Sweet Mechanic: Genetically Modified Plants Could Become Sentinels for the Military. Why Haven't You Been Told About The AMAS Test?.

As concerns grow over the threat of bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction, Penn State University genetic researchers are working on an early warning system -- the figurative canary in the mineshaft -- that could be as unobtrusive and ubiquitous as plants in a landscape. This "

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canary" is a specially engineered plant or group of plants designed to detect and signal the presence of many harmful chemical or biological agents.

In theory, soldiers could be equipped with a hand-held electronic device. When pointed at a native plant, the readings on the device would indicate the plant was exposed to nerve gas some time in the last several hours or several days. At present such a device does not exist.

To develop such technology, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

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has awarded Penn State University a 3 year, $3.5 million grant to lay groundwork for genetically engineered plants that can detect the presence of harmful nerve agents. Plants are a suitable candidate because they are rooted to their environment, and cannot move out of a given area like an insect or other animal. They can therefore become a short-term history book of their environment over the last several days. Just as a plant will wilt without water, or become lighter green with less nitrogen, a plant that is genetically altered to become sensitive to a nerve agent or other chemical compounds poisonous to humans would retain certain effects of its exposure.

Plants and animals detect and respond to a range of things -- including microbes, insects, chemicals and hormones -- via cellular proteins. These proteins, called receptor-like kinases (RLKs), have a sensing domain outside the cell membrane that binds molecules in the environment. This binding sends a signal inside the cell to the response domain, known as the kinase, which then turns on genes that trigger a response. One of the plants being studied at Penn State is Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant from the mustard family that grows around the world and is widely used as a model organism in plant biology.

Even detection of something such as explosives in the soil is under research. A military commander, with the proper electronic device, could receive a readout from a plant in his locale that could indicate the presence of explosives nearby. Of course, such genetically modified plants would have to be planted into the environment ahead of time, which may pose its own set of problems.

Jack Schultz, a chemical ecologist and professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, indicates in the Penn State extension website that their experiments may eventually aid the agricultural community as well. One example given was that a sensor could be mounted on the front of a farm tractor traveling across a field when operating a pesticide sprayer. The sensor could detect the presence of a certain weed or insect pest and turn the sprayer on or off or add different chemical components for a given section of the field, and thus reduce the total volume of pesticides used.

Tom Clouser is a 38 year old farmer in Pennsylvania. In addition to farming, he and his father publish a monthly 16-page newspaper called "Trees 'n' Turf", which targets subjects of interest to those in land use industries and activities. View their website at http://www.clouserfarm.net

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With all the media talk about prostate surgery vs. taking drugs for prostate problems, you would think those are your only two options.

If information like this can save one more person from making a mistake with their prostate health, it will be worth taking the time to educate yourself on this important subject.

Are you aware that you can avoid surgery and drugs with proper testing in the first place?

Let's take a look at the facts when it comes to testing for prostate problems and look beyond the media headlines.

Better testing leads to more accurate information and a better diagnosis about the health of your prostate. And one of the keys is early detection with the RIGHT tests.

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The most commonly MIS-used test is the PSA or Prostate Specific Antigen test.

Prostate-specific antigen - is a protein which is naturally produced by the prostate gland. Prostate tumors typically cause over-production of PSA, so when a blood test reveals an elevated level of the protein, it's a red flag that warns of possible problems.

Both cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH which is a swelling of the prostate, can increase PSA levels.

What doctors usually do next is to recommend a biopsy. This is the next step toward trouble. Prostate biopsies are painful procedures that can result in bleeding and infection which only worsens your problem - if you even have one.

And recent evidence shows that most of these biopsies are completely unnecessary.

In a 2003 study from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, researchers set out to determine if fluctuations in PSA levels would reveal a single PSA test result to be unreliable on its own.

The conclusions of this 4 year study revealed that an isolated PSA screening with an elevated level should be followed with an additional screening several weeks later before proceeding with further testing or a biopsy.

Because the problem with a single PSA test is that PSA levels normally fluctuate and having just one test leads to over diagnosis of prostate problems.

Here is where the AMAS test is significantly better.

A more sensible and dependable way to screen for prostate cancer is a blood test called the anti-malignin antibody screen (AMAS). Anti-malignan antibody levels become elevated when any cancer cells are present in the body.

Most importantly, these levels rise early in the development of cancer cells, which means that cancer can sometimes be detected several months before other clinical tests might find it.

With an accuracy rate of more than 95 percent, the AMAS test is much more reliable than the PSA test. And the best way to detect prostate problems is a SERIES of PSA tests (as the Sloan- Kettering Trial concluded), WITH the AMAS test.

This powerful combination of tests will allow you to avoid false alarms which lead to painful biopsies, drugs and unnecessary painful surgery.

The more you learn about these tests, the more you will feel compelled to implement them.

You can find out more about the AMAS test at http://www.amascancertest.com.

As you can see, these are important tests to take over a period of time which can save you from unnecessary surgery and drugs.

Take control of your own health by educating yourself about tests, treatments and nutrition so that you can become more healthy and stay healthier in the long run.

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About The Author

Lee Cummings has been helping people solve problems and feel better with proven nutrition for over 4 years. Lee publishes the montly LC Nutrition newsletter. For a No cost Report - mailto:report@lc-nutrition.com