

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350249,00.html

Misfired Artillery Crashes Into New Jersey Home, Fatally Injuring Cat

Friday, April 11, 2008

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. —  A piece of artillery that was apparently misfired by the military crashed through the roof of a home miles away Friday and injured a young girl’s cat, which had to be euthanized, officials said.

No people were injured when the 2-pound piece hit the Jefferson Township home about 2 1/2 miles from the Picatinny Arsenal and landed in the girl’s bed, said Peter Rowland, arsenal spokesman. She wasn’t home, but her cat was sleeping on the bed.

The homeowner told authorities she heard a loud noise around 2:40 p.m. and found the 6-by-4-inch object.

Picatinny officials told The Star-Ledger of Newark they were investigating. The base had been conducting tests Friday, and it wasn’t immediately clear what type of artillery hit the home.

Picatinny is the site of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, whose mission is to conduct research, development and engineering for weapons systems.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350832,00.html 

Man Is Flung From Roof of His Speeding Minivan, Runs Naked Along Highway

In Pennsylvania, a naked man who was catapulted from a moving minivan, Tazered three times and finally tackled to the ground by police is in fair condition this weekend, it is reported.

According to the Reading Eagle newspaper, police say they responded to calls Friday from frantic motorists who reported seeing a man climb on top of his minivan roof while it was moving about 55 miles per hour, and watched as he was flung into the woods as the vehicle crashed into a highway guide rail.

Witnesses said the man then climbed up an embankment, took off his clothes and ran on the shoulder of a busy highway bleeding from a foot-long gash in his side, the paper said.

Police Tazered the man three times to try to restrain him. They finally had to tackle him to ground, according to reports.

The man was taken to Reading Hospital in critical condition where toxicology tests were conducted.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347028,00.html