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n a newly published study, scientists from Washington University School of Medicine show how nanoparticles carrying melittin fuse with HIV, killing the virus and leaving surrounding cells unharmed. Nanoparticles carrying a toxin found in bee venom can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving surrounding cells unharmed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. The finding is an important step toward developing a vaginal gel that may prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. “Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a...

By John Crewdson, Tribune senior correspondent. Reporting and research assistance was provided by Drew Crosby in Madrid MADRID -- The most sweeping criminal indictment to arise thus far from the Sept. 11 attacks reflects a quiet but dramatic change in understanding by investigators here and across Europe of the terrorist organization known as Al Qaeda, and the international Islamic radical-terrorist network of which, they now agree, it is merely a part. As laid out in the indictment, the defendants' alleged activities--from arranging travel and providing introductions to procuring false documents and, especially, moving money--provide the first detailed look at one...

First we find out that we're getting ripped off in the fish department. Now, a new study commissioned by Food Safety News shows that most of the honey on supermarket shelves isn't really honey. More than 60 types of honey from several major supermarkets, drug stores, and shopping clubs--including Stop and Shop, Safeway, Wegman's,A&P, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, Sam's Club, and Walmart--were tested by Vaughn Bryant, a professor at Texas A&M University. He found that most of them had all of the pollen filtered out. Without any pollen, it's impossible to figure out whether the honey came from a safe source,...

Link only to preview of study. Upshot is that a study at the University of AR didn't find any pathogens in SHB dissected, BUT they found a protozoan pathogen.

Australian researchers have been astonished to discover a cure-all right under their noses — a honey sold in health food shops as a natural medicine. Far from being an obscure health food with dubious healing qualities, new research has shown the honey kills every type of bacteria scientists have thrown at it, including the antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” plaguing hospitals and killing patients around the world. Some bacteria have become resistant to every commonly prescribed antibacterial drug. But scientists found that Manuka honey, as it is known in New Zealand, or jelly bush honey, as it is known in Australia, killed every...

Natalya Murakhver, a New York food writer and mother of an 18-month year old daughter, loved her premium brand orange juice -- the "100 percent pure" and "not from concentrate" kind that comes in the colorful carton and tastes consistently delicious. That is, until she said she learned from her first-time moms group that there's a "secret ingredient" in all premium orange juices that companies are not required to put on their labeling. Now, after writing Whole Foods, she refuses to buy her favorite, "365" juice, amid uncertainty about its contents. "One of the moms said she had read about...

Funny Honey? Bringing Trust To A Sector Full Of Suspicion by Dan CharlesHoney is the most natural of sweeteners, coming to us directly from bees and flowers.Well, maybe not so directly. These days, a long supply chain often links beehives half a world away with the jar of honey in your kitchen. And there's suspicion in that supply chain: global trade disputes; accusations of unfair competition; even honey identity-switching.To get to the bottom of all this unwholesome controversy, we paid a visit to Dutch Gold Honey in Lancaster, Pa. Dutch Gold is one of the country's top ten honey...

More than three-fourths of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn't exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News. The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled "honey." The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies.

A third or more of all the honey consumed in the U.S. is likely to have been smuggled in from China and may be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals. A Food Safety News investigation has documented that millions of pounds of honey banned as unsafe in dozens of countries are being imported and sold here in record quantities. And the flow of Chinese honey continues despite assurances from the Food and Drug Administration and other federal officials that the hundreds of millions of pounds reaching store shelves were authentic and safe following the widespread arrests and convictions of...

Manuka honey could be used to combat some of the most hard-to-treat infections that are resistant to powerful antibiotics, scientists say.Lab experiments show it can clear bacteria found in festering wounds and contaminated hospital surfaces. It works by breaking down the defences bacteria use against antibiotics, making it useful in treating superbug infections such as MRSA. > "It could be applied topically to wounds and used in combination with antibiotics to treat resistant infections." But she warned people not to try the same at home with honey bought from the supermarket. "Not only is it messy, it wouldn't be advisable....

The First Lady’s office confirms that the White House chefs made one batch of beer using about a pound of honey from the First Lady’s honey hive, on the South Lawn of the White House. The chefs used the traditional methods to brew the beer, and the First Lady’s office confirms that the Obamas paid for the equipment. The batch was made so that the nearly 200 Super Bowl guests – from members of Congress to celebrities like J-Lo -- could sample the new beer.

What consumers don’t know is that honey doesn’t usually come straight – or pure – from the hive. Giant steel drums of honey bound for grocery store shelves and the food processors that crank out your cereal are in constant flow through the global market. Most honey comes from China, where beekeepers are notorious for keeping their bees healthy with antibiotics banned in North America because they seep into honey and contaminate it; packers there learn to mask the acrid notes of poor quality product by mixing in sugar or corn-based syrups to fake good taste. None of this is...

Scientists claim that the natural sweetener is a great way to help the body deal with the toxic effects of a hangover. The Royal Society of Chemistry claim that the fructose in the honey – which is also found in golden syrup – is essential to help the body break down alcohol into harmless by-products. The reason why hangovers are so painful is that alcohol is first broken down into acetaldehyde, a substance which is toxic to the body, claimed Dr John Emsley of the Royal Society. This is then converted – using fructose – into acetic acid which is...

Food production in America is fast shutting down. Where will our food come from? We are seeing a rapid decline in America's ability to feed itself. America is fast becoming a nation where food production is not sustainable in the long term. You won't hear it from the farm state politicians, or anyone running for office because it's a matter they don't want to address. Unless steps are taken, lack of food may soon hit the American population. Your bag of gold is useless at Kroger if there is nothing on the shelves. Government involvement has a long history of...

The Federal Government announced charges today against a ring of foreign corporations and executives who conspired to bring antibiotic-laden Chinese honey illegally into the US, in an attempt to avoid paying millions in fees. A federal grand jury in Chicago indicted top executives of German food conglomerate Alfred L Wolff GmbH, and several of its affiliated companies for allegedly importing more than $US40 million in Chinese honey, but saying it originated elsewhere in order to avoid paying duties of nearly $US80 million that were levied on Chinese honey.

The White House is having a disastrous 'summer of recovery.' In what will rank as one of the all-time presidential PR disasters, we're now well over half way through what the White House called "the summer of recovery." And what a recovery it's been. Earlier this month, first-time claims for unemployment hit a nine-month high. The unemployment rate remains at 9.5% and 18.4% of workers are out of a job, can only get part-time work, or have given up looking for a job altogether. Sales of existing homes dropped 27% from June to July, hitting the lowest point since data...

Sweet little hobby Create a buzz, and help distressed bees, with your own hive JANET CARSON SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE While some people fear bees and many worry about getting stung, these little insects more than redeem themselves as the primary pollinators of plants worldwide. Today is National Honeybee Appreciation Day — well deserved because it’s estimated that more than 80 percent of flowering plants and almost a third of human food crops need bees as pollinators. Reports have been claiming the loss of bee populations is due to mites, pesticides and human activities. Many species of pollinators, including bees,...

Recently discovered beehives from ancient Israel 3,000 years ago appear to be the oldest evidence for beekeeping ever found, scientists reported. Archaeologists identified the remains of honeybees — including workers, drones, pupae, and larvae — inside about 30 clay cylinders thought to have been used as beehives at the site of Tel Rehov in the Jordan valley in northern Israel. This is the first such discovery from ancient times. "Although texts and wall paintings suggest that bees were kept in the Ancient Near East for the production of precious wax and honey, archaeological evidence for beekeeping has never been found,"...

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is calling for a crackdown on a unique brand of laundering. Not money or drug laundering, but honey. Schumer, D-N.Y., announced yesterday that his office will press Immigrations and Custom Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Food and Drug Administration to more stringently regulate mislabeled honey brought into the country and the state by Chinese exporters. Almost 10 years ago, Chinese honey became the subject of special taxes when it was found that Chinese honey traders were engaging in what Schumer called “predatory trade practices.” Schumer said, since then, those traders have gone to extraordinary...

“Tainted honey can contain pathogens or chemicals,” Watkins says. “It’s not often the case with hobby beekeepers, but the issue is, a lot of food is changing. Peanut butter is growing bacteria now. The possibility is there.” No other food is allowed manufacturing without health department inspection, Watkins says, and the bill would create a dangerous precedent.