Yarn created from skin cells can be woven into human textiles

SOUNDS LIKE THE WEAVING HUMAN SKIN INTO PANTS AND COVERS OF BOOKS ALA HP LOVECRAFT DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE


by Bob Yirka , Phys.org
 

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers from France, Columbia and the U.S. has developed a type of yarn from human skin cells that can be woven into human textiles. In their paper published in the journal Acta Biomaterialia, the group describes the process they used and applications for the materials they produced.


Medical textiles are materials that can be used to heal skin and other body parts. They can also replace parts of damaged organs. But not all patients have the same reactions to all textiles, because the materials are often treated as foreign agents by the immune system. So scientists continue to look for ways to create textiles that the human body will accept. In this new effort, the researchers have created textiles out of human fibroblasts—cells that normally assist with the production of collagen and other fibers. The body will not reject them because they are natural human cells.

The researchers have created a variety of textiles out of the material for use in a wide variety of applications. The researchers first grew skin cell fibroblasts into sheets of material. The sheets were then fashioned into desired shapes. In many instances, they were cut into strings for applications such as suturing wounds. The strings could also be twisted or knotted to create braids or used like yarn for knitting or crochet applications. One notable advantage of the new technique is that it does not require the use of scaffolds to create parts of organs—they can simply be fashioned in ways similar to knitting a hat or scarf.

The new material has already been tested on animals, and the researchers are ready to start testing on human patients. They suggest it could be used to create pouches, valves or tubes, in addition to serving as a suture material for skin or organs after surgery. As an example, they created a tube out of the material and grafted it onto an artery in a test sheep. They also sutured open wounds in rats. The researchers claim the new material works as well as others currently in use.

Invention of shape-changing textiles powered only by body heat

More information: Laure Magnan et al. Human Textiles: a cell-synthesized yarn as a truly "bio" material for tissue engineering applications., Acta Biomaterialia (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.01.037


* The Dreams in the Witch-House | The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki ..
"The Dreams in the Witch House" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft, part of the ... Keziah Mason was an old woman of Arkham who was arrested as part of the ...

Keziah Mason | The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki | Fandom
During the Salem witch trials of 1692, an old woman by the name of Keziah ... and when he took a room in her house she revealed to that same knowledge to ...

The Dreams in the Witch House - Tor.com
Jul 7, 2015 - Welcome back to the Lovecraft reread, in which two modern Mythos writers get girl ... Today we're looking at “The Dreams in the Witch House,” written in ... What's Cyclopean: The alien city of the elder things, that Gilman visits while ... My understanding is that HP wrote this work after being introduced to the ...

Nábrók - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Nábrók
Nábrók (calqued as necropants, literally "corpse britches") are a pair of pants made from the skin of a dead man, which are believed in Icelandic witchcraft to be capable of producing an endless supply of money. It is unlikely these pants ever existed outside of folklore.


Necropants: Did Icelandic Sorcerers Really Make Magic Pants ...
https://www.ancient-origins.net › unexplained-phenomena › necropants-ic...
Jun 27, 2018 - A museum in Iceland is home to the only known pair of necropants: pants made out of human skin. Legend has it that Icelandic sorcerers would tear the skin off of a dead friend’s body and clothe themselves in their flesh. They called them Nábrók, or necropants -- a type of dark ...


The Creepy Icelandic Pants Made of Human Skin
https://www.thevintagenews.com › 2018/08/24 › necropants
Aug 24, 2018 - Post-death, “you must dig up his body and flay the skin of the corpse in one piece from the waist down. As soon as you step into the pants they ...

Necropants and Other Tales of 17th-Century Icelandic Sorcery ...
https://www.atlasobscura.com › articles › objects-of-intrigue-necropants
... has been buried, dig up the body, and then skin the lower half of the corpse without creating any holes or tears, thus creating a pair of gruesome skin pants.


HUMAN SKIN BOOK COVER

NECRONOMICON FROM EVIL DEAD

In suspending Global Entry, a spiteful Trump makes us all less safe (opinion)
 Opinion by Ruth Ben-Ghiat 

Ninety seconds. That's my record for getting through border controls at John F. Kennedy International Airport, armed with my Global Entry card. Customs took an additional two minutes (Global Entry card holders have their own line). This streamlined processing by the Trusted Traveler program allowed me to plan same-day business, rather than spend hours in line. 

The Trump administration's suspension of Global Entry, NEXUS and other Trusted Traveler programs for residents of New York state, announced Wednesday by Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, will change all that. According to Wolf, new enrollments and re-enrollments for the service that costs $100 every five years are no longer possible, although current card holders can in theory continue to participate in the program until their special status expires.

While the official reason Wolf gave for the move was national security, in reality an authoritarian cocktail of spite, corruption and racism drives this decision -- one that will make America less secure and less efficient.

Every autocrat has an obsession, and one of President Donald Trump's is targeting immigrants as part of a crusade to rally his base and keep America a majority-white and Christian territory. His Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is targeting New York state because of its Green Light Law that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses and forbids government officials from turning over Department of Motor Vehicles records to federal officials.
Without that information, Wolf claims, the government can't vet people for Trusted Traveler status.
National security experts and former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials say that's not just untrue but also dangerous. Trump's action will place vetted and non-vetted travelers together in lines for protracted periods of time. "This makes all air travelers less safe," tweeted Marco Lopez, who served as CBP chief of staff when Global Entry program launched. "Best crime fighting tool in the skies."

Revoking Global Entry has less to do with security than with the latest retaliation by Trump against a state that contains New York City, a place he felt has never really accepted him. More precisely, the New York City area, home to two busy international airports, Newark and JFK, is now a sanctuary for immigrants -- and to a state attorney general's office that under Barbara Underwood and now Letitia James has investigated him for alleged corruption and forced him to dissolve his Trump Foundation for what Underwood said was a "shocking pattern" of illegal behaviors.

"No one is above the law, not even the President," says James. Trump feels differently: he uses the law as a weapon against his enemies.

What does Trump really want to obtain with this power play? As always with authoritarians, the people and businesses that will lose time needlessly are just his pawns. His real targets are New York City and state politicians who have defied him: he hopes to make them unpopular and put pressure on them to renounce sanctuary cities, investigations and other measures that stand in the way of his personal and ideological goals. His further targets are other cities -- and whole states, such as California -- whose leaders must now be wondering: Are we next? And if so, what will the retaliation look like?

The Trump administration also knows well that taking away vetted status can mean more difficulties for his racial targets, opening travelers up to profiling if they have the wrong names or skin colors. As one of thousands wrongly placed on a State Department list after the 9/11 terrorist attacks merely for having a "Ben" name ("Ben" being too close to "Bin," as in Osama bin Laden), I have been through that, including special searches in cubicles.

What Trump wants is what all authoritarians want: conformity. He'll try and get it any way he can.

Guess who is not affected by the DHS ruling? The very rich, who travel in private jets and often have special VIP concierge services, like screening and entry protocols, if they travel commercially. Those people are Trump's real constituency, and they won't care about this change.

For the rest of us, there is the partial comfort of DHS's Mobile Passport application, or the private program Clear. Yet the suspension of Global Entry is not really about travel but about the erosion of principled government and the triumph of a politics of revenge.

To remedy that, we'll all need to make our voices heard.

Yang tells Dem rivals: 'Donald Trump is not the cause of all of our problems'

2020 presidential candidate entrepreneur Andrew Yang told his fellow Democrats that President Trump is not the cause of all the country's problems during Friday's New Hampshire debate and advised against continuing to obsess over him heading into the November election. 

 

© FoxNews.com 

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang joins Neil Cavuto on 'CAVUTO Live.'

"You are missing the lesson of Donald Trump's victory," he began. "Donald Trump is not the cause of all of our problems and we are making a mistake when we act like he is. He is a symptom of a disease that has been building up in our communities for years and decades. And it is our job to get to the harder work of actually curing the disease."

Yang said voter frustration is driving traditionally Democrat voters into the arms of the GOP in states like Iowa and Ohio.

"Most Americans feel like the political parties have been playing, 'You lose, I lose. You lose, I lose' for years," he continued. "And you know who's been losing this entire time? We have. Our communities have. Our communities' way of life is disintegrating beneath our feet.

"That's why Iowa, a traditional swing state, went to Trump by almost 10 points. That's why Ohio, a traditional swing state, is now so red -- that I'm told we're not even going to campaign there," Yang added.

He also went after Amazon for not paying its fair share in taxes and said automation has hurt employment prospects for millions of Americans.

"These communities are seeing their way of life get blasted into smithereens," Yang explained. "We've automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs and counting. We're closing 30 percent of New Hampshire's stores and malls. And Amazon, the force behind that, is literally paying zero in taxes.

"These are the changes that Americans are seeing and feeling around us every day. And if we get to the hard work of curing those problems, we will not just defeat Donald Trump in the fall but we'll actually be able to move our communities forward."

AOC, Omar, Jayapal say DNC boss Tom Perez should be ‘held accountable’ for Iowa failure

Dom Calicchio FOX NEWS

The drumbeat for Democratic National Committee boss Tom Perez to be “held accountable” for recent party failures appears to be getting louder.

© Provided by FOX News 

The latest Democrats to criticize Perez include U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., all backers of 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Recent party setbacks have included the vote-count fiasco at Monday’s Iowa caucuses and Tuesday night’s disclosure that two officials on the host committee of the party’s upcoming national convention in Milwaukee had been fired over non-specified allegations that they oversaw a work environment where staff members were not being “respected.”

IOWA MESS HAS PEREZ FACING DEM PARTY STORM, RESIGNATION CALLS

Previously, Democrats such as former Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Washington state Democratic chairwoman Tina Podlodowski and party strategist Neil Sroka spoke out against Perez’s leadership.

“He doesn’t lead on anything,” Fudge told Politico.

On Friday, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Jayapal shared their views on the party chairman.

“What’s happened in Iowa is a complete disgrace and someone needs to be held responsible,” Ocasio-Cortez said outside the U.S. Capitol, according to the outlet. “I think there’s a conversation needed around taking responsibility for Iowa and ensuring that this bungled process never happens again.”

Omar mentioned Perez by name in her remarks.

“I would say Tom Perez should be held accountable for this failure,” Omar told The Hill. “I believe it all starts from the top. These are things that Tom should do and should have done. If this was happening in my home state, we would be having a very serious conversation about what accountability would look like for our own chair."

Iowa Dems release '100 percent' of caucus vote totals showing Buttigieg ahead, amid calls for recanvass

Omar noted that the DNC had years to prepare for the Iowa caucuses and said it was “devastating” that more precautions weren’t in place to prevent this week’s vote-count situation.

Jayapal called the Iowa caucuses a “national embarrassment,” and said others deserved blame in addition to Perez.

“I’m sure there is shared blame to go around,” Jayapal told The Hill. “But Tom Perez is the head of the DNC, and I do think that there clearly was not the process in place to make sure all these [protocols] were going to be followed.”

The criticism of Perez followed a Twitter message the DNC leader posted Thursday, in which he blamed Iowa’s state-level Democratic Party for the caucus problems.

“Enough is enough,” Perez wrote. “In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.”

Podlodowski accused Perez of throwing Iowa officials “under the bus” after a long silence from the national DNC amid the vote-counting problems.

Neither news organizations nor the Iowa Democratic Party have been able to call a winner in Monday's Iowa caucuses while Pete Buttigieg and Sanders are both claiming victory in the state.

As of late Friday, Buttigieg held a narrow lead in state delegate equivalents (SDEs), which help decide how many delegates a candidate gets to bring to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee later this year

Sanders, on the other hand, led in the popular vote from both the "first alignment" and the "second alignment" phases of the caucuses.

Those numbers could change, however, as the IDP has noted many irregularities in its vote count and it is highly likely candidates will call for reexaminations of the numbers, as Perez already has.

Meanwhile, DNC convention host committee members Liz Gilbert and Adam Alonso were fired Tuesday evening after initially being placed on leave following allegations made in a Jan. 30 letter signed by committee staffers, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

“Every employee has a right to feel respected in their workplace,” the host committee said in a statement, the outlet reported. “Based on the information we have learned to date, we believe the work environment did not meet the ideals and expectations of the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee Board of Directors. Accordingly, Liz Gilbert and Adam Alonso are no longer employed by the organization, effective immediately.”

The staffers alleged that Alonso “consistently bullied and intimidated staff members,” in particular the women, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, and accused Gilbert of allowing “a culture that coddles male senior advisers and consultants.”

Trump's Friday night massacre

Trump made no secret of his anger at Vindman's testimony, and the timing of Vindman's dismissal is likely no coincidence. Acquitted by the Senate on Wednesday, President Donald Trump feels emboldened to act on his every impulse, now that Congressional Republicans have shown him they will not hold him accountable -- no matter the risk.  Vindman was escorted off White House grounds, according to his attorney, and in a manner that was likely intended to publicly embarrass him. His brother Yevgeny Vindman, who also worked on the NSC and is also a lieutenant colonel, was fired as well. (When asked to comment on the departure of the Vindman brothers, NSC spokesman John Ullyot said, "We do not comment on personnel matters.")

Opinions | Trump is the ultimate sore winner. Now he’ll seek revenge.
Donald Trump has always been a sore loser, but if we’ve learned anything over the past three years of his presidency, it’s that he’s also a sore winner. Not content with being elected, he’s still angry at his 2016 opponent and cannot stop talking about her. He’s angry at his predecessor for having respect from the global community and most Americans that Trump himself has not earned. He’s even angry at Republicans like his former attorney general Jeff Sessions, who’ve publicly humiliated themselves to demonstrate fealty to him, for not publicly humiliating themselves enough.

Trump’s quest for revenge could mean the end of whistleblowing
President Trump and some of his allies in the Senate are kicking off the post-impeachment era with vengeance on their minds. In a speech on Thursday, Trump condemned “leakers and liars” and declared that “this should never, ever happen to another president, ever.” On Capitol Hill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Republicans plan to launch an investigation of the whistleblower who disclosed President Trump’s effort to coerce Ukraine to investigate a political rival. Graham threatened that they are “going to get to the bottom of all of this to make sure this never happens again.”
If they carry out this threat of state-sponsored retaliation, whistleblowing as we know it may be over. That would be a disastrous blow to government integrity.
Do not doubt that the eyes of our nation are watching this situation unfold. Federal officials will now think twice before reporting any wrongdoing they witness. Their reticence will only be magnified if Republicans exact a price by grilling the Ukraine whistleblower in a Senate hearing “to make sure this never happens again.” The same will be true if Congress lets executive branch officials fire or otherwise punish the whistleblower — as the Trump administration did to Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine.

Trump's disturbing 'celebration'
The tip-off was the fake, breathy voice -- call it Mister Rogers-on the-dark side -- that the President uses whenever he is enraged but wants us to think he's calm. He smiles and leans forward, and then spews venom in a treacly tone. Although he called it a "celebration" of his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, Trump's hourlong ramble in the White House on Thursday sounded more like a recriminating diatribe.
President Donald Trump recapped the many investigations against him over the last three years and directed his vitriol at those who dared oppose him. They are "evil and sick people," said Trump.
Rep. "Adam Schiff is a vicious, horrible person," he said, and Speaker of the House "Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person." Mitt Romney "used religion as a crutch," Trump said, after Romney cited his Mormon faith in his decision to become the only senator in US history to vote to remove a president of his own party. Trump went on and called the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections "bullsh**."
Even his decision to hold up the front page of the Washington Post, displaying the headline "Trump acquitted," struck a sour note, since it reminded the world that he is only the third US president to be impeached -- a process that has sown deep divisions in the country. Let's not forget -- the trial was rigged. His acquittal had been guaranteed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell before it even began. Boasting about it was akin to former North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il bragging about the 11 holes-in-one he scored in a round of golf.
Like Kim, Trump is not like most people. We would expect any other president in his circumstance to express relief and perhaps a little happiness before promising to heal the nation's wounds

Trump, true to his deviance, chose to babble on about his years-ago election victory, and to curse his opponents and critics. You would hardly know that he was the billionaire who occupied the highest office in the country and had just dodged a bullet the size of a bunker-buster.

People are comparing Trump's firing of 2 officials involved in impeachment him to an episode straight out of the Watergate scandal

Alexander Vindman Fired and Escorted From the White House

Trump hasn’t offered any reason beyond the obvious for punishing Alexander Vindman

Impeachment witness Alexander Vindman and his twin brother were abruptly fired and escorted from the White House as part of Trump's payback

'I'm not happy with him': Impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was escorted from the White House on Friday

#marshablackburnistrash is trending on Twitter after Sen. Marsha Blackburn labeled Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman unpatriotic and 'vindictive'

Biden to Trump: Give Vindman, not Rush Limbaugh, a medal
2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden took a shot at President Trump during the Democratic debate in New Hampshire Friday night and said he should have awarded the Medal of Freedom to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman instead of nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh.

FOREVER CHEMICALS
NC State researchers find high levels of firefighting foam chemical in Cape Fear bass
By Adam Wagner, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Striped bass caught in the Cape Fear River and tested for “forever chemicals” had levels of a substance known for its use in firefighting foam that were among the highest ever seen in fish, scientists from N.C. State University reported in a study published Friday.

© Courtesy New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via Facebook NC State researchers find high levels of firefighting foam chemical in Cape Fear bass

Blood from 58 striped bass caught in the Cape Fear River had more than 40 times the PFAS of blood from striped bass raised at the Pamlico Aquaculture Field Laboratory, the study found. And it showed that fish with higher levels of the chemicals tended to have increased activity in their livers and immune systems.

PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a family of chemicals that have raised concerns across the country due to their persistence in the environment and impacts on human health. PFOA and PFOS, two of the most-common kinds of PFAS, have been linked to increased cholesterol, low infant birth weights and suppressed immune function, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. PFOA also increases risk for some cancers.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has responded to concerns about PFAS exposure from eating fish by setting consumption advisory levels for PFOA, PFOS and PFNA. North Carolina has not set such levels, a state health department spokeswoman said, but is in communication with researchers who are studying the fish.

While there is a longstanding moratorium on striped bass in the Cape Fear River, the new study said it is likely that largemouth bass, catfish and other species also have high PFAS levels. People who eat fish caught in the river could be ingesting those chemicals, said Scott Belcher, the N.C. State toxicologist whose lab performed the study.

“I don’t object to people making the leap that, yes, it’s in the blood, it’s going to be in the tissues,” Belcher said, adding that levels in tissue will be lower than those in blood.

The striped bass study was a collaboration between the N.C. Center for Human Health and the Environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. It was published Friday in Environment International.

Cape Fear striped bassFarmed striped bass

Total PFAS551 ppb13.6 ppb

PFOS 490 ppb9.4 ppb

GenX1.91 ppb (in 48% of fish)1.64 ppb (10.3% of fish)

Nafion byproduct 20.3 ppb (in 78% of fish)Not detected

New Jersey’s fish advisory

Last year, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services mailed surveys to every household within 10 miles of Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant. Of the 1,858 responses, about 310 people said they had stopped fishing altogether since learning about GenX and other PFAS. Roughly the same number of people had given up gardening.

“These results indicate a need to better understand whether GenX or other PFAS are found in local produce or fish, and if so at what levels,” a DHHS press release about the survey stated.

In New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection tested tissue samples from various fish species for three kinds of PFAS: PFOA, PFOS and PFNA. It established consumption advisories that are issued if fish are found to have elevated PFAS levels.

The department issues an advisory, for example, if PFOS is detected in tissue at levels above 17 ppb. At that level, the general public is told to eat the fish no more than once every three months. High-risk individuals such as children, pregnant women and nursing mothers are told to avoid the fish entirely. At 51 ppb, New Jersey residents are told to eat one of the fish annually.

North Carolina has not issued any such advisories or set PFAS levels for the fish found in its rivers and streams.

In a prepared statement, Kelly Haight Connor, a DHHS spokeswoman, wrote, “There are currently no fish consumption advisories for PFAS in the Cape Fear, although this may change as new data emerge. DHHS is aware of ongoing studies at (N.C. State) and remains in communication with the researchers to better inform fish consumption advisories throughout North Carolina.”

DHHS typically sets fish consumption advisories at the request of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality or a local health department.

If such a request is made, DHHS develops a sampling plan based on the fish consumed in the area and the known contamination. It reviews the sampling data, calculates potential exposures, then determines if an advisory is necessary and what limits should be.

Belcher’s lab plans to launch a study this spring with Duke University’s Superfund Research Center that will look at fishermen along the Cape Fear, what they eat and contamination levels. While they may not be eating striped bass, Belcher said, fish like shad, catfish and sunfish are being caught.

“We’re trying to tackle that question of who’s eating what and how, so we can work with (the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality) and other regulatory agencies to come up with some really rational guidelines,” Belcher said.

Chemicals in striped bass

Belcher said his lab plans to study PFAS concentrations in fish tissue and already has some samples. Generally, he said, concentrations in tissue samples are lower than those found in the serum.

While the striped bass study, which was part of North Carolina’s PFAS Testing Network, did not go as far as showing that PFAS caused the increased liver or immune system activity in the striped bass, there was a strong correlation between the chemicals and the increased activity.

“We’re seeing exactly the same sorts of impacts or the same associations with increasing concentrations as we’re seeing in mammals,” Belcher said.

Striped bass in the Cape Fear River have been under a harvest moratorium since 2008 in an effort to help the population recover. Surveys taken in the years before the moratorium showed that the population was not adding young fish and adults were not spawning.

PFOA and PFOS have historically been used in a wide range of products due to their water-resistant features and ability to withstand extreme conditions — the same traits that make them unlikely to break down once they are released into the environment.

PFOS, for example, was used in Scotchgard, on stain-resistant carpets and in firefighting foam. PFOA, also known as C8, was used to make Teflon cookware and other water- and stain-resistant products such as coats and carpets before DuPont replaced it with GenX.

GenX, the chemical that was discharged from the Fayetteville Works plant since at least 1980, averaged levels of 1.91 ppb in the Cape Fear striped bass. Nafion byproduct 2, another chemical associated with Fayetteville Works, averaged 0.3 ppb.

N.C. State researchers who conducted blood tests in Wilmington previously said Nafion byproduct 2 was one of four PFAS they believed was unique to residents of the area, according to the Wilmington StarNews. It was found in 99% of the samples taken from 345 New Hanover County residents.

Levels of both GenX and Nafion byproduct 2 in striped bass were significantly higher than the levels found in surface water samples nearby, meaning the chemicals are building up in the fish. GenX levels were 136 times higher in the striped bass blood than in the surface water, while Nafion byproduct 2 levels were 17 times higher.

“They are still persistent,” Belcher said.

The Nafion finding is particularly notable, the study said, because the molecule is structurally similar to PFOS, and higher levels of Nafion byproduct 2 were associated with higher levels of liver enzyme activity in the striped bass.

“These findings,” the study stated, “suggest that Nafion byproduct 2 exposures may also alter and adversely impact liver function.”

This reporting is financially supported by Report for America/GroundTruth Project and The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation. The News & Observer maintains full editorial control of the work. To support the future of this reporting, subscribe or donate.

———

©2020 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

High levels of PFAS affect immune, liver functions in Cape Fear River striped bass

by Scott Belcher, North Carolina State University

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found elevated levels of 11 per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the blood of Cape Fear River striped bass. Two of those compounds—perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Nafion byproduct 2—are associated with altered immune and liver functions in those fish.

Scott Belcher, associate professor of biology and corresponding author of a paper describing the research, led a team that included NC State colleagues Detlef Knappe, Ben Reading and postdoctoral researcher Theresa Guillette as well as partners from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The team isolated serum from the blood of 58 wild caught Cape Fear River striped bass ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old. In collaboration with EPA researchers Mark Stryner and James McCord, they determined the concentrations of 23 different PFAS chemicals present in the serum using a combination of liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

"Testing blood levels gives you an idea of the 'body burden' of these particular chemicals," Belcher says. "The levels of these chemicals in the water were measured in parts per trillion, but in the serum of the fish levels are higher and in parts per billion, demonstrating that they have clearly bioaccumulated in these fish."

The team then compared the blood serum samples from the wild caught fish to those from a reference population of 29 striped bass raised in an aquaculture facility fed by ground water. "The serum levels of chemicals in the wild caught bass were 40% higher, on average, than the background levels found in this reference population," Belcher says.

In comparison to the levels of PFAS found in Cape Fear River water, elevated levels of PFOS and Nafion byproduct 2 were found in 100% and 78% of the wild bass samples, respectively. The serum concentrations of these compounds were associated with biomarkers of altered liver enzyme activity and immune function in those fish.

"These PFAS levels are some of the highest recorded in fish," Belcher says, "but one of the most unusual findings here is that smaller or younger fish had the highest levels of these compounds. This points to the fact that PFAS chemicals are very different from other persistent chemicals, like mercury or PCBs. They have unique and very different chemical properties that cause them to bioaccumulate differently, and we're really just beginning to understand why and how they do what they do."

Fecal excretion of PFAS by pets

---

More information: T.C. Guillette et al, Elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Cape Fear River Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are associated with biomarkers of altered immune and liver function, Environment International (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358

Mysterious odor at high school sends dozens to hospital

A CHEMICAL RELEASE POSSIBLY CHLORINE BLEACH FROM IMPROPER DISPOSAL 

OR ITS COMBINATION WITH OTHER CHEMICALS

WHMIS MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO CLEANING / SCIENCE STAFF 

Mysterious odor at high school sends dozens to hospital

Students and staffers at a Massachusetts high school were hospitalized Friday after they were overcome by a mysterious odor in the building.© WCVB Ambulances respond to Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston, Massachusetts, after about 40 students and staffers were overcome by a mysterious odor, Feb. 7, 2020.

Approximately 40 students and staffers at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston were taken by ambulance to local hospitals after becoming nauseous from the odor, according to Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.

Dozens of ambulances were use the ferry the sick to area hospitals throughout the morning and afternoon.

Many of the students had to leave books and book bags behind.

In addition to nausea, symptoms included dizziness, scratchy throat, and watery eyes, witnesses said.

"They just felt really lightheaded and nauseous," one student told WCVB.

"I saw a girl in a wheelchair," said another student. "And that's when we were all like, 'OK, what's going on?'"

Authorities were not immediately able to determine what caused the odor, said fire officials in Kingston, about 40 miles south of Boston.

The school was closed after the incident, and basketball games scheduled for Friday afternoon were canceled.

The building will be professionally cleaned over the weekend, WCVB reported.

AS A CUSTODIAN I HAVE TO ASK WHO WAS CLEANING THE SCHOOL BEFORE

THEY CONTRACTED OUT THIS SPECIALIZED CLEANUP WHICH ANY COMPETENT CUSTODIAN CAN DO.

Officials said they believed everyone who felt sick will make a full recovery.

TRUMP WON OVER THE SO CALLED RUSSIAGATE  MULLER REPORT
WITH NO COLLUSION CLAIMS

TRUMP WON IMPEACHMENT ACQUITTAL 
BECAUSE OF HIS BACKING BY REPUBLICANS

DEMOCRATS BEING LIBERALS, LIKE BIDEN, STILL BELIEVE THE SYSTEM WORKS
WHICH TRUMP PROVES DOES NOT 

ONLY A COMPLETE ELECTORAL BLUE TSUNAMI TAKING OUT REPUBLICANS AND TRUMP MUST BE THE AIM OF ALL DEMOCRATS INCLUDING THOSE RUNNING FOR POTUS.

Photo of Trump with pale ring around orange face prompts ridicule, hilarity and Panda comparisons

Donald Trump on the south lawn of the White House on 7 February 2020: EPA

It may be the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere, but Donald Trump’s radiant salmon-coloured suntan has not dimmed even one lumen.

The president’s curious complexion has long been a subject of intense scrutiny, chiefly among critics and comedians, with Mr Trump previously blaming his heightened facial luminosity on the glare of energy efficient lightbulbs – which he then threatened to ban.

But a new photograph of the president outside on a windy day away from any source of artificial lighting, has delivered important new evidence on the matter, revealing the full extent of his dermal colour scheme – which does not even reach the edge of his face

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Menacing bats swarming small Australian town

The bats are out of the belfry and terrorizing Australians.

Tens of thousands of the menacing mammals are frightening the residents of Ingham, Queensland, with their looming presence, reported news.com.au.

The massive fruit bat colony has been hovering over the town of 4,300 for days now.

The fearsome flock has swooped in on the town’s botanical gardens and is perched in trees near schools.
Even more worrisome for residents is that the colony appears to be expanding.

“It’s like a bat tornado over the town,” explained resident Adam Kaurila, who is considering yanking his two daughters out of school over bat exposure and scratch alarms.

The biggest concern when it comes to bat bites and scratches is lyssavirus, a disease similar to rabies.

Three cases have been confirmed Down Under — all fatal.

Kaurila’s wife also expressed apprehension for her kids’ safety.

"They’re not stepping a foot in that ground until something is, we know that is, being done, said his wife, Susanne.

Bats are a protected species under Queensland law, meaning the city council is limited in how it can manage them.

While nonlethal methods such as noise, smoke and light are effective deterrents, they can’t be utilized while the bats are breeding, according to news.com.au.

In Charters Towers — located about 150 miles southwest of Ingham, residents there are also coping with a severe bat problem.



One Aussie politician says enough is enough.

“There comes a point where I think breaking the law really becomes ‘dogging it,’ as we say in North Queensland,” said state representative Bob Katter. “And I think that point has probably been reached.”  
WHICH RESULTS IN THIS Rare flying foxes shot in 'horrific' Australia attack

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SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

Bats starving to death in Australia drought

A fruit bat rescued from drought by Queensland Bats is nursed back to health at their wildlife centre on Australia's Gold Coast

Large numbers of bats are being found severely emaciated or starved to death in Australia amid a prolonged drought that is crippling their food supply, according to wildlife carers and environment officials.

There has been a "rapid increase" in the number of stricken native flying foxes found in areas of Queensland and New South Wales over the past two weeks, rescue group Bats Queensland told AFP.

Volunteer wildlife carer Ashley Fraser said Tuesday that parts of the picturesque Gold Coast, a popular tourist destination, were currently "littered" with hundreds of dead bats.

Though there have been cases of mass bat starvation in the region before, Fraser said her organisation had never dealt with an event on this scale.

"We can expect to see it get worse as well," she told AFP.

"The changing climate is going to worsen the drought and make it a pretty poor environment for bats to try to survive in."

Some flying fox species are listed as vulnerable to extinction. They are also a key pollinator of eucalyptus trees, the koala's main food source.

Queensland's Department of Environment and Science told AFP that officials believed the deaths were linked to the impact on the bats' food supply of the extended drought, as well as recent bushfires and storms.

A fruit bat hangs in a cage at a rescue centre in Gold Coast, Australia

Fraser said many of the flying foxes rescued by Bats Queensland were so emaciated their bodies had begun shutting down beyond the point of repair, forcing carers to euthanise them.

Even for those deemed fit enough to survive up to seven weeks of rehabilitation, the future remains uncertain.

"We don't want to be releasing them if there's not the food sources out there," Fraser said.

All of New South Wales and two-thirds of Queensland have been declared as in drought, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting below-average rainfall across much of Australia's east for the rest of the year.

Thousands of flying foxes died across Australia during the last southern hemisphere summer in a series of colony collapses caused by heat stress.

The increasingly common phenomenon is the result of extreme temperatures, which cause the bats to fall from trees as their brains boil and they succumb to the heat.

FRUIT BAT – FAMILY PTEROPODIDAE
DESCRIPTION

The Fruit Bat falls into the category of the Megabat and sometimes they are called the Flying Fox in some locations. There are many differences in their size from one location to the next. Due to that variation these bats are often mistaken for many different types rather than being identified as the same.

For example some Fruits Bats are no more than two inches long. Others though are more than 16 inches in length. Some of them only weigh an ounce or two and others weigh in at a couple of pounds. The overall wing length of the Fruit Bat can be more than five feet. These bats have large eyes and they also have excellent vision.

ANATOMY

In fact, the Fruit Bat is said to have the best overall vision of all bat species. They use their vision in conjunction with their sense of smell so that they are able to find their food sources. These senses also serve to help them avoid dangerous situations. They are a big type of bat and they are said to be among the most unique of the more than 1,200 species that have so far been identified.

The Fruit Bat have the best overall vision of all bat species.

The Fruit Bat has some sharp teeth that allow it to penetrate the skin of the fruits. They also have very long tongues that unroll when they are feeding. When they aren’t eating the tongue rolls back up. It is tucked away internally around the rib cage rather than remaining in the mouth.

The shape of the wings on Fruit Bats can be very different based on location. Many experts believe that this type of anatomy difference has to do with the fact that they live in different areas and have different types of fruit trees that they eat from. The wings may be certain designs to help compensate for wind and other elements in their natural environment.

EVOLUTION

Since most species of bats consume insects, the Fruit Bat is one that people are interested in. It is believed that they turned to eating in such a manner in order to help them survive. Circumstances could have warranted them deciding to consume a different type of food source in order to compensate for not enough insects being around.

The evolution process though is one which can be very complex. We simply don’t have enough information to make accurate determinations. Experts are hopeful though that one day they will find additional clues that put it all into perspective for them.


Fruit bat – Family Pteropodidae.

BEHAVIOR

The very long wings of the Fruit Bat do much more than just allow it to fly. They also allow them to stay warm during roosting. They wrap up in those wings to conserve their body heat. They live in colonies that are very large in size because they feel safer with numbers.


Inside of each colony of Fruit Bats though you will find various sub colonies. Each of them has one male and approximately eight females. They form very close bonds with their sub groups.

HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION

There are locations throughout the world where the Fruit Bat is able to successfully thrive. They tend to live in areas that offer them plenty of food. Where you find thick forest regions with lots of fruit trees, you can be confident they are in abundance. Most of them live in warmer climates where they can take advantage of various fruits that will grow throughout the year.

They may have to travel for long distances during certain times of the year in order to find food.

They may have to travel for long distances during certain times of the year in order to find food. They will make the journey back to their roost though before the sun comes up. Sometimes such efforts don’t leave the Fruit Bat much time at all to find lots of food though.

When the Fruit Bat roosts during the day, they do so high up in the trees. This gives them darkness and it also protects them from various predators. They may hide in crevices and other dark spaces as well. They will typically stay close to bodies of water.

Indian flying fox – Pteropus giganteus.

DIET AND FEEDING HABITS

They use both vision and smell to find food.

There are hundreds of known types of fruits that grow on plants and trees that the Fruit Bat is able to consume. They don’t eat all of the fruit though like so many people believe that they do. Instead, they use their teeth to crush into the fruit. Then they will consume the nectar.

They use both vision and smell to find food. There is one known subspecies though that is believed to rely on echolocation to find their sources of food. With a Fruit Bat they can either linger in air and eat or they can land and eat it. The larger they are in size though the more difficult it is to consume food without landing first.

REPRODUCTION

Once mating has occurred they will carry the young in their bodies for about six months. The females will give birth to only one young at a time. It is going to be fully dependent upon her as the wings aren’t strong enough until they are six weeks old for flying.

The young will stay with their mother, even when she is out looking for food. They will cling to her body with claws that allow them to effortlessly remain in place. The Fruit Bat won’t take part in mating when they are struggling for habitat or to find food. It is believed this is a natural process for them that allows them to ensure overpopulation doesn’t occur in any given area where they live.

FLYING FOXES VIDEO!
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNHmz5Tq64g

PREDATORS

Due to the location where the Fruit Bar lives they don’t have too many natural predators. Sometimes they do encounter them though depending on their location. Various types of birds including the hawk and eagle can attack them while still in flight. Sometimes in the trees they may be eaten by snakes or weasels.

Sometimes in the trees they may be eaten by snakes or weasels.

In some areas the Fruit Bat lives very close to humans. Therefore it is possible for house cats to get them as well. In fact, some people don’t even know they have bats living in their trees until they end up finding their cat carrying one around with them.

Humans are also predators of the Fruit Bat. People that realize they have such creatures living in their trees take measures to get rid of them. These bats can get into the attic or other areas of the home as well. Usually a professional exterminator is called to remove them and to clean up after them.

Humans that want the fruit from these trees to themselves also don’t want the Fruit Bats around. However, it is important for humans to realize that the Fruit Bat helps to create more fruit by dispensing the seeds. When they fly around they will spit them out all over the place.

FRUIT BAT INFOGRAPHIC!