http://www.amazingphage.info en-gb amazingphage.info 2011-7-19T00:00:00Z amazingphage.info http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#98698 Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1behaviorurlieooui Style Definitions table.MsoNormalTable msostylenameTable Normal msotstylerowbandsize0 msotstylecolbandsize0 msostylenoshowyes msostyleparent msopaddingalt0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt msoparamargin0cm msoparamarginbottom.0001pt msopaginationwidoworphan fontsize10.0pt fontfamilyTimes New Roman Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1behaviorurlieooui Style Definitions table.MsoNormalTable msostylenameTable Normal msotstylerowbandsize0 msotstylecolbandsize0 msostylenoshowyes msostyleparent msopaddingalt0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt msoparamargin0cm msoparamarginbottom.0001pt msopaginationwidoworphan fontsize10.0pt fontfamilyTimes New Roman At a splendid HCAIs conference here in London UK along with 650 healthcare professionals I got to hear about the current state of play wit... 2011-7-19 11:10:11 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#98275 If youre quick you can add to a debate that I ve just heard about httpsjolitics.comppost1491The proposal is The government should allow the NHS to use phagetherapy to cure MRSA and should inform all patients that an effective cure exists 2011-7-13 14:16:09 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#94207 Thank you to Professor Betty Kutter for sharing with me the news of the most recent phage therapy review for issue 2 of the new Bacteriophage online journal. I agree I love all the French work that the US scientists translated into English while working on it giving a very different perspective on phage use in the Western world. So for decades language made a major barrier here as for the Former Soviet Union. France clearly continued to be more involved than Poland probably only behind Georgia and they kept working together.Hear hear collaboration not competition. I have been saying it for years.Mind you clearly our leading British politicians dont care a jot about what Grace Filby likes to hear. Here are the articles all open access httpwww.landesbioscience.comjournalsbacteriophagetocvolume1issue2 2011-5-18 12:59:18 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#90535 Sent 25 March 2011 1121To Wellcome Collection InfoSubject Dirt enquiry Dear Wellcome Collection I have a question for the lead curator Kate Forde about the new Dirt programme. Is there anything about bacteriophages please in the exhibition or any of the events or the forthcoming book Thank you Grace Filby MsFrom Wellcome Collection Info ltinfowellcomecollection.orggtDate 29 March 2011 1647Subject RE Dirt enquiryDear Grace Thanks for your email and interest in our exhibition Dirt. I am afraid that we do not have anything on bacteriophages in the exhibition or the book. There is also nothing in our events programme. I am afraid that our programme can only cover a finite amount of areas and as such we have been unable to include all the different references to dirt. I hope this information is useful to you and please let me know if I can help further. Regards Lizzy BaddeleyLizzy BaddeleyVisitor Services Assistant Wellcome Collection183 Euston RoadLondon NW1 2BE44020 7611 2222 www.well... 2011-3-30 09:38:53 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#90071 The newspapers today are bearing splendid tributes to the life of Dame Elizabeth Taylor including full page photographs of her looking absolutely beautiful. I have little doubt that none of them will have commented on her brush with death exactly 50 years ago this month when she was stricken with staphylococcal pneumonia in London. If it hadnt been for a quickthinking fan who wrote a letter recommending phage therapy from her own personal experience then she might never have had those 50 extra years. With help from a US physician who explored the American newsaper archives I wrote the story a couple of years ago for posterity on this very blog. The exact reference is this httpwww.amazingphage.infopage6.htm34864 . 2011-3-24 13:42:41 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#89153 If we are celebrating the success of MRSABusters 50 years since it arrived on this earth then we must include all those underground resistance workers with their wonderful coloured costumes and disguises. Its the Vitamin Brigade that are lifes little essentials and its Vitamin C that leads the way in the fight against MRSA. Watersoluble C can squeeze his way out of practically all fruits and vegetables and comes highly recommended by General Montgomery in WW2 he brought back a huge box of oranges from North Africa right in the middle of a freezing English winter. If youre really desperate battling with MRSA remember that Vitamin C has been administered by injection in high doses there are various books and information available that show how and why this is done but it is rather a military secret yes Word on the street is that its because it jolly well works.Oily young D is right there next to him yes nickname of Sunny or Sunday AKA Fishy because of the Cod Liver variety. Heres a ... 2011-3-14 09:48:37 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#89083 Maybe the Bacteriophage Applications UK conference organisers already know that its the 50th birthday for MRSA on 2nd October 2011. Even the biggest and best pharmaceutical companies have been unable to match the strength of MRSA without causing more untold misery from diarrhoea and death as side effects. Unfortunately it all originated here in Surrey UK in 1961 just down the road from here. I wont mention names since they already know who they are.I say we should instead have a bit of a kneesup to celebrate the MRSAdefeating success stories the military strategists bearing such wonderful names as Field Marshal PhageGeneral SunlightWing Commander GutsyAir Chief Marshal OzoneAdmiral IonisedWater Colonel CopperGroup Captain GarlicSergeant Major SilverPrivate MaggotUV this is a codename on a secret service missionand the sweetest one of all Sister Honey.No doubt there are more.I am sure Petty Officer Probiotics is an ally. I heard hes up for promotion.Field Marshal Phage has trillions o... 2011-3-13 10:58:41 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#88343 OK as usual I probably wont be able to go but I have just learned from a US associate that there will be a conference at St Hildas College Oxford here in the UK from 1921 September 2011. Phages2011 Bacteriophage Applications the 1st Oxford International Conference on bacteriophage applications in medicine and biotechnology.httpwww.libpubmedia.co.ukConferencesPhages2011Home.htmKey topics. Immune responses . Clinical trials . Regulatory issues . Food safety 2011-3-3 12:35:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#87211 This week two of my amazing phage friends simultaneously alerted me to an item being broadcast live on BBC Womans Hour 160211. You can listen to it online here or ask me to send you the audio file. Professor David Salisbury is Head of Immunisation in the Department of Health. He says the issue that was important in choosing between two new HPV vaccines was COST EFFECTIVENESS VALUE FOR MONEY. Safety and side effects didnt get a mention. Professor Salisbury refused to talk about money but he did state that they have managed to add an additional year cohort of girls to the programme ... for the money we saved. In the review coming up soon whoever wins it will be a transparent and open fight.Well well well. That reminds me of a paper that my Polish scientist friends sent over in 2007 and I featured it in my Churchill Fellows Report and on YouTube with piccies from my 2 weeks over there.Phage therapy of staphylococcal infections including MRSA may be less expensive than antibiotic treatme... 2011-2-18 09:27:54 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#81754 Three years on I have been looking again at my Churchill Fellows Report of 2007 The Health Value Of Bacteriophages in the context of offering hope and relief for families of autism sufferers. I include those who are concerned about the adverse effects of orthodox patented vaccines. Look at these novel applications of phageOn page 10 I wroteProfessor Gorski pointed out that phages can prevent inflammatory diseases of the bowel and they can improve renal function.....His triumphal point to note is that because phages are viruses some have common receptors in fact they may neatly block harmful viruses like adenoviruses... and the Herpes virus. New therapeutic treatments or preventatives for a range of viral infections would be a novel application of bacteriophagesThese fever blisters are associated with the Herpes virus and a lowered immune system. Phages have been shown to help.Photo Credit CDCIt turns out that such applications are not even so novel. Until the 1990s general practitio... 2010-12-1 06:34:39 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#80436 Here is a gloriously snooty comment I received from MHRA Pharmacovigilance about therapeutic phage at the start of my Winston Churchill Fellowship project in May 2007At present however we are not aware of the need to draw on this knowledge. It was the very same person who wrote to me last week with another classic this time about vaccine damage It was not unexpected that such events would be reported as most vaccines can cause these.Fortunately this month the MHRA have moved offices from the lofty heights of the Market Towers skyscraper in Vauxhall to 151 Buckingham Palace Road in central London so I hope they will be closer to the real world at ground level from now on. httpwww.mhra.gov.ukAboutusRelocationoftheMHRAindex.htmThe comments I have quoted are from MHRA employee Claire Tilstone. 2010-11-16 09:35:11 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#79478 Daily Mail London England The Sept 21 2010 QUESTION What is known about the medical practice of phage therapy developed in the USSR Could it be used to combat hospital superbugs BACTERIOPHAGES are viruses that invade bacterial cells disrupt bacterial metabolism and cause the bacterium to lyse destruct. The idea is that these can be harnessed to disrupt the bacteria involved in bacterial infection. Following the discovery of bacteriophages by Frederick Twort and Felix dHerelle in 1917 Georgian physician Professor George Eliava opened the Eliava Centre in Tblisi Georgia to research the treatment. Eliava succumbed to Stalins purges and was executed in 1937 but the centre remained a key Soviet medical research facility. Use of phage therapy was widespread in the West in the Twenties and Thirties. Eli Lilly amp Company of America sold Staphylo gel and other phage gellabelled products for treatment of Streptococcus and colon bacilli infections. But advances in antibiotic research in... 2010-11-4 14:35:17 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#77883 I like this piece of news in press not published yet. In my opinion it has a lot of potential. Here spicedup phages worked with total success on baby spinach and baby lettuce to destroy lifethreatening gastroenteritis bacteria. What about baby other things The spice they are using is cinnamon. Reduction of Escherichia coli O157H7 Viability on Leafy Green ...Bacteriophage therapy and prophylaxis 430 rediscovery and renewed assessment of potential. Trends Microbiol. 5 268271. 431 Baskaran S. A. Amalaradjou ...linkinghub.elsevier.comretrievepiiS0740002010002455 2010-10-14 09:59:43 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#75975 The new scientific paper of this name arrived on my computer this morning and its super to see how much has been achieved in the three years since my travels on a Churchill Fellowship.The abstract does make a rather sweeping claim Hence there has been a resurgence of interest in bacteriophage applications and this has encouraged the emergence of a large number of biotech companies hoping to commercialize their use.How large is a large number I muse I cannot see any evidence of a large number of biotech companies in the main text and I wonder if it was wishful thinking or timetravelling perhapsNow there is one small point I would like to make and it is about international diplomacy.Commercial phagebased products are named here in this scientific paper specifically academic references and authors are named specifically various bacteria and phages are named specifically the following countriesstates and even towns are named specificallyUSAAssam IndiaFranceGermanyUnited KingdomBrazilSwitze... 2010-9-21 11:00:54 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#75648 11th September 2010 All the local children were back at school this week looking spick and span in their bright blue and navy uniforms. By Tuesday lunchtime I had received a telephone call from Karen a mum in Horsham Sussex. Her daughter had been given a consent form and leaflet about the Year 8 Cervarix HPV vaccination programme and was being expected to get it signed and returned by Friday Fortunately Karen had been researching it on the internet and she found me speaking on a YouTube video on the subject. This dated back to September 2008 when I was first alerted to these new vaccines and had a letter published in the newspaper. Karen and I took the time to have a really long chat and she told me that the current NHS leaflet just casually says that the side effects are quite mild. All quite mild Quite Mild Really One of the girls in my home town of Reigate Surrey is still very ill indeed with chronic fatigue syndrome after her 3 Cervarix jabs in 20089 and she has spent months ... 2010-9-16 17:23:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#74052 from The Record of Reigate Park Church September 2010 It is over fifty years now since our family the Wards moved to Reigate. Our childhood Bible stories included those old favourites the Ladybird books with their colourful dust wrappers cardboard covers and a standard price of two shillings and sixpence. Who could forget the wonderfully inspiring story of Naaman and the Little Maid Naaman was a greatly respected army general a national hero of Syria who became blighted by a dreaded skin disease leprosy. Todays microbiologists know it is associated with a specific range of pathogenic bacteria but at the time there was no cure and people of any position in society would have to face becoming social outcasts as a result. Happily in those Old Testament days a young captive servant girl a little maid knew that there was a prophet in her homeland of Samaria in Israel who could provide a cure. That would have been stunning news for Naamans wife to pass on to her husbandThe story tells u... 2010-8-29 12:31:06 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#73621 Doctors working to create smart limbs for soldiersResearch being conducted in the Clinical Bacteriophage Lab. at the University of Utah and SLC VA campus. This was a news piece by a local tv KSL on the work they are currently Aug 2010 conducting in their lab.This should raise a few eyebrows in the UK now I can be contacted for comment. 2010-8-24 09:11:32 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#70913 As UNICEF rightly make the news in Manhattan this week with an awareness raising project the words MALARIA CHOLERA TYPHOID DENGUE HEPATITIS DYSENTERY SALMONELLA and YELLOW FEVER take on a starring role amongst the New York public. They are fundraising to provide clean water and prevent infection in disaster areas a dollar at a time. Dysentery for example bloody diarrhoea can be either amoebic or bacillary in origin. Historically it was a major cause of death in the illfated Gallipolli campaign in the Dardanelles during WW1. This is one of the most significant points in my new book chapter because bacteriophages were just being discovered. With a bit more research and time bacterial dysentery could have been prevented and treatable as it was by 1919 in Paris and then applied on a large scale in some cities such as Alaxandria by WW2. I wonder if youd like to see an article published 13.6.1942 in the British Medical Journal It provides statistical evidence in English that bacteriophages ... 2010-7-21 08:36:16 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#68591 Welcome to a new weekly blog a service by the USbased company Intralytix. They have already picked up on my information about Godstone Farm and E coli 0157 and have straight away written a news piece to help let people know that phages could help. httpphagesolutions.blogspot.com 2010-6-22 14:21:11 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#68357 Our muchloved local Godstone Farm is in the news this week because of the publication of the Griffin Investigation report over 250 pages. As a result I have sent off this comment and enquiry to the Health Protection Agency whose CEO commissioned it. The new Griffin Report about the E coli 0157 outbreak makes no mention of the antimicrobial powers of 1 UVnatural sunlight 2 copperbrass or 3 specific therapeutic and preventative phages as used in the FSU Poland USA etc.. This wellproven science has been overlooked but could be so easily applied and communicated for public safety and education. My correspondence with the HPA Defra and DoH over 5 years and my Churchill Fellows Report 2007 have apparently not been enough to prevent outbreaks in the UK. So I am writing to let you know that I visited Godstone Farm personally today to give them the message. I also said that I shall be at the SfAM conference in Brighton on 6 July where bacteriophages are the topic HPA staff will be there. Pl... 2010-6-19 15:56:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#62742 You may remember that I have written before about a young man named Stephen Puckett. When he was about 9 years old his doctor was able to give him SPL Staph Phage Lysate which helped his symptoms hugely. Sadly the FDA moved the regulatory goalposts and this medicine is currently only available for dogs.His mother Mary Ann Puckett has kept in contact with me over the last year and I was distressed to hear this week that he is in jail having been denied treatment at any of the hospitals in Oklahoma City. Here is the news item. Please share it to raise awareness. 2010-4-11 08:31:40 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#62408 Virus in the cell by J Gordon Cook PhD FRIC was published in 1956 by G. Harrap London in the Science for Everyman series. I am delighted with my first edition exlibrary copy by post today and have submitted my description to the Open Library at httpopenlibrary.orgbOL16526962MVirusinthecell. as follows Notes Chapter 11 Big Germs Have Little Germs. This is about the great variety of viruses that attack and destroy bacteria known as bacteriophages or phage. It describes the discoveries of UK Professor F W Twort of London University and FrenchCanadian Dr Felix dHerelle of the Pasteur Institute and the following research between the two World Wars. At the time of this books publication in the mid 50s bacteriophages were being used in India Egypt and Russia USSR against dysentery and plague and in India for cholera. The author pointed out that with bacteria becoming resistant to modern drugs bacteriophage research would be likely to increase. Chapter 14 Inside the Vi... 2010-4-7 14:58:19 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#61263 30 years ago I was a new mum blessed with a healthy baby. In those days the rate of autism was pretty low but times have changed. Despite all sorts of advances in modern medicine there are alarming numbers of children developing neurological disorders bowel disorders and so on.It was heartening recently to learn that an autistic boy in the USA was helped hugely by phage medicine in the early 90s and I have referred to this good news before now.1 Although that specific product is not currently available for human use at least we know that there are doctors with expertise in phage in countries such as Georgia and Poland. Regarding the causes of autism though or even the risks I was astonished to read a Rapid Review comment posted on the British Medical Journal site in 2003 Immediate Umbilical Cord Clamping as a Cause of Autism. Darwin had actually predicted it and left instructions for its prevention and its correction2Having checked with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecolo... 2010-3-24 11:25:51 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#61059 Over the last few weeks I was writing a book chapter on Women who thawed the Cold War. Just as there was an Iron Curtain drawn across Europe from 1945 for nearly half a century I focused the second half of the story on the wonderfully dedicated determined women at the Eliava Institute in Tbilisi Georgia. They not only continued with bacteriophage science and medicine despite the murder of their gifted founder Professor George Eliava but built up the research and manufacture over those years to a scale where they exported tons of therapeutic and prophylactic phage products all over the Soviet Union for the good of the people. True to life rather than just science youd find high political drama and even some romantic threads in this story.With the current economic recession it could be many months or even years before it is published. However the British Ministry of Defence know of its existence and as usual Im hoping for the best.Meanwhile heres a world map showing the USSR during the C... 2010-3-22 08:25:33 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#57883 Yesterday I posted my feedback to the Science Museum on the gallery The Science and Art of Medicine I notice that this exhibition is funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is only natural to assume that 1 a pioneering 20th Century British microbiologist has been excluded along with pioneering bacteriophage medicine and 2 historic photographic evidence of the downside of vaccines is even removed with no explanation or apology. This is a bit sinister.Since there was inadequate space on the feedback form to add my further comments here they are.There was a tableau of microbiologists investigating bacteria where the labcoats were absolutely disgusting deliberately depicted like that. What a terrible advert for microbiology in the UK nothing like Georgia Poland or the USA nor Keele University Microbiology Department in the 1970s nor the schools where I taught where labcoats were meticulously clean and bright white.What gets my prize for bad taste A DRUG CASTLE no less. Note the 50 pence coins ... 2010-2-7 08:50:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#57852 At long last I have managed to find a bacteriophage in a museum in London. No it wasnt the Natural History Museum I did look there to see whether viruses were included in the Earth Hall regarding the origins of life. Oops no not even mentioned.So I went next door to the Science Museum in Exhibition Road to see if this time there were any updates since my last visit a few years ago.My feedback form Congratulations on your Centenary but you are doing nothing to celebrate the discovery of bacteriophages during that time by F W Twort FRS in 1915 and F. dHerelle in 1917. At last I have found a diagram of one in your crazy room about Health Matters on Level 3 as part of a mural but really the annoying music and repetitive commentary are enough to prevent any learning or study at that point.Again the Science and Art of Medicine on Levels 4 and 5 fail to mention phage typing virology phage therapy in World War 2 and the Cold War or display any vials.N.B. There is ... 2010-2-6 16:36:26 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#56299 Title of publication A Literature Review of the Practical Application of Bacteriophage ResearchAuthor Nina ChanishviliEditor Richard Sharp UK Health Protection AgencyContributors Nina Chanishvili Teimuraz Chanishvili Marina Tediashvili Goderdzishvili Dali Gogiashvili Yana Malkhazova Nana KhurtsiaPublisher Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage Microbiology amp Virology Tbilisi Georgia email nchanish.ibmvcaucasus.netDate of publication December 2009Number of pages 184 Although I had offered to become involved in this UK Global Threat Reduction Programme project and suggested that I could clarify outstanding issues and help with the nuances of the language translation the Ministry of Defence in London declined this for contractual reasons adding In any case we are content that we have sufficient scientific and linguistic expertise within the Department to manage the workload. Well it is a shame that Her Majestys government and the editor didnt take more care over the proofreading consid... 2010-1-16 17:31:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#54881 The Nature Of Things The Nature Of Phage MORE GOOD NEWS Holiday Greetings 21 Dec 09 I am thrilled to relay that I now have 12 months infection free My arm is stronger than ever it is still attached and for that Im deeply grateful Such a relief as you can imagine. Patients MRSAinfected arm before contacting independent UK researcher and Churchill FellowGrace Filby at www.amazingphage.info in August 08. Patients elbow in January 2009 after phage therapy in Texas USA. Hows about that then Wellcome Trust 2009-12-22 09:49:24 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#54709 The longawaited Priority G8 funded Eliava Bacteriophage Report is now printed according to my source at the Ministry of Defence. More info available soon. I understand that the Institute will release copies of the report in return for a donation to the Institute of 80 Euros per copy plus postagecourier costs. 2009-12-18 08:29:19 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#54625 Page 137 He begged Blackstone to find a certain serum in the United States to replace the impotent antibiotics Elizabeth was taking. Within hours Blackstone had located the drug Staphage Lysate which was available only from an American medical laboratory. He arranged with the hospital to fly the medicine to London saving precious time by skipping customs. The hospital stated that an ambulance would be waiting for him at the airport if Elizabeth was still alive.It cost me only 1 penny on the internet a secondhand biography of Elizabeth Taylor which I quote here with just a few words for the public good as fair use. Kitty Kelley can be relied upon she was the author of Jackie Oh and press secretary to McCarthy. She continues the account of Elizabeth going through a healing crisis. Her husband Eddie was at her side for four days and four nights her mother read a Christian Science book to her through one night she was aided by an iron lung and the next day she was out of danger. Th... 2009-12-16 17:25:15 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#54346 How good is your imagination Division M of the American Society of Microbiology mention this about BACTERIOPHAGES If you were to gather them all up and weigh them they WOULD OUTWEIGH THE WORLD POPULATION OF ELEPHANTS BY A THOUSAND FOLD OR MORE.httpwww.asm.orgdivisionMM.htmlAnd they hold the secrets of life itself So they are never talked about or displayed in any British or American science museums. 2009-12-11 11:24:57 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#52938 This week was a complete change a conference at Churchill College Cambridge on The Cold War and its Legacy. It is odd about 2 key locations they identified recognise them1 GoriTbilisi. The Georgian War of 2008 was described by the BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall as one symptom of unfinished business of the Cold War.As we know the focus of the bombing and shooting was in Gori precisely the new Georgian Military Hospital led by Georgias pioneering surgeon Dr Gvasalia through the use of phages. This is where he trains other physicians in the use of phage and this is sponsored by the international Phage Biotics Foundation at the instigation of Professor Betty Kutter of Evergreen State College WA.2 Wroclaw amp Poland.The final battle of WW2 was in Wroclaw May 8 1945. It is the biggest country in Europe and Poland lost 15 of their population. Former US Ambassador to Poland the Hon Victor Ashe said that WW2 and the Cold War are both alive and well in Poland today and yet it... 2009-11-20 13:21:20 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#46963 I am pleased to announce that there is a new review paper at the invitation of the publishers Thomson Reuters. It appears in the journal Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs and is online here httpwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpubmed19649921 . The authors are Andrzej G243rski Ryszard Miedzybrodzki Jan Borysowski Beata WeberDabrowska Malgorzata Lobocka Wojciech Fortuna Slawomir Letkiewicz Michal Zimecki amp Grace Filby. Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2009 Aug10876674.Already there is some wonderful feedback from the USA so thank you for that I will pass it on to my Polish colleagues. It is the first time I have coauthored a scientific paper.It starts with a section on Bacteriophages as antibacterial agents then goes on to discuss Bacteriophagemediated gene transfer in bacteriophage therapy The process of bacteriophage therapy Clinical trials of bacteriophages and then Bacteriophages and food safety. I am especially pleased that there are a few paragraphs about Staphage Lysate SPL with refere... 2009-8-15 11:41:15 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#43706 I had a funny feeling that the orthodox vaccine bandwagon was going to get totally silly and this could be it the one big expensive scientific gaffe that will blow the whole charade out into the open. The following news has appeared all over the press. Now dont take its title at face value......httpwww.medicalnewstoday.com80articles154396.phpVaccinating Children May Be Effective At Helping Control Spread Of InfluenzaSource Warwick UniversityI have submitted the following opinion. Hopefully it will be listened to in academic government and pharmaceutical circles. If my opinion is not published online as feedback maybe its because it is the inconvenient truth I have also forwarded it by email to the scientists Professor Matthew Keeling and Dr Thomas House at Warwick University their Communications Officerthe Senior Press Officer at the Wellcome Trustthe President of the International Coalition of Advocates for the Peopleand 2 spokespeople for the National Patient Safety Agency. My fe... 2009-6-19 14:43:28 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#42800 Some good news Professor Andrzej Gorskis team has just won the first prize for the most important innovation in medicine in Poland introduction of modernstyle phage therapy organized by a Polish medical journal with a selection committee of top authorities of Polish medicine. Another piece of good news is that the manuscript on encouraging effects of phage therapy in prostatitis is about to be accepted for publication in another international journal.So I do agree that we are slowly moving in a desired direction against all odds. 2009-6-5 14:10:08 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#42659 It is heartbreaking to read about the Puttick family who jumped off Beachy Head together after their little boy Sam died of pneumococcal meningitis. Its caused by a bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae which is very resistant to antibiotics.httpwww.independent.co.uknewsukhomenewsdevotedparentswhosegriefdrovethemtobeachyhead1695475.htmlIt looks as if phage therapy is a treatment option for Georgian children dreadful that British parents are offered no hope and have to go home to watch their child die. It is just tragic.httpwww.phagetherapycenter.compiiPatientServletcommandstaticstreptI dont know what else I can do about it. My MP hasnt even acknowledged receipt of my emails recently let alone replied and the Dept of Health are just as slow to respond too. 2009-6-3 08:53:15 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#42610 Our regional AGM of Churchill Fellows this weekend was on a blisteringly hot afternoon in the shade of the trees beside the lake at Chichester College Brinsbury campus. It is a 250hectare estate and has its own commercial farm with a dairy beef sheep pig and arable enterprise. The ducks were as tame as could be sitting at our feet as we sipped pomegranate lemonade and enjoyed delicious cakes. I was invited to summarise my Churchill Travelling Fellowship of 2007 on the health value of bacteriophages and developments since then. My colleagues were so interested that they have urged me to contact HRH Prince Charles. So today I have written and mentioned that it is taking an age to communicate this good news in the UK through standard channels in the face of considerable resistance. We do hope he would be able to offer suggestions and perhaps a few words of support. 2009-6-2 09:47:12 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#41692 Its amazing what you can find out by accident. Its about some new phage therapy research at the University of Bristol to study the treatment and prevention of C.difficile.The Ethical Review Group even explained in the minutes of their meeting just what phages are. Naturally they have approved the application. The first item of this Chairmans Report gives the lowdown with the names of the researchers committee members and Home Office staff now removed but it is extraordinary that I have the original version. Well done. The research will be done on hamsters. They are very susceptible to tummy upsets from antibiotics just like some children and the elderly so I wish the phage researchers every success. PDF versionhttpwww.whatdotheyknow.comrequest10514response28844attach12ERG20Minutes2020.01.0920redacted.doc.pdfHTML version httpwww.whatdotheyknow.comrequest10514response28844attachhtml12ERG20Minutes2020.01.0920redacted.doc.pdf.html 2009-5-16 06:38:51 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#41538 Kim Davis and her classmates are studying bacterial viruses. Photo by T. StephensAt the beginning of her first quarter at UC Santa Cruz freshman biology student Kimberly Davis collected some soil from the forest floor near Thimann Labs. She then isolated a bacterial virus from the soil took pictures of it with an electron microscope extracted the viruss DNA sent it off for sequencing by the national laboratories Joint Genome Institute and is now analyzing the DNA sequence and studying the viruss genes. Its all part of the Phage Genomics Lab course in which a select group of students get to dive straight into research while also taking the usual introductory biology lectures. Davis and her 13 classmates are making real contributions to scientific understanding of the genetic diversity of bacterial viruses also known as bacteriophages or phages. Ultimately they plan to publish their findings in a scientific journal. Its a really innovative way to learn and a great introduction to sci... 2009-5-13 14:16:44 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#41495 It is 80 years give or take a day or two since Alexander Flemings research paper On the antibacterial action of cultures of a Penicillium was submitted. Our House of Commons has certainly marked the occasion with a brief debate which you can read here httpwww.theyworkforyou.comdebatesid20090511a.657.0 no questions asked. It features gold and glorious a recommendation for bacteriophage therapyIt was duly replied to by Minister of State for Public Health Dawn Primarolo so I have posted my comments today as follows. Enjoy.Grace Filby If only the Government had played its part in funding the great scientists who discovered bacteriophages. These ultramicroscopic entities which Mr Des Browne was referring to at the very end of his speech destroy bacteria naturally. I think you will find that the current level of funding of bacteriophage therapy is extremely low or even nonexistent as a proportion of the public money spent on infection research in the UK. The excellent human research initiati... 2009-5-12 15:06:04 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#41130 Divide and rule smirked MRSA As he pinched his middle and parted.I love my job Im the scourge of mankindBy my nature I make flesh black hearted. He had bided his time in a comfortable noseBut up there did not feel fulfilled.His destiny called he must flesh out his planAnd seek out a host to be killed. So he traded the nose for an up market wound A fully provisioned domain.Where he set to consuming this tasteful desresWith side dishes of fear and of pain. In a far distant land a great ocean awayA phage with a mission rehearsed.In Phage School it learned that divide and rule yieldsTo Invade Multiply and then BURST But the men of the West spurned the wit of the EastStruggled on with their MRSA.All ego and letters they could not admitThat a phage might just win them the day. Then up spoke a lady eponymous GraceJust not taking a no for an answer.She was teacher and warrior mind with a heartAnd in rings round opponents a dancer. She set about banging heads lofty and largeFilled w... 2009-5-6 08:28:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#41072 Usually the news on this blog is about phage therapy or sometimes about UVC technology since I believe the two complement each other UVC technology destroys airborne and surface microbes of all sorts bacteria viruses and moulds. Both are great ways forward for international security and prevention of bioterrorism.I look forward to the day when politicians suddenly realise Oh what on earth are these phages What actually is UVC Is there someone out there who can possibly explain the basic ideas in laymans language with simple pictures and without long words I remember 5 years ago visiting my Member of Parliament Crispin Blunt to mention the word phage. Now that he is Shadow Minister for Security and Counter Terrorism doubtless the dedicated chapter in the MoDs forthcoming Eliava Report will be on his desk shortly. However there are other longterm serious health conditions that concern me especially when they appear to be actually triggered or dare I say possibly caused by orthodox sy... 2009-5-5 07:46:29 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#40855 httpwww.sciencemuseum.org.ukbroughttolife.aspxImage by Grace FilbyWard collection Although the new Brought to Life Wellcome Trustfunded site was a good idea aimed for GCSE students and undergraduates and attractively put together unfortunately their team of over 100 individuals and organisations apparently have nothing to say or show about bacteriophages with respect to phage therapy. How can this be amongst all this expertise when even I as one member of the public brought this to their attention officially as a suggestion some years ago at the Science Museum then in writing and again at the Wellcome Library and the Wellcome Trust HQ My offers of some samples of these ampoules brought over from the Eliava Institute Georgia were rejected even though the head of the Imperial War Museum recommended that the Wellcome Trust were best placed to display them for historical completeness. I have yet to find a museum in the whole of London that displays a bacteriophage ampoule or anything ... 2009-5-1 07:52:56 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#40663 At last I can cite a decent article about British phage therapy from the Daily Telegraph 22nd April 2009 where consultant Professor Tony Wright is quotedWe did not find any side effects at all and for me it is blindingly obvious that this is the way forward for MRSA and C. difficile where there is antibiotic resistance. gt It is a change of tune for the paper since 2007 when their facts about phage were not so great and their editorial stance was distinctly rude in my opinion. The photo shows Professor Tony Wright kindly demonstrating an ear examination for me during my Churchill Fellows research back in September 2007. Here is my official Fellows Today webpage httpwww.wcmt.org.ukfellowstodaygracefilby.html 2009-4-28 06:16:41 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#40483 Fortunately we do have an eye witness account published in the Liz Taylor biography by C.David Heymann p.222. Milton Blackstone was the person who had delivered the phage medicine safely to the doctors in London from the USA. He is quoted word for word and described as having a big smirk on his face That miracle serum did the trick all right. The biography is complete with detailed chapter notes. This onthespot evidence confirms the information given me by 2 physicians 2 scientists and 1 Churchill Fellow a retired doctor at the House of Commons.Here is another archive newspaper report from 1961. The adverse effects of chemical thrombosis caused by the large doses of antibiotics she was given made front page news as she left hospital with a large bandage covering her left leg from her ankle almost to her knee. httpnews.google.comnewspapersnid950ampdat19610327ampidNuALAAAAIBAJampsjidKlcDAAAAIBAJamppg33334749937We are advised by a very experienced physician as follows about CHEMICAL THRO... 2009-4-25 08:41:14 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#40389 StatisticsAmazing Phage the website is 2 years old.It will after all live on for another year. It has been written in 3 continentsat 5 conferencesand 6 universitiesas far east as 2 miles from Russiaand as far west as the North West Pacific Ocean.17 people have signed the guest book.It has survived the rigours of 20 flightson 1 laptop and 8 computers.Cost 16334.88 p.a.Access Free.It has resulted in a Silver Medallion 1 new Churchill Fellow1 television interview1 book review1 coauthored peerreviewed minireview1 dinner at the House of Commons1 lunch at Chartwell1 surgery1 physical injuryoffending remarksmeetings at 2 Embassies4 newspaper articles5 illustrated talksresearch visits to 7 hospitals and clinics10 floral bouquetsmeeting 19 phage patientsa 20 page reporta 35 minute radio interview50 videos on YouTube and one of these is up to 615504 viewsmeeting the son of phage discoverer FW Twortmeeting the greatgrandson of phage discoverer Felix dHerellemeeting 2 people who state that phage... 2009-4-23 16:15:41 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#39871 Two years ago I created this website with a readymade package so that I could easily update it from any computer on my travels overseas.Now this month Mr Site are running a competition for unusual websites so I have droppped them a line today about Amazing Phage.If you need a website check out www.mrsite.com. Everything you need to set up a professional dot com website eg www.yourname.com in a box. No technical knowledge is needed and it includes email your own secure online shop guest book blog hosting support and more.Although I dont have an online shop heres a w.w.w. simple way to save money.If you visit www.mrsite.co.ukfriends and type in the code 25864FRIENDS you can get a discount on all the packages 25 off Beginner 20 off Standard and 15 off Pro. 2009-4-15 12:02:06 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#39454 I am posting an update from Laura Roberts one of the USA patients that I met in the Republic of Georgia.Well...... after my first treatment in 2005 the difference was like night and day. I was dying when I arrived and within 3 weeks after using the phage that was made just for me......I started to eat able to walk short distance finally pain FREE and feeling alive again. Phage therapy saved my life. If I had stayed in the states and let my family admit me to the hospital in Oct 2005 I would have died in the hospital. I continue to boost my immune system with a supplement from The Phage Therapy Center and Ive returned twice since 2005 for follow up treatment. Because I had suffered for at least 20 years with chronic infections and Staph MRSA I felt followup phage treatment would be the smart thing to do. I was not going to jeopardize my amazing recovery and new life. Oh I heard about the Phage Therapy Center from a 60 Minute television episode one Sunday evening. ... 2009-4-9 11:24:08 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#39448 We now have 11 newspaper pdfs and two books confirming that Liz Taylors pneumonia in 1961 was cured by SPL bacteriophages not antibiotics.And here it is stated in black and white. In the book Liz An Intimate Biography of Elizabeth Taylor by David C. Heyman Samuel Leve a stage designer declares My knowledge of the situation emerged as a result of my friendship with Eddie Fishers agent Milton Blackstone.... The day Liz entered the London Clinic Blackstone dropped by my studio. He had brought along some 20 vials of a clear liquid medication identified in the press as staphylococcal bacteriophage lysate commonly used in the 1960s as an antigen to pneumonia which he planned to deliver to Elizabeth Taylors doctors in London. The next time I saw Blackstone he had a big smirk on his face. That miracle serum did the trick all right. he ventured. SPL is also mentioned in another biography Elizabeth Taylor The Last Star by Kitty Kelley.You are welcome to ask for the pdf files of those newspap... 2009-4-9 08:50:23 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#39340 Here is another piece of the jigsaw puzzle about the use of SPL for humans sent to me from a physician in the USA. He points out that this issue is not being presented accurately. The FDA investigation of his use of SPL beginning on or about 12004 lasted one week. The lack of 7 informed consents those records werent transferred when he moved his office from one building owned by McCready Hospital to another freestanding practice and lack of a registry of lot numbers of human SPL were the only deficiencies found. He submitted an IND on 11803 to the FDA with full approval from the parent company he had IRB approval. He comments that SPL worked beautifully to raise VEGF which nothing else did. Noaction was required on his part. No punishment was meted out. I am not a doctor so I can only guess that the acronyms are IND Investigational New Drug ApplicationIRB Institutional Review BoardVEGF Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Isnt it a crazy world where something works beautifully bu... 2009-4-7 10:33:25 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#38798 Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.K. Fair skinned people are at higher risk of developing skin cancer. The number of cases of skin cancer in the UK is estimated at over 100000 each year. More than 9500 cases were reported for malignant melanoma in 2005. Over 2300 people die from skin cancer each year in the U.K. Malignant melanoma is the second most common cancer in young adults aged 1534 in the UK. Malignant melanoma is more than twice as common in young women up to age 34 as in young men but more men die from it. Malignant melanoma incidence rates have quadrupled since the early 1970s. There are more skin cancer deaths in the UK than Australia CRUK press release 2003 even though Australia has more cases of the disease. Source RAFT The Restoration of Appearance and Function Trust www.raft.ac.uk A basal cell carcinoma BCC diagnosed Nov 07 Dermatology Institute TXNow what can be done about it I learned yesterday on my visit to The RAFT Institute th... 2009-3-27 11:30:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#38199 The bit about phages is the last item on this clip 556 to 909. The first part of the seminar is online here httpwww.youtube.comwatchvWNuJCxjdjc 2009-3-15 09:09:24 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#38155 Friday 13 March 2009THIS IS AN OPEN LETTER to the Customer Service Centre at the Department of Health for your information and entertainment.Dear Mr A....As you know I wrote to Mr Gordon Brown in February about an important and urgent matter ccing it to Sir Liam Donaldsons and Mr Alan Johnsons private offices.However your reply to me this week on their collective behalf contained some scientific inaccuracies and false assumptions which need to be put right.Since it is National Science and Engineering Week and I am an event organiser and ambassador for this national and innovative programme I am taking the time to clarify for you exactly what these inaccuracies and false assumptions are. It is my intention that you and your colleagues at the Dept of Health will be better informed and illuminated about the basic science.1. You wroteWith regard to ventilation systemsI should explain that hospitals do use specialised air filtration systems in cases where airborne transmission is thought to... 2009-3-13 09:33:20 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#37232 Six weeks ago I wrote about the evidence that Staphage Lysate was flown over to London in 1961 in an emergency dash to save the life of actress Elizabeth Taylor from staphylococcal pneumonia.Now I can highlight another heartwarming story about a young man of 27 in Oklahoma City with autism who has also benefited greatly from Staphage Lysate as a child. Stephens mother Mary Ann Puckett is like me an educator and advocate who has pioneered a way through the disability system to guide others and raise awareness. She comments here on Amazing PhageIn the 1980s he was having constant reoccurring infections. An elderly neighbor told me about an antibacterial injection that she had been given in the 1950s called Staphage Lysate for infections and she was cured. I was able to get in touch with the wife of the Dr. who had used SL. and she told me it was a miracle drug. She gave me the name of the lab where it was ordered from Delmont Labs. I had my sons doctor call and inquire about SL. Stephens... 2009-2-25 08:07:45 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#37175 Here is a 4 page document from July 2008 that I hadnt seen before called New AntiInfectives and published by POST. This is an office of both Houses of Parliament charged with providing independent and balanced analysis of public policy issues that have a basis in science and technology. httpwww.parliament.ukdocumentsuploadpostpn311.pdfThere are some hardedged statistics There is concern that the incidence of infections is often underestimated sometimes by a significant margin. World Health Organisation WHO figures show that in 2002 infectious diseases caused 70300 deaths in the UK 12 of all deaths. It is estimated that each year Respiratory infections cause 35167 deaths. There are at least 300000 HCAIs implicated in 20000 deaths. There are 525000 deaths due to seasonal flu. 35 of GP consultations are due to an infection. 20 suffer from an intestinal infectious disease. 150000 are admitted to hospital due to infection. I found some other shockersAcademic research is fun... 2009-2-24 09:08:09 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#36733 Have you seen the new Polish paper published January 2009 httpcontent.karger.comproduktedbprodukte.asptypfulltextampfile000193293The Potential of Phage Therapy in Bacterial Infections of the Eyeby Andrzej G243rski Magdalena Targoska Jan Borysowski and Beata WeberDabrowskaAbstract Antibiotic resistance has become a major health challenge which poses a significant threat also in ophthalmology. For example methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus may cause dramatic complications including bilateral blindness as a consequence of orbital cellulitis and panophthalmitis. This menace has provoked a greatly revived interest in phage therapy. In recent years a number of papers have been published suggesting its efficacy in animal and human bacterial infections but none of them addressed the phage potential in ophthalmology which is the subject of this mini review. Copyright 169 2009 S. Karger AG Basel Another piece of good news today the Polish teams paper on phage effect just got accepted... 2009-2-16 10:41:20 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#36630 A two year hospital study evaluated the effectiveness of some air purification technology on airborne and surface transmitted diseases such as MRSA. The figures speak for themselves All the UK managed with its various strategies was 33 but the NHS technical guidelines for looking at the ventilation urgently need updating in my opinion. 33 39 2009-2-14 11:30:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#36564 13 February 2009Dear Mr BrownDuring your Labour leadership campaign you emphasised cracking down on corruption.You stated that the NHS was your top priority yet in June 2007 you cut the capital budget of the English NHS from 1636.2bn to 1634.2bn. The FT forecasted at the time that this could delay the governments hospital building and reconfiguration programme in England.As a result of some lengthy FOI research I have discovered thatRoutine bacteriological testing of ventilation systems is not a requirement under NHS technical guidance.Ref Directorate of Surrey amp Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 27.1.09.This simple statement explains why we still have MRSA C.difficile Norovirus influenza and mouldinduced symptoms circulating freely in our hospitals office buildings public buildings leisure centres schools and transport systems. Yet they could all be prevented by USGovernment recommended UVC technology. The UK handwashing campaign programme is hopelessly inadequate and even with th... 2009-2-13 08:52:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#36458 Heres a reminder of the Amazing Phage photo galleries I took them off the main menu for a while.You can request the password via the CONTACT page. Please note that all the photos are copyright and are not to be used in any format without my permission.United Kingdomhttpwww.amazingphage.infopage2.htmNorth Americahttpwww.amazingphage.infopage3.htmGeorgiahttpwww.amazingphage.infopage4.htmPolandhttpwww.amazingphage.infopage5.htmEliava Institutehttpwww.amazingphage.infopage10.htmMilitary Hospitalhttpwww.amazingphage.infopage11.htmPTChttpwww.amazingphage.infopage12.htmEvergreenhttpwww.amazingphage.infopage13.htmWarsaw phageshttpwww.amazingphage.infopage16.htmWroclaw phageshttpwww.amazingphage.infopage17.htmWarsawhttpwww.amazingphage.infopage18.htmWroclawhttpwww.amazingphage.infopage19.htmGnomeshttpwww.amazingphage.infopage20.htm 2009-2-11 12:38:01 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#36324 You remember that rejected funding application to travel about over the next three years doing illustrated talks about bacteriophages and other technologiesWell as promised heres that anonymised feedback from real enlightened scientists physicians and members of the public about the Wellcome Trusts Public Engagement funding peer review processDo NOT give up We have to move ahead against all oddsThe peer scoring and comment seem biased towards smearing the use of phage therapyWellcome must have gotten their hand stuck in the Flemingthink honey pot. How very sad that your application failed to get the appraisal it deserved through their ineptitude. I thought your letter had just the right tone of frosty politeness without actually calling them incompetent Surely they must consider a reapplication now they know the situation. How unbiased and detached are they from Wellcome pharma Do you mean your amazing amazingphage blog will not exist soon That is a great shame and a huge loss... 2009-2-9 09:28:14 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#35850 I am pleased to announce a forthcoming book on phage therapy in French by Dr Alain Dublanchet our associate in Paris Viruses for combatting infections. Phage therapy renewal of a treatment to help antibiotics www.geephage.org There is already an online article about Dr Dublanchets work herehttptranslate.google.comtranslateprevtamphlenampieUTF8ampuhttp3A2F2Fdbloud.free.fr2Finflama.htmampslframptlenamphistorystate0ampswap1 2009-2-1 13:44:27 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#35542 Just before Christmas I received information from the Ministry of Defence about the Eliava Report a G8 priority since 2006. The provisional list of chapter headings confirms it will be all about the HEALTH VALUE of amazing phages animal studies dermatology surgery intestinal diseases urology ophthalmology vaccines antibiotics immune response prophylaxis intravenous use veterinary plant protection environmental studies phages against bioterrorism and manufacturing. So the naysayer Wellcome Trust peer reviewers and Government departments can jolly well sit up and pay attention. I am not putting up with nonsense like I was sent the other day from socalled expert scientists. I made this video to show you just how ridiculous some of them have been and meanwhile I have collected some feedback from associates which I shall post on this blog too 2009-1-26 09:57:43 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#35419 Thanks for your help with all the background research. Since the Wellcome funding application to do illustrated talks in the UK was unsuccessful they have now sent a third anonymous peer review that was initially kept secret This socalled expert opinion was by a senior scientist working in virology and bacteriophage insisting that there is no health value of bacteriophages.I am very grateful for the huge wave of support by email and phone. I shall anonymise some of this feedback and ensure that the Wellcome Trust have a measure of the strength of feeling.Text httpwww.relaxwell.co.ukFilby20r... 2009-1-23 15:00:37 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#35323 Published today by the Filby Association the 2009 Chronicle. Medallion Ceremony at the Guildhall by Grace Filby BAHONS CERT ED FRSA Churchill Fellow Friday 13th on a beautiful summers day in London will always evoke special memories after an occasion in June 2008 that was a great privilege and honour to attend. The previous year I had won a Travelling Fellowship Award from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to visit farflung places including the USA Canada Poland and the Republic of Georgia where I could learn about phage medicine firsthand. In some countries this is used for treating infections especially those that are resistant to antibiotics these days like the dreaded MRSA. After about 12 weeks overseas in total imagine the accumulated mass of research and photographs video footage and stories to tell Many new scientist friends and colleagues have since visited the United Kingdom for the first international phage conference in Edinburgh during July 2008. Four weeks after t... 2009-1-21 16:03:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#35269 This is an Open Letter.20th January 2009FAO Tom Ziessen PhDPublic Engagement Adviser People amp Broadcast Wellcome TrustNW1 2BEDear Tom Thank you for the outcome of my grant application 087959 dated 19 Dec.08 although it was not received until yesterday when I phoned to enquire 19 Jan.09. Your original reply did not arrive because the email address had been incorrectly typed so unfortunately it is too late to reapply according to your terms. I did not receive the letter in the post either Could I suggest that in future your admin staff check the email tools and request an email receipt to ensure this simple oversight doesnt happen againThank you too for saying that you are always keen to receive new proposals and that you would be interested in being kept informed of my activities. However I feel a unique opportunity has been lost. I cannot reasonably be expected to provide these talks and resources without proper financial support I have found from experience that e... 2009-1-20 15:40:23 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#34987 In case anyone is wondering the FDA withdrew approval for the human use of SPL Staph Phage Lysate due to concerns about efficacy not safety. Yet it looks to me as if a vital piece of evidence dated June 1994 was overlooked by mistake. Oops There is a long official document that very carefully explains the sequence of events. Now in view of the worldwide MRSA epidemic in hospitals and in the community wouldnt it be nice if someone could just take another look at that decision. In hindsight was it rather hasty Who is going to be the hero of the shining hour the person to put this right Mr Barack Obama stated his great concern about MRSA in 2005 in a historic letter to MRSA survivor Jeanine Thomas in Chicago. At the time Obama was an Illinois senator. Now the world can look to see what happens about MRSA during this next presidency. It would be wonderful to get it sorted out once and for all. Here in the UK my letters to Prime Minister Mr Brown and the various departments have not re... 2009-1-14 11:15:53 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#34928 October 2nd 2009 has been designated as the first World MRSA Day by Chicagobased MRSA Survivors Network founded by Jeanine Thomas.It was on that date in 1960 that a methicillinresistant strain of staphylococcus aureus was first seen through the microscope by Patricia Jevons at the Public Health Laboratories in Colindale London. The first samples had been sent there for identification from a hospital in Guildford Surrey taken from a patient with eczema and a nurse.Within a few days at nearby Queen Marys Hospital for Sick Children in Carshalton the children were also becoming infected with a Queen Marys strain. Over the next 14 months they had already had 75 children infected. 55 of these were newborn babies. It was here at the largest childrens hospital in the country that there was the first MRSA fatality in June 1962. Born with spina bifida a boy became infected with the resistant germ after surgery resulting in septicaemia. It proved fatal.Nearly fifty years later MRSA has spread... 2009-1-13 09:29:38 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#34864 Several reliable US medical sources had told me in 2007 that Elizabeth Taylor was treated with phages for staphylococcus pneumonia during the filming of Cleopatra. A British doctor another Churchill Fellow also volunteered the information at dinner at the House of Commons so it seemed the right thing to check it out Many thanks to a Californian physician for meeting up again here in Reigate and researching some US newspaper archives.It is today a great pleasure to announce some details and documentary evidence of this exciting lifesaving story. It certainly sounds like a dramatic turnaround. The best bit is saved for the end of this news item .....It was early spring 1961 in London. It can still be very cold at that time of year. I imagine that if the film crew were all stuck indoors in the studio there was not much chance for fresh air and sunlight to keep the germs away. Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Eddie Fisher were staying at the Dorchester Hotel.On Friday 3rd March the 29year ... 2009-1-12 08:05:35 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#33094 Why are governments and international committees still huffing and puffing over huge looming potential disasters from deadly pathogen contamination intentional or accidentalWhy do employers put up with vastly expensive sickness absence every winter from seasonal infections and epidemics when they could be simply preventing them instead It is so frustrating when the answers are already here. Today I was sent an article about E.coli phages. Anyone would think from the title and the abstract that it is about Tomato Spinach Broccoli and Ground Beef. Well really my friends it is about decontaminating hospital facilities and food processing plants. If you skip to the very last sentence the authors suggest that a phagebased approach may be warranted against other virulent bacteria including those of high bioterrorism importance e.g. class A bacterial pathogens.They acknowledge multilateral international cooperation and were partly funded by the US Army. Good show. httpaem.asm.orgcgiconte... 2008-11-30 09:18:42 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#32734 Youll find most of my new phage mini videos on my YouTube channel www.youtube.compinknonsense. This one is rather special. Heres Tony Smithymans talk on Phage Therapy in the 21st Century its in three parts of about 10 minutes each. 2008-11-23 08:51:12 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#31644 Here are some video clips of the Republic of Georgia showing the lifesaving work of Dr. Guram Gvasalia.Child care newborns ear infections throat infections A burns patient A stomach infection patient An MRSA osteomyelitis patient These are two of my own new video clipsAn MRSA sinusitis patient Military Hospital 2008-10-27 14:25:11 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#30769 Medical Dictionary www.medilexicon.comThis search box might come in handy. Theres also a gorgeous page of funny abbreviations written on peoples hospital notes heres some ABITHAD Another Blithering Idiot Thinks Hes A Doctor FLD Funny Looking Dad FLK Funny Looking KidGFPO Good For Parts OnlyGLM Good Looking Mum LOLINAD Little Old Lady In No Acute DistressMFC Measure For Coffin NFS Normal For SwindonSNEFS SubNormal Even For SuffolkTEETH Tried Everything Else Try HomeopathyTEON Two Eyes One Nose TMB Too Many Birthdays TOBAS Take Out Back And ShootTTGA Told To Go AwayWDWNF Well Developed Well Nourished Female 2008-10-10 06:57:24 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#30693 Isnt this fun whilst delivering the message Please pass it on. 2008-10-8 15:50:27 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#30450 Now are you sitting comfortably There are lots of young girls all over the world who have had to face the needle in the arm with this cervical cancer jab Gardasil in the USA and Cervarix in the UK. I was quietly getting on with my phage projects preparing to give talks and pulling together those loose ends with the exciting historical research and wondering what to do with all that video footage.But a couple of weeks ago an alarm bell rang in my ears when I was reading the local newspaper. It was a news item about the UK cervical cancer HPV vaccination campaign and there right in the middle of it was this statement completely unreferenced the vaccine itself is safe with no serious side effects reported...So since then I have been doing a lot more investigating folks It is a tangled tale of mystery and perhaps not my word deception time will tell. But what concerns me is that the truth needs to be told not glossed over with political spin. The story is developing rapidly so here ... 2008-10-2 08:43:08 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#29773 This is a 2 minute video so that you have a flavour of the first Amazing Phage talk here in my home town of Reigate on 15th September the anniversary of Battle of Britain Day. There were 40 people in the audience. I have had to give up on the film Amazing Phage the Scientists and the Patients since I have only seen it once just 36 hours before and it would need some considerable expertise to deliver the correct messages. So you will see I provided an exhibition of treasures from my travels the slide show 80 days in 8 minutes except I think it was even faster than that Phages on the Battlefield as delivered to the British Embassy in Washington DC and to the Ministry of Defence and my MPs assistant a Big Red Scrapbook a talk starring MRSA in a smart gold box with bright red shiny ribbon a bucket and a sparkling white oldfashioned mop containing a T4 phage in its purple and black camouflage uniform and the crowning glory my next door neighbours RAF hat from 1942 as wor... 2008-9-16 10:15:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#29275 I would like to thank all the people who have signed the Guest Book and have left a message. The latest one is from Eman Kamel Hi I think u r doing a gret job here. This is an important subject that need to be dicussed on many levels. I did this work here in Saudi Arabia and we need this blog keep on.Well I do hope to be able to keep this blog going. It is all selffunded and mostly homemade so even if I put in a funding application the decision wouldnt be until the new year. Eek what to do about ChristmasHowever there are three good reasons why I do this research and hard work.1. I was first inspired by bacteriophages when studying microbiology at university never having heard of them before.2. My younger daughter has a heart condition and when she was having her surgery in 1990 the boy in the bed opposite her died of endocarditis after some dental work. He was many months on IV antibiotics but they were unsuccessful.3. This quote from the book about F.W.Twort probably explains why... 2008-9-5 09:03:16 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#29273 This 5page scientific paper from Poland contains some very worthwhile reading.Bacteriophage therapy in children Facts and prospects httpwww.medscimonit.comfulltxt.phpICID865805 2008-9-5 08:35:47 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#29272 MRSA or Phage Therapy A commentary about work taking place healing patients in Poland and then a scientific gathering in Edinburgh. The music is from Swan Lake full of phages. 2008-9-5 08:21:55 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#29137 Did you know1. Josef Stalin and the Red Army were all in favour of phages. 2. The Pulitzerprizewinning novel Arrowsmith was inspired by phage therapy.3. The blockbuster movie Arrowsmith was inspired by phage therapy.4. Adolf Hitler had a course of phage therapy starting on his birthday Was it a gift5. Movie star Elizabeth Taylor had lifesaving phage therapy in March 1961 for pneumonia the unfolding drama was reported numerous times in the US news press but covered up immediately afterwards in the NYT. For evidence see this blog entry for 12 Jan 09.6. The President of Georgia Mikhael Saakashvili states he has had phage therapy and he also states it cured a relative of his with gangrene.7. Number Ten Downing Street has it on record about phage therapy.8. The staircase at Amazing Phage HQ was built by Ronnie Biggs the Great Train Robber.9. There is a Phage University Psalm 23 circa 1950 Delbruck is my shepherd I shall not err.He leadeth me beside the right theory.He maketh me to lie do... 2008-9-3 13:10:33 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#28954 Yes this is about phage therapy heres the music and the lyrics .Wish please.Thank you 2008-8-31 11:33:22 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#28948 In this NHS birthday party video the Prime Minister says some good things But of course there isnt even a mention of hospital infections. We can only assume that any patients with MRSA or C.diff werent invited to the partyWatch out though right at the very end he says....FIFTEEN BILLION pounds that we are spending in the next ten years to the cures to some of the most difficulttodealwith diseases including cancer. I think it is very important that we make medical advances in Britain and show that we are really at the top of the scientific community.Well that is going to be a complete waste of money unless they do read the BMJ article I sent the other day and start investing some of that 16315 BILLION into phages and other alternatives to antibiotics to prevent cancer in the first place. And they need to tell the pig farmers too. Published 21 August 2008 doi10.1136bmj.a1381Cite this as BMJ 2008337a1381 News Antibiotics may be linked to risk of cancer Roger Dobson The ... 2008-8-31 07:36:34 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#28843 Health webchat with Ann Keen This is the transcript from my Number 10 webchat with the Health Minister Ann Keen. Topics include DMD the elderly diabetes incontinence cancer reform MRSA carer poverty dental treatment cardiac risk ME treatment in Eastern Europe instead of antibiotics prostate cancer robotic surgery HCAIs and phage therapy ...............There is a comments box so you can take up where she left off after my phage therapy question.httpwww.thegovernmentsays.comcomments302297Here is the first comment from Barrie SingletonIn all government endeavour there is a lack of openminded philosophy. The NHS applies what might reasonably be termed industrial cures. The application of PHAGES is a subtle approach found in nature. It was apparent that Ann Keen is imbued with the NHS ethos and does not sense the greater worth over antibiotics of what nature provides. There is much much more Oh and about Robot Surgery being AMAZING this week there is an article in New Scientist with the... 2008-8-28 08:48:06 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#28796 Local water companies dont test for phages in our tap water. Its a free for all in our bathing water and drinking water the phage content isnt regulated or monitored. Full marks to Sutton and East Surrey Water plc for answering a question within one working day. The Environment Agency states in a 2008 science report about sewage risks page 20 that bacteriophages are harmless.So its official with the geographers making it nice and simple just as we were saying all along. Heres the reference Sewage risks to urban groundwaterwww.shef.ac.ukcontent1c6081606Sewage20risks20science20report.pdf bacteriophages which are harmless but occur in sewagepolluted ..... The report can be downloaded from Sheffield Universitys website. It is an Occupational Health amp Safety Information Service product a GIS based risk analysis tool published in February 2008. The Environment Agency is the leading public body protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. 2008-8-27 07:02:04 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#27998 Here is a short item about phages from Australias National Nine News. 2008-8-7 10:02:39 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#27847 The conference was really good. I didnt understand most of it but there was an introduction by Prof. A. Gorski about phage therapy in Poland their clinic welcomes patients with antibiotic resistant infections and they are in the EU and I managed to video an excellent presentation by Tony Smithyman from Australia who incidentally has just won a cash award. Meanwhile my little contribution was three copies of my new article about FW Twort and a few words to everyone at the end of the afterdinner speeches. Heres the first news item after the conference. If your poster or talk is not mentioned in this following press release or you would like to recommend one please feel welcome to post a comment at the end. First Phage Biotech Conference Creates Interest in New Trade Body The Business 03082008 Region All The first international phage biotechnology conference held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre is expected to lead to the formation of an International Ph... 2008-8-3 20:21:07 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#27449 Here is my article after meeting with Dr Antony Twort. httpwww.amazingphage.infoUSERIMAGESantonytwortjuly08.pdf 2008-7-24 18:02:53 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#27047 On Sunday Dr Antony Twort came to tea. Now 85 he is the biographer of his father Frederick William Twort F.R.S described in 1917 as the best microbiologist in the country. The ASM acknowledged in 1999 that the discovery of bacteriophages the TwortdHerelle phenomenon was one of microbiologys fifty most significant events during the past 125 years. No mention of sunlightUV.I asked Antony for a message for current phage scientists so it is all noted down. I am enjoying reading the biography. It is so funny in places that I am laughing loudly and at other times so tragic that I am gasping out Oh no In other eras it would have made a Shakespearean play or a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Certainly the story is told with style and humour and also scientific authority.Heres a little gem.Hes quoting Sir Philip MansonBahr a leading expert in tropical diseases who wrote this in 1964 when in his eighties about diphtheria in the 1st World War.The Director of Medical Services issued an order that ... 2008-7-16 09:08:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#26835 Thank you Mike J for sending the genealogy of Ernest Hanbury Hankin 18651939. British born and bred and educated at St Johns College Cambridge he went on to be chemical examiner Government analyst and bacteriologist of the United Provinces and Central Provinces of India from 1892 for many years where in the face of a good deal of opposition he was able to perform great services in the prevention of epidemics of cholera. Presumably that was human opposition but there were other practical difficulties to be overcome. Hankins 1896 account published in French but also available in English tells an absolutely gruesome tale of dead bodies being ripped to pieces by the huge turtles in the Jamuna river whilst he was taking his water samples to test the effluvium for microbes. He dealt these turtles a powerful blow with heavy bamboo and he still couldnt easily drive them away. He kindly described these turtles as wonderful undertakers So all of you scientists who want to quote his brave and pa... 2008-7-12 10:14:42 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#26791 The research into Myras dramatic recovery from a burst appendix has led me first of all to MajorGeneral P.H. Mitchiner the famous British surgeon from Reigate whose name is spelled incorrectly on the NHS hospital ward signage and elsewhere.The next revelation was medically trained scientist F W Tworts original archives in London. He was so misquoted and underreported. His lifetimes work on phages was not given the credit and respect it deserves. I am in contact with his son and biographer Dr Antony Twort who lives not far away from here. We are comparing notes and meeting up for tea this weekend. Evidently the authors of standard phage textbooks have failed to access these primary sources of information so it will be my pleasure to start a brand new notebook and ultimately put the record a bit straighter. There is another British scientist whose discoveries have been rather taken over by others or ignored. Hankin was working for the British government in India. Even in the 1890s he was... 2008-7-11 09:17:48 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#25210 You can check out my latest research story and leave a comment at this website www.sciscoop.com. The exact page reference is httpwww.sciscoop.comstory2008666413733802 2008-6-7 10:05:20 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#24211 Heres a short story for you that has kept me happily occupied with researching for the last few days. Its about Myra a neighbour of mine here in Reigate. httpwww.relaxwell.co.ukGangrenemedicine.html There are some wellknown names including royalty plus photos references and archives. approx. 1800 words. 2008-5-14 10:46:51 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#23520 Today is 29th April exactly one year since the Amazing Phage adventure officially began with the first flight to the USA before going on to Canada Georgia and Poland. Now there are several notebooks full of information dozens of autographs in the Winston Churchill book that I was given about 9 hours of video footage hundreds of photographs 24 minivideos on YouTube whilst I have been practising simple editing skills and thousands of emails The official 20 page report was published in October and in June of this year I shall be going to the Guildhall in the City of London to receive my silver medallion. I think there would be less than 4000 people who have ever been given this award so to me it will be a very special occasion and a great honour. The next piece of news is that I have accepted an invitation from Reigate Hill Probus Club for September 15th on the subject of Amazing Phage. So all the video footage needs to be edited and narrated to produce a halfhour programme suitable f... 2008-4-29 09:48:15 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#20399 This was the subject of the last talk at a UK bacteriophage conference on Friday afternoon when the results of a randomised doubleblind Phase 2 clinical trial were announced. The answer is Yes. Heres a 3 minute video slide show based on the bacteriophage conference meeting watch out for the surprise at the end Enjoy.... 2008-2-24 08:50:34 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#19541 As from today the Churchill Fellows Report about The Health Value Of Bacteriophages is online for posterity on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust website at httpwww.wcmt.org.ukpublicreports1681.pdf a very suitable external link and sufficiently authoritative for the Wikipedia Phage Therapy page apparently. ...........................................................................................................................................................Secondly todays news from DEFRA and if you are looking for postgrad scholarship schemes to apply for please read the last paragraph first Many thanks for your email including your report which provides an interesting update on some of the work in this area. I am sorry for my delay in replying. In terms of further developments in Defra since our last correspondence I can update you on some research work which has been continuing throughout 2007 and on plans for upcoming research. In one project OZ0325 we have been w... 2008-2-4 16:23:17 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#18520 Phages can be Phun heres a little collection of photos from my travels in Georgia Poland and USA showing the health value of bacteriophages simply 80 days in 8 minutes. And what do scientists say about it so far Looks really goodPhotos great idea 2008-1-12 12:46:42 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#17592 Israelis join exclusive science clubJerusalem Post Israel 7 hours agoBy JUDY SIEGELITZKOVICH Tel Aviv University has hit the jackpot with three of its scientists included in the list of 50 of the worlds leading innovators ...The therapeutic potential of phage therapy stems from the fact that it does not affect mammalian cells and therefore results in no adverse effects. ....Congratulations to Professor Beka Solomon. The great value of phages for humankind was made clear right from the start in her presentations in Toronto during May and Olympia during August. Hopefully the forthcoming announcements of this success in various editions of Scientific American will increase public awareness and also spark significant investment into these technologies plus international cooperation. 2007-12-17 15:00:10 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#17196 If youre looking for stocking stuffers for scientists there are some new GiantMicrobe designs in soft toys including Maggot MRSA Penicillin and T4Bacteriophage. Click on the links to order and see the whole range including E.coli Salmonella Staph Pneumonia etc. httpwww.giantmicrobes.comaffiliatesidevaffiliate.phpid127017 T4 bacteriophage ExoticsMRSA InfirmariesMaggot CrittersThey ask us to note that due to manufacturing constraints there are a limited number of T4 and Penicillin available. In order to manage demand these items are being made available at an introductory price of 12.95.Penicillin Exotics 2007-12-4 16:14:01 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#16309 People are asking me what will I be doing next now that the report is written and out there. Well that is only the start. At the moment I am creating a PowerPoint presentation about my travels 80 days with a Churchill Fellowship but be warned. In this one there is not much at all about bacteriophages there are too many other things that you would enjoy. What about all that fun in Poland on the gnome hunt There is a whole photo gallery just devoted to that. httpwww.amazingphage.infopage23.htm.And there is the statue of the Angel in the Botanical Gardens the giant hairy spider in the pet shop the cows in the snowcovered fields in the Caucasus mountains the bed bug bites the Buddy Holly tribute the drama of the little boating accident the magnificent lock on the door of the university the mysterious hole in the middle of the road George Washington various sewers Niagara Falls at night funny trees naughty nighties a British bulldog the fantastic swimming pool where I... 2007-11-8 13:19:11 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#15570 To complete the story of Amazing Phage we needed a good quality diagram showing the way that bacteriophages infect bacteria. I am pleased to say that Encyclopaedia Britannica have done the honours. They have also very kindly granted me permission to include their diagram in a slide show. Now who would like to invite me to share this scientific adventure story in an illustrated talk By courtesy of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. copyright 1994 used with permission.My official 20page report for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is now available as a signed printed copy 16310 or downloadable free of charge from this website click here. There is also a halfpage news item in a local Surrey newspaper click here and some very welcome and appreciative feedback so far from colleagues in Texas Virginia Illinois Poland Georgia New Zealand Scotland and England. This includes a very prompt and positive response that originated from the corridors of power in the Houses of Parliament. Thank you. Yo... 2007-10-18 09:58:13 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14541 Wednesday 12th September was the final day of research in Poland there were several appointments all lined up for a whistlestop tour of official departments and organisations that are the specialists in Warsaw.But the day started with a surprise conversation We are hunting for new genes said Dr Lobocka. This is looking far ahead. We must remember that she is an international expert in molecular biology having also worked in the USA at the National Institute of Health and also at Imperial College London..She explained and I hope I have understood The money that investors will put into the genetic research of phages will not only benefit medical and therapeutic research. The main point to make is that there is a huge perspective in finding new genes that encode proteins that will be useful for industry. This is a great revelationThe visits that morning enabled me to understand this more fully. The science involves proteases that chop up genomes comparing genomes of different phag... 2007-9-16 14:45:55 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14432 Now I am in Warsaw again for the last couple of days of this unique Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship. This time I am a guest of the Department of Microbial Biochemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.It is a great pleasure to meet Dr. Malgorzata Lobocka and to be visiting the labs. Already in discussion my travelling companion Brad an international educationalist and I have heard how necessary it is going to be for phage scientists to cooperate and collaborate internationally in a multidisciplinary fashion. What is needed is a fully structured and coordinated plan rather than just more research. Then there can be accelerated progress rather than simply repetition with an unnecessary waste of scarce financial resources for scientific research. Dr. Lobocka also advocates big national centres to lead the way rather than small companies. The overarching principle must be one of integrity.There are more possibilities for the future... 2007-9-11 10:18:36 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14392 I am learning all I can. The main job today is to complete our dwarf hunt since I am so curious by nature. Will we find the dwarf that is riding a pigeon Will we find the naked one He only has an umbrella to protect his modesty silly chap. Will we find the one doing his washing by the river Will we find out which of the dwarves isare absent without leave We have also seen a marketing niche for someone we cannot find any little models of these dwarves to buy as souvenirs and horror or horrors the dwarves are not featured in even the latest editions of the tourist guides the Rough Guide to or the DK book on Poland. Heres a video I borrowed off Google so you can see for yourselves. There are also four little dwarves that live at the public swimming pool so thats somewhere else to go today before the music concert. As for all the amazing new stuff on phages it will be a great story and an exciting adventure with all the ingredients for a best seller but there is far far too much... 2007-9-9 07:41:37 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14380 The Institute of Immunology is named after Prof. Hirszfeld. It is very interesting to read a moving article about his lifes work on blood groups in particular and we have him to thank for bringing his collection of phages to Wroclaw when he was appointed to the academic staff of the university in 19445. Today being a Saturday it was lovely to do some more sightseeing. The highlight was to visit the University buildings. If you ever go to Wroclaw do please make the effort to venture inside and remember to charge the battery for your camera firstThe architectural features have been expertly restored and embellished. They are breathtakingly complex and ornate. Yet amongst them there are stateoftheart exhibitions of the history of the university numerous Nobel prizewinners featured in pride of place plus references to famous names of course including Alzheimer and Bunsen but also composers such as Brahms and Grieg and Berlioz who would have held performances in the music rooms resulting ... 2007-9-8 17:03:39 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14328 It is going to take a long time to pass on all the messages and information about what is happening in Poland with phages.So for the moment I have just browsed through the photos on my camera over the last couple of days and listed some highlights for you. We shall have to wait before they can go on the gallery In reverse order Yesterday evening I was able to tke a photo at the very end of the concert in St Mary Magdalene Cathedral the first event of Wroclaws Wratislavia Cantans Missa Solemnis in D major Opus 123 by Beethoven. It is a sacred masterpiece. We started with a minutes silence with great respect for Pavarotti. The English soloists included Susan Gritton soprano whose family surname would ring a bell for people from my home town. During the days at the Institute this week we have covered a multitude of topics there is a photo of a letter from an Iraqi doctor asking for information on phages. There is an exciting story still waiting to develop Ministry of Defence and... 2007-9-7 08:19:43 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14269 First I can update you on the Rommel riddle I am advised that it was a different Rommel one German and one Polish. Simple ehSecondly I can confirm that I am collecting lots of information about phage therapy in Wroclaw and will be reporting on it in a few days. Yesterday I had the great honour of meeting the Director of the Institute Professor Jack Szepietowski and also received a phone call welcoming me from Professor Gorski the Director of the Bacteriophage department. Meanwhile his associates in the department are showing me their work and very helpfully answering queries about the points that we would love to have explained. More news in a few days. Now I can tell you what my New Zealand friend Brad is doing for her research project whilst in Wroclaw. Its all about the gnomes goblins and dwarves that touched down here on November 8 in the year 780. The latest one arrived April 26 2007 to the cheers of a crowd waving red umbrellas. So far I have photos of three of them to shar... 2007-9-5 08:09:52 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14219 It is possible to fly direct to Wroclaw whereas our journey was via Warsaw where it was very straightforward to book intercity seats on the train for a relaxing fivehour journey taking the time to read rest and look at the scenery. A train ticket is very cheap your window seat is reserved and you even get a free cup of coffee and a biscuit how about that for service Watch out though just on the outskirts of Wroclaw is a small railway station also called Wroclaw. Luckily the guard whisked our luggage back onto the train for the extra ten minutes otherwise perhaps we would have been rather stranded. The station building actually looks a bit like a castle. The welcome at the hotel was warm and helpful and in no time we had discovered the large shopping mall right next door with numerous eating places and enough fashion shops to kit out a good proportion of the young people in this lovely old city. We have not spotted any obesity thankfully even though there are a couple of fast food out... 2007-9-3 14:47:17 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14170 The first day was a feat of endurance since I had only had one hour of sleep. But my New Zealand friend Brad accompanying me and her nephew Jack doing the driving arrived with the car at 4.30am. The flight was uneventful except for an abortive landing attempt. Just as we were approaching the runway in Warsaw a rescue helicopter appeared out of nowhere and our pilot was asked to make a sharp reascent into the skies again for another 1015 minutes. There were some upset tummies at this time The cabin crew were busy asking people to sit down sit down. sit down since it would have been rather dangerous otherwise. Anyway we eventually had a perfectly smooth landing and the captain spoke to us all very positively explaining what had happened and joking that there would be no extra charge for the tour round Warsaw It was an interesting skyline dominated by one huge building of controversial old Soviet design. when Big Brother Was Watching You I think it is built with 40 million bricks. In c... 2007-9-1 19:07:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#14106 The next two weeks are the third phase of this Churchill research currently in Warsaw and then on to Wroclaw. Please revisit regularly for news updates. Sorry the photos will have to wait because of technical difficulties with my laptop but the news should be very interesting The wonders of modern science. Today I was visiting the Marie Curie Museum situated at her birthplace here in Warsaw. There are some great quotes tooWhat kind of compensation does society give to scholars in return for their splendid selfsacrifice as a reward for the great deeds done for humanity ...Ones youth and strength spent in an everyday struggle to live are the prices to be paid for acceptable working conditions. and I believe international work is a heavy task but that it is nevertheless indispensable to go through an apprenticeship in it at the cost of many efforts and also of a real spirit of sacrifice. and We have been given half of the Nobel Prize. I do not know exactly what that represe... 2007-8-30 09:50:52 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13871 The Illinois Governor signed Jeanine Thomas bill today after another bitter fight. She has won. MRSA screening in Illinois hospitals starts immediately. This is history and hopefully more states will start.For further information see my interview with Jeanine back at the end of May as part of this Winston Churchill Fellowship research. Meanwhile Laura Roberts has written her a 100 words explaining how she has recovered from MRSA by having had phage therapy 2007-8-22 11:11:06 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13789 Whilst here in Seattle for a couple of days after the Phage Meeting I have received a newspaper cutting about one hospital in Wales that has reduced its MRSA levels by 72 over six years by doing the cleaning themselves. I cannot help but wonder whether that could be even better if we took a leaf out of the book of hospitals overseas first of all there are the bacteria in the air that the authorities have been told about many times at top level but still there appears to be nothing in the policies. Correct me if I am wrong I wouldnt know because they usually dont reply. Secondly there are selfreplicating phages of course that can be used for surfaces etc. etc.. But then I am repeating myself. Come on Sir Trevor did they show you the email from 14th Feb after your programme 2007-8-19 16:25:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13720 At the Evergreen International POhage Meeting here in Olympia there are 75 speakers covering a whole range of phage related research. The key points relating to the health value of bacteriophages are now being emphasised in the Phage Therapy sessions for example the concept that antibacterial therapies would need to have antibiofilm and antibacterial featuresphages could be used as a control strtegy on central venous cathetersbacteriophage is being used already to control foodborne pathogens and could be extendedthe Phase 2 clinical trial against Pseudomonas aeruginosa is nearing completion in a London hospitalbacteriophages are used routinely in Georgia for treating open maxillofacial injuriesbacteriophages break senile plaques in an animal brain model of Alzheimers Disease so here we have a novel therapeutic avenuephages antibiotics and plant antibacterials are used with newborns in Georgian maternity hospitals and we have seen the datathe Eliava Institute in Georgia is being r... 2007-8-16 15:49:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13699 There are lots of photos now in the Amazing Phage Evergreen Phage Meeting gallery httpwww.amazingphage.infopage16.htm Heres just one................... 2007-8-15 15:03:22 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13606 Arrived Friday at Seattle for the 17th International Evergreen Phage Meeting at the kind invitation of Professor Betty Kutter Olympia University. It is a spectacular location here by the Olympic Peninsula the snowtopped Olympic Mountains provide breathtaking views over towards Canada. There is a wide variety of wildlife including deer and raccoons and many beautiful wildflowers by the roadsides especially as you drive up into the higher ground and survey the magnificent landscape. The Phage scientists are gathering from all over the world. This is where I am meeting with them and several people are helping with the finished wording of the Churchill Report so in effect it will be even more of a combined effort. 2007-8-12 20:06:26 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13464 And now that photo of the Department of Health HQ in London. 2007-8-6 18:02:24 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13407 Phages have just made their first public appearance on canada dot com. Congratulations to Peggy and friends heres the exact page and some UK feedback on her letter gt Hi gracegtgt I think that is probably the best written outline of bacteriophage gt function I have seen. A very neat nutshell.gtgt Sleep well in Seattle.gtgt BarrieYes next Friday I shall be flying thousands of miles to the 17th Evergreen Phage Biology Meeting. Its a wonderful surprise and a very generous gesture from the organisers. Thanks too to the Director General of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for their help. There are phage scientists from more than 21 countries all over the world 72 talks and 55 posters.And will I get to see that Arrowsmith film the Pulitzerprizewinning novel by Sinclair Lewis Yes.NeatYou have to laugh though. On the Wikipedia page for Arrowsmith would you believe the reviewer didnt make any mention of bacteriophages Typical. How long will that take for someone to update it Frankly I am... 2007-8-4 13:33:11 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13372 While we are talking about funding here is the information about the UK and the 16.5 million GBP available so far. Are we going to have phages included in the research from now on or nothttpwww.mrc.ac.ukApplyingforaGrantCallsForProposalsTranslationalInfectionResearchindex.htmTranslational Infection ResearchThe final date for both of these opportunities is October. 2007-8-3 10:20:59 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13370 Now heres an idea for encouraging phage networking and other strategies that could work well with them too. European fundingPerhaps the contributors to the new bacteriophage book andor the academic institutions will consider submitting an application.httpwww.esf.orgactivitiesresearchnetworkingprogrammes2007callforproposals.htmlWe could do with some funding for a DVD and some materials too thanks I am pleased to say that the Science and Technology Center in the Ukraine financed 5 bacteriophage projects total amount about 900000 USD so its about time for Europe to catch up a bit. Cant Europe do better 2007-8-3 09:18:01 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13313 Ooh there is some very interesting news from Poland. Its a preprint of a paper to appear in Adv Hyg Exp Med. and soon to be online anyway.We believe it should be an important contribution for a wider application of phage therapy. It is entitledPhage therapy of staphylococcal infections including MRSA may be less expensive than antibiotic treatmentThink about itWho would like to read itKey words phage MRSA cost of therapy staphylococcal infectionWord count 1921Tables 2References 39Here you are a quoteThis is about half the cost of 10day therapy with vancomycin and several times less compared with the other drugs shown in Table 2. So we await news of what the MoD and the DoH are going to do about it.PS 9.07. It is now online at httpwww.relaxwell.co.uklessexpensivethanantibiotics.pdf and several other places. ... 2007-8-1 10:32:41 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13281 Book review pdf Bacteriophage Genetics and Molecular BiologyEdited by Stephen Mc Grath and Douwe van SinderenPublication date 1 July 2007Publisher Caister Academic Press UK 163150This beautifully produced hardback book is also manageable in size and clearly a significant investment for any forwardthinking university or hospital library. It would be a source of inspiration and scientific excitement for students and researchers in a variety of fields including medicine and industry.There are 36 contributors spanning 11 countries across Europe and North America. The editors start off by providing postal and email addresses for all the coauthors this will help to encourage respectful networking and sharing of knowledge during the current rapid developments in phage science. Refreshingly they have decided not to state academic status or qualifications thus indicating a spirit of egalitarian collaboration and initiative meanwhile suggesting that times do change and we are all learning.The ... 2007-7-31 09:01:14 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13245 These two programmes are not new but they do communicate the urgent message about infections very directly. Number 10 Downing Street please note. The first one features Jeanine who I went to visit in Chicago a couple of months ago. 3.44min.Health Watch Killer germs 2.55min. CAMRSA Staph Infection Wound Packing 2007-7-30 08:13:45 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13200 Well blow me down with a feather. I have just had a letter from Number 10. Its in very big writing. Dear Ms FilbyThe Prime Minister has asked me to thank you for your recent letter. Your comments have been carefully noted. As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for this matter Mr Brown has asked me to pass your letter to that Department so that they may reply to you on his behalf. Yours sincerely .... It took me a couple of minutes to remember what I had written to him about. Oh yes basically I was asking him if he knew about bacteriophages and please may I have a brief comment that I can quote in my official report and in the meantime on my blog. I take it thats a sort of Wwwell I do now. Thank you very much.... 2007-7-28 16:17:27 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#13114 ATTORNEY Doctor before you performed the autopsy did you check for a pulseWITNESS No.ATTORNEY Did you check for blood pressureWITNESS No.ATTORNEY Did you check for breathingWITNESS No.ATTORNEY So then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsyWITNESS No.ATTORNEY How can you be so sure DoctorWITNESS Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.ATTORNEY But could the patient have still been alive neverthelessWITNESS Yes it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law........ 2007-7-26 08:39:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12982 Anyone who is familiar with the Naked Scientists radio and news items on bacteriophages and science in general would probably smile at this latest Smartart poem Dress Code. As naked scientists contemplate mens nipples 10th Jun And Armageddon with a practised eye 24th Jun Their brilliant minds are brought to sharp attention When the Amazing Phage phenomenon comes by. No more will they chill in extreme survival 22nd Jul Nor jiggle with a jam jar full of rice 3rd Jun A Cambridge conversations in the offing And a Commons feast of phage that will suffice. So naked scientists dress yourselves and hurry Though phages have seen all there is to see. Like us the little chaps expect decorum Though respecting nakedness medically.... 2007-7-23 10:19:18 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12943 The Ministry of Defence replied this week including this very welcome invitation....Regarding your visit to the Gori Military Hospital if there are any outcomes or discussions that you think may be of interest to the MOD then please do send these along.So this is indeed what I have done in two rather lengthy and detailed emails. I hope they are received safely. There are still some more key points to be pointed out but basically it relates to the fact that when they wrote formally last September about what they knew of bacteriophages they didnt mention anything about the clinic in Poland the clinic in Texas or the great interest in phage therapy that there is in universities especially at Evergreen College in Olympia University Washington State. Perhaps they didnt know then. That first letter is with my previous research on my other website the page reference is httpwww.relaxwell.co.ukMOD20060916.pdf .There are scientists going there from all over the world to attend the 17th Internat... 2007-7-22 09:54:18 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12909 If you are new to this site you may like to start at the Welcome page. 2007-7-21 10:06:39 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12845 Hospitals Infectious Diseases MP Sandra Gidley asked the Secretary of State for Health how many children died from a hospital acquired infection since 2000. The written answer from Ann Keen DoH yesterday stated that The Office for National Statistics ONS publishes annual reports on statistics of deaths with meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA bacteraemias or Clostridium difficile. Number of death certificates mentioning MRSA in England and Wales among babies Age 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 All places of death Under one 0 1 0 2 1 6 Deaths in NHS hospitals Under one 0 1 0 1 1 6source TheyWorkForYou.comI have simplified the statistics so that we can think about them.Perhaps we can also think about the babies that died from all the other hospital acquired infections there are many more. ......... 2007-7-19 13:30:44 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12821 What Nah Oh alright then I hadnt seen that If I just explain the context its the Department of Health headquarters in Whitehall yesterday Richmond House with a Union Jack flying above it. I think as I remember the Cenotaph with masses of flags is just to one side of it. When I glanced at the tiny photo on my mobile phone I first saw the central shadow a soldier carrying a flagholding a musket or something The actual flag I was photographing looks like a little puff of smoke. To me this would be like a constant reminder that so many people have died needlessly or in fighting for our countries or from infections.I dont know if the Cenotaph and flags are causing the big shadow or whether its the tree but for some reason when I tried to email it to my computer it never got there I have tried several times and to my other email address too. Most odd.So next time I go to London on a sunny day I am going to take my proper camera and be there in Whitehall at the same sort of time to try ... 2007-7-18 18:43:13 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12694 2007-7-15 10:53:55 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12676 Oops Oops OoopsProfessor Brian Duerden the Chief Inspector of Microbiology and Infection Control at the Department of Health had lots of meetings last year and he wrote a report in July. It was published in January and this is one of his findings.... all were agreed that there was in fact a staffing crisis in medical microbiology across all the professional groups. There is a significant deficit in consultant medical microbiologist numbers and with a vacancy factor around 10 there are a number of laboratories around the country where posts have been vacant for upwards of a year. In some instances there is no fulltime medical microbiologist in a laboratory.Similarly the lack of a proper career structure for clinical microbiologists clinical scientists has hindered throughput of trainees to senior posts and there is also a lack of trained biomedical scientists in many areas.We are left to draw our own conclusions. And oops again.They were saying the same thing for years. Academic Medica... 2007-7-14 09:39:18 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12629 Re 28th May Photosensitivity or phagesThe MHRA have now written again pointing out that they were quoting from the Summary of Product Characteristics for doxycyline which is written and owned by the Marketing Authorisation Holder ie license holder for a medicine. And Furthermore as an Agency it is not our role to comment on the availability or suitability for alternative treatments for individual patients. So presumably its up to the rest of us to comment.The MHRA are now saying that they are not able to draw on this research and knowledge at present and that is a teensyweensy bit different isnt it from what they wrote two months ago in May when they were not aware of the need.Heres some small print httpemc.medicines.org.ukemcassetschtmldisplaydoc.aspDocumentID16431.Id rather have natural therapeutic phages any day for my family thanks. I have searched everywhere on Google and asked experts all across Europe and North America but noone can come up with any evidence of adverse effects... 2007-7-12 08:23:31 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12606 And while we are looking at research here is Teona Danielas paper about liquid phages and Phage Bioderm for treating people who have had traumatic facial injuries in car crashes. Are we still not going to do anything about this in the Westhttpabre.tsmu.edu2005v5is107.pdf 2007-7-11 13:20:24 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12604 Weve found the peritonitis research translated into English in dogs and human patients Here it is Tbilisi State Medical University Annals of Biomedical Research and Education 2001 OctoberDecember Volume 1 Issue 4 pdfAbstract onlinePaper Clinical and Immunological Aspects of Treatment of ... Tengiz Akhmeteli Nodar Lomidze Guram Gvasalia Lali Ahmeteli ... antibacterial irrigation were confirmed experimentally in healthy dogs with peritonitis.See below I have copied it for convenience.Here are some lovely quotesSmall number of studies doesnt allow us to make the last conclusions but we can say that the general impression is hopeful.In the main group of patients the following was observed general condition improved faster sleep normalized body temperature returned to normal levels 12 days earlier the peripheral blood analysis showed decreased leucocytosis with decreased numbers of immature cells peristaltic action regenerated faster. Postoperative complications were relatively... 2007-7-11 12:38:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12534 Grace with Matron and surgical infection staff at the Central Military Hospital Gori for military and civilian patients. Phages are used routinely throughout many hospitals in Georgia including treatment for newborns and with woundsburns and gastrointestinal infections especially.Dr Gvasalia pointed out at the end of our meeting that we know that phages arent everything. However regarding the Phages on the Battlefield project yes the Georgians can teach Iraqi doctors how to use phages and yes they still need research. We continued our visit to the Central Military Hospital accompanied by numerous staff and were shown many different departments operating theatres and treatment rooms all of which have gleaming surfaces and stateoftheart equipment. The Surgical Infection suite is kept completely separate from the rest of the hospital with its own air supply please note. I have written to Health Ministers and the DoH in the UK about this subject many times but they have evidently decide... 2007-7-8 10:33:38 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12518 Back again in the UK I met up with Roger Mintey this afternoon to give him the new instructions from the Phage Therapy Center back in Tbilisi. This was the follow up to his treatment in March when I was accompanying him. During this recent two weeks when I was in Tbilisi again doing my Churchill Fellowship research Dr Zemphira and Dr Tengiz had established in the lab what the current bacteria are with Rogers continued chronic sinusitis. They have developed an autophage specially for his bugs plus another treatment regimen including the honey extract to boost the immune system some capsules and some antiseptic ampoules. The written info is mostly in Russian or Georgian but lets hope that the notes in English have helped somewhat and that he gets better soon........................ 2007-7-7 17:26:46 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12514 As promised here are my notes from the meeting with Prof. Guram Gvasalia the Chief Doctor at the newly opened Central Military Hospital in Gori Georgia. The main theme is BACTERIOPHAGE THERAPY RESEARCH ON PERITONITIS. Peritonitis is the most frequent reason for death in surgery.From 1970 when Dr Gvasalia could see a future of antibiotic resistance he chose one of the best ways to prevent infections that would also be cheaper and more effective than antibiotics. He applied phages to soft tissue infections and especially Staphylococcal infections and then took the next step which was to consider intravenous applications. Unfortunately they did not do a randomised study because they didnt have those methods. This is why intravenous phages dont have data. His next step was the endolymphatic system he said that using phages in this way is more effective than in the blood. The lymphatic system accumulates medication like a depot system so it has a higher period of effectiveness. He could... 2007-7-7 13:43:56 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12430 I have been a bit preoccupied the last few days with lots and lots of lumps and bumps that have gradually appeared over my arms and legs. They are dreadfully itchy. Thank goodness for Google for helping me with my research into that. I have no conclusive evidence as to the exact cause but it was certainly interesting to read the following medical advice on the NHS Direct website Soaking in a bath with 2 cups of rolled oats secured in a sock helps to relieve itching. I have no idea either whether that official seal of approval for the health value of rolled oats was as a result of double blind randomized clinical trials. Is it actually proven Perhaps someone would know at the MHRA. Meanwhile I wonder if NHS Direct would like to offer us all another helpful suggestion Soaking in a bath with 2 cups of bacteriophages helps to relieve bacterial infections. No need to bother with securing them in a sock and they are completely harmless. I didnt think to pack any rolled o... 2007-7-4 19:19:20 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12415 The town of Gori is about 45 minutes drive from the capital of Georgia. Last week my visit had been to Stalins birthplace and museum there. Yesterdays visit was to the new Military Hospital in Gori to meet Professor Guram Gvasalia and to ask him about his pioneering work with bacteriophages treating surgical infections in hospitals teaching and lecturing at the medical university and leading research e.g. on the battlefield. The meeting was arranged through my dear friend and colleague Zemphira Alavidze PhD from the Eliava Institute and the Phage Therapy Center also Teona Danelia MD PhD who is the Coordinator of the Phage Therapy and Surgical Infection Program for the Phage Biotics Foundation. All three liaise closely with Professor Betty Kutter at Olympia University Washington US and Lasha Gogokhia MD in Lubbock Texas. I was also pleased to be accompanied by my UK friend Robin Rotherham who is visiting Georgia this week to meet some of my bacteriophage contacts and discuss potenti... 2007-7-4 07:03:24 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12225 Our visit to the worldrenowned Eliava Institute in Gotua Street was on Amys last day in Georgia. We were afforded every courtesy and consideration including lengthy conversations with the new Director Dr Revaz Adamia and the Chief of the Scientific Council Dr Mzia Kutateladze. For simplicity you may like to browse through the slide show of 48 photographs outlining our visit. Its here Georgia Gallery However theres a great deal to tell and it adds some valuable insights and information. I will do my best to summarise it here in advance of the independent report I shall be writing for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for the benefit of the British people. To put it in context Dr Adamia has a wealth of international experience including a diplomatic role as the Permanent Georgian Ambassador to the UN. He was recently based in New York for five years and he is completely fluent in English. He has a lovely sense of humour as you will see from some of his choice comments ... 2007-6-28 11:51:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12161 Monday was the day when Dr Zemphira Alavidze was back in Tbilisi so it was wonderful to receive her call. We immediately arranged to meet up in the afternoon at the guest house. Fortunately I had also heard that the PTC did receive UK patient Rogers description of his current symptoms via the latest email as a result of the clinic visit on Thursday. Amy and I therefore had several hours free to follow up a brilliant suggestion made by the guide from Caucasus Travel who had escorted us on our travels over the weekend. We were looking forward to this We had asked her to write the name of the place in Georgian so that this time we could avoid confusion with the taxi driver and go directly there instead of all round the houses So it was very pleasant to walk straight outside and hail the taxi going past that very minute. Immediately we were on our way to the bazaar the food market to enjoy the sights and sounds the hustle and bustle but best of all appreciate all the colours text... 2007-6-26 06:04:40 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12119 We have been exploring this weekend many miles outside the main city of Tbilisi and up in the mountains too. There are lots of photos for you to see. Do please visit the Georgia gallery there are many more plus lots of stories and much to my surprise further leads about the health value of bacteriophages from a Georgian government consultant who happened to be up in the mountains too. Also I think Stalin liked bacteriophages. This is the lifesize statue of Joseph Stalin at Gori his hometown a few miles outside the capital of Georgia. Underneath that specially built stone shelter in the background is the room where he was born and brought up and underneath the cellar where his father worked as a shoemaker. Whats afoot We want to stamp out superbugs we know theres a solutionAnd phages show the way to go. Lets make a resolutionWho needs to ask the superpowers to meet around a tableWith natures ... 2007-6-24 19:19:44 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12074 Friday afternoon was for exploring the natural environment in and around Tbilisi. We had already discovered from the guidebooks that the ancient city had been built in that location specifically because of the revitalizing properties of the water. One of the legends is that 1500 years ago the King shot down a beautiful deer and the wounded animal stumbled into a spring. Suddenly it leapt out of the water and to the Kings amazement it bounded away as swift as an arrow. A plaque by the sulphur baths reminds us that the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin wrote I have never in my life come across anything better than baths in Tiflis I will take their word for it So perhaps it is no surprise that the Botanical Gardens are located exactly in the valley where a mountain stream is mixing with the hydrogen sulphide for those wonderful warm baths we had experienced yesterday they are rather smelly of course. High on the rock face are the walls of the old fortress and beside that a ... 2007-6-23 05:19:36 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#12035 This time travelling to Tbilisi was fairly straightforward. From the previous visit back in March local friend Roger Mintey and I had discovered that the official advice is a bit O.T.T. Rather than being concerned about the risk of being kidnapped or mugged this time the main priorities are to ensure that my daughter Amy and I can keep up to date with our research correspondence and messages as need be by email and phone and that we dont get run over trying to cross the roads. The driving style in Tbilisi is rather er exciting shall we say Its like being in a racing car but without the chequered flag or crossing the tracks while everybody is going the other way. Certainly it was a great help to have the guest house business card handy for when we arrived at the airport. Three or four taxi drivers put their heads together and worked out where we were going. Not only is Georgian a different language but also a completely unique alphabet. It was a real pleasure to be re... 2007-6-22 06:55:49 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11937 . 2007-6-19 13:46:55 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11804 Three bits of news today 1.My colleague Mike Jozefiak has very kindly sent me the links to some audio clips of our interviews with microbiologists at the 107th ASM General Meeting in Toronto.So simply visit the Multimedia page and voila There will soon be a radio programme featuring the highlights.2.If you would like a takeaway website for your own research pictures blog etc. that you can update anywhere as I am doing on my travels heres a page to visit www.mrsite.co.ukfriends . You can save yourself 1635 just by mentioning amazingphage.info. Easier than Easy Website Kit is a fair description in my opinion.3.Heres your chance of a lifetime if you are a British citizen resident in the UK. The 2008 categories for a Churchill Fellowship have just been announced. If you have a worthwhile idea too the Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship will help you turn your ambition into a reality as they have done for me with this Science and Technology research project into the health value of ... 2007-6-14 18:17:55 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11731 Its time to start packing the suitcase for the next phase of this research. This time fortunately there will be less luggage and the one suitcase that each person is allowed nowadays will be easier to lift with two people. My bones and muscles are still aching after four weeks travelling in the US and Canada These YouTube videos will give you some idea of the landscape in Georgia. I shall be taking some video footage especially about the health value of bacteriophages perhaps including something about the Phages on the Battlefield project.I am hoping to discuss it at the Embassy as we did in Washington DC.British Embassy Freedom Square Tbilisi 2007-6-12 15:50:52 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11672 SERIOUS SUBJECT With due respect to AA Milne and rice puddingWhat is the matter with medical menThe obvious seems beyond their kenOn bacteriophages theres plenty of gen.What is the matter with medical menWhat is the matter with medical menThe truth of it daily flows from my penOf antibiotics a phage is worth ten.What is the matter with medical menWhat is the matter with medical menPlease dont make me say it again and againSynthetic cures iffy with phage its just whenWhat is the matter with medical menWhat is the matter with medical menIve told all the ministers under Big BenYou might think its all complicated as ZenWhat is the matter with medical menWhat is the matter with medical menDo they run round not seeing like a headless henOr for modified phage have a patenting yenWhat is the matter with medical menWhat is the matter with medical menNow theyre poking at pyocins in some dark denWhile round them phage wave from each bog sewer and fenWhat is the matter with medical menFor Amazi... 2007-6-10 09:08:58 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11613 Congratulations to my UK colleague Richard Hobday PhD who is a research fellow at the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of the West of England. His excellent book The Light Revolution is featured in a full page book review right at the front of Hospital Development magazine May 07 on Page 8. There are numerous key people including the whole of the Public Accounts Committee and other MPs who know about this wonderful book. They have read for themselves that sunlight and vitamin D are vital for our health and wellbeing. It is yet another thing that seems to have been forgotten about over the yearsAnd we cant patent sunlight alter it or stop it can weCover Price 1639.99Price from Findhorn Press Affiliates 1637.99 2007-6-8 10:28:15 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11611 The sad part is that while most pharma companies want to be innovative a lot of the regulatory agencies within the individual countries are so far behind the times... The thought of actively introducing a virus into an organism scares most to death... I thought you might like to read this perspective from Jamie Critelli of Novartis Animal Health. It sums up the findings of several people and will be a valuable addition to my Science and Technology report for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust about the health value of bacteriophages. It is just a matter of explaining to people calmly and firmly that most viruses the bacteriophage family are utterly harmless to other living things all except for their one target bacterium. Bacteriophages are the most numerous life forms on Earth thank goodness and they are pretty helpful around the place too. Whatever is there to be scared of Perhaps youd like to visit the Giant Microbes online toyshop sometime. There are lots of cute a... 2007-6-8 09:20:26 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11594 I am receiving some interesting correspondence thank you. The most recent one is from a doctor in India and unfortunately I am unable to reply directly because the email address is incomplete. However it is a very good question and it deserves an answer. Message Can bacteriophages be used for pathogen control in sewageMy answer is yes naturally that is their job.Well what would your answer be 2007-6-7 13:22:09 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11569 House of Commons debate Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide BillJohn Redwood Wokingham Conservative httpwww.theyworkforyou.comdebateid20070605a.160.1Of course when I say that those cases could be covered by the legislation that would be with a view to investigating whether theproperly stringenttests in the legislation were met. One hopes that that would be so in no case or in very few cases because this is a serious matter. In an intervention on the Minister I said that I feared that the 5890 deaths in 2005 from MRSA and C. difficile in hospitals would be excluded and he seemed to agree. There is some legal feeling however that all those might be able to be investigated. Again one hopes that none or very few would result in that kind of prosecution. Gerry Sutcliffe Parliamentary UnderSecretary Ministry of Justice To reassure the right hon. Gentleman I can tell him that if it could be proved that criminal negligence took place such cases would not be exempt. ... 2007-6-6 15:08:13 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11473 A local podiatrist has shown me photographic evidence of foot wounds healed in this way. Its about oxygenating the cells.He would like to conduct a clinical trial and he just needs some volunteers. 2007-6-3 08:20:17 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11447 These three weeks in the UK are a chance to see my family and help the other Trustees of our local Citizens Advice Bureaux with raffle prizes and tickets for a fundraising Curry and Quiz evening on 23rd June although I shall be away at the time. I am doing a Google map for all the lovely prizes with photos acknowledging the businesses kindly donating them so I hope it will be worth the effort Its a very worthy cause much needed in the Reigate and Banstead district of South East England. With any luck the tickets will be snapped up like hot cakes.Prizes and details httpmaps.google.co.ukmapsmsieUTF8ampoeUTF8ampqampmsa0ampmsid101769230756733537401.000001120a946e68588ccamphlenampom1ampz8ampll51.8629240.22522ampspn1.4688253.614502Flyer www.relaxwell.co.uk Yet there are so many messages to pass on because of the phage researchMy neighbours have been very helpful with mowing the lawn while I was travelling around the USA and Canada for 4 weeks. Maytime of course is the fastest growing seaso... 2007-6-2 08:07:42 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11272 Heres another choice gem fit for framingPlease note I was given phage therapy for periodontitis at the Phage Therapy Center Tbilisi Georgia in March 2007. It solved the problem in about three days rather than 4 months of doxycycline where I would have had to stay out of the sun and was not advised anything about vitamin D. From the MHRA 2nd May 2007 Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines Division...Treatment with doxycycline should cease at the first sign of erythema. This information is given in the prescribing advice so that healthcare professionals are informed and are able to hold a discussion with their patient about the risks and benefits of treatment with doxycycline. With regard to phages I am pleased that you have derived benefit from this technique and I would like to thank you for offering to share your knowledge with us. At present however we are not aware of the need to draw on this knowledge. Dear oh dear. Why do I bother quoting from the Summary of Product Chara... 2007-5-28 11:58:23 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11271 Now back in the UK it is time to turn to my correspondence and feed back to you some choice gems This first one is very short and sweet Many thanks for your letter. You are absolutely right about sunlight people forget history they seem to have forgotten that airing beds in the morning is a great way of reducing infection too. Thank you for writing. With kind regards Yours sincerely Lord McColl PROFESSOR THE LORD MCCOLL CBE MS FRCS FACSHouse of Lords London SW1A 0PWIt is really nice to see some common sense in the corridors of power and seats of learning.Imagine the headlines Government funds 40 years microbiology research and clinical trials to dither about whether we should air our beds in the morning 2007-5-27 11:30:50 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11269 Niagara Falls with Dr Lasha Gogokhia and Professor Elizabeth Kutter Research from audio and video interviews meetings and exhibits will form part of the official report for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust on completion of all three phases of this project USACanada Georgia Poland.You are invited to post a comment below add your details to the Amazing Phage mailing list or get in touch meanwhile via the contact form. 2007-5-25 10:38:42 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11192 Thank you to all the scientists who have added to my research today. It was lovely to meet with Betty Kutter she drew a little cartoon phage for me in my Winston Churchill book. Now it is packed with signatures and goodwill messages from people all over the world I met Rose Cooper Rodney Donlan Alexander Sulakvelidze Peter Baum Jeff Miller Peter Taylor Lin Tao Parvis Sabour Ketie Gabiti Andrea Zelmer Udit Minocha and many more. I am just making a note that I need to hear from David Elliott at the Ministry of Defence it is all about Anthrax and bioterrorism. Please would they have a little word with the Medical Research Council If he would like to give me a call Ill explain. Sadly I have had a reply today from my MPs assistant that they are still far too busy to forward my PowerPoint presentation to the Minister at the MoD because they are dealing with other healthrelated issues in our constituency saving a hospital and also something to do with Iran. Oh well maybe the bacteria... 2007-5-24 20:51:01 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11188 Its Wednesday so it must be Toronto the 107th General Meeting for the American Society for Microbiology. My UK colleague Mike Jozefiak has met up and this makes everything much easier for me since he has already discovered in the previous 24 hours exactly how to find ones way round the city obtained weekly passes for the transport system and also attended the press briefing on the first day. He had raised a few questions about bacteriophages. Hopefully the other people there would now have heard the word at least. It is daft really. Phages are considered to be a specialized subject hardly anyone in the general public has even heard of them and yet we were to be assured during one of the afternoon presentations that bacteriophages are the most numerous life forms on earth That is something isnt it The estimation is ten to the power of 31 10000000000000000000000000000000. The symposium room had enough space for maybe 150200 at any one time. Many of the rooms were much la... 2007-5-23 18:46:03 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11097 The MRSA Survivors Network is a support group for people with the methicillinresistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Jeanine Thomas the founder showed me a recent article from the Chicago Tribune and the text of a Bill that would require hospitals to improve the prevention of these bloodstream infections. Illinois lawmakers are considering legislation by 31st May. It would require mandatory screening for Intensive Care Units isolating At Risk patients and strict adherence to hand hygiene ADI Active Detection Isolation. She is a former Travel Executive having worked with the Marketing Director for the Tourist Office in Thailand. Jeanine has degrees in athletics Biology and also history Political Science and also happens to be a champion tennis player Always in very good health Jeanine had an ambition to go to Wimbledon where my late fatherinlaw Eric Filby was a semifinalist during the 30s discovered by none less than the great Fred Perry. I could see that Jeanine ... 2007-5-21 09:01:31 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11044 A couple of days in the fresh air of Virginia Beach have highlighted more contrasts in climate and vegetation. The ChesapeakeBay area is home to plenty of wildlife as well as being a very civilised place for human beings. I have seen pelicans nesting ospreys white egrets cardinal birds woodpeckers hummingbirds and of course the usual rabbits and squirrels in the tall wooded areas. Flying above Norfolk Aiport on Sunday en route to my next destination in Illinois I could see the massive dock area in Virginia and maybe the military base the rivers and creeks plus bridges somehow that had made travelling round the area so simple. Along the coastline were the long lazy stretches of golden white sand smiling at the Atlantic Ocean. There is even a 17mile long bridge here. It is only just one week before the summer season starts so I had managed to avoid tourist crowds but the temperature has been very variable. How blissful to have started each day in the LaneRoberts abode with a mug of tea... 2007-5-20 18:06:01 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#11031 The purpose of my visit to Washington DC was a meeting with the Policy Adviser for Science and Innovation. He already had the PowerPoint presentation by email so my role was basically to establish face to face contact summarise the key points and put forward a bold suggestion. It would benefit the whole Phages in the battlefield project enormously if some military transportation could be laid on so will it be the UK Ministry of Defence or maybe the US Dept of Defence The project is going to happen anyway if necessary by separate fundraising through the Phage Biotics Foundation but military flights would be quicker and cheaper and avoid lots of paperwork numerous visas and changes of flights between different countries. Of course at present there are no direct flights from Baghdad to Tbilisi However it is a very nice airport I can assure you. The doctors and surgeons and microbiologists going on the training programme to Tbilisi would also need accommodation and then ideally th... 2007-5-18 17:30:16 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10970 There was a Westminster Hall debate yesterday about the closure of a local hospital. TheyWorkForYou.com just sent me the text many thanks. What do you think about thisThe Minister of State for Health Andy Burnham said It can be difficult to get older people to use public transport.Oops. It can be difficult for older people to use public transport. Yes httpwww.theyworkforyou.comwhallid20070516a.274.0ampsspeaker3A10766g277.0 2007-5-17 12:03:26 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10958 This picture gives an idea of the fountains at the WW2 Memorial here in Washington DC. The video footage is really exhilarating. Picture courtesy of www.dcphototour.com 2007-5-16 19:54:15 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10955 I dont intend to tread on your toes Im aiming for your heart. Julie was telling me that these were the words of a preacher when he had a message to deliver. This is what we are doing with the message about phages. It was time to say goodbye and thank you to all these lovely people that had offered me their welcome and hospitality and shared what they had learned about the health value of bacteriophages so many people to mention Yvonne Lorrie Danny Rick Maria Paul Bray Dr Wolcott Susan Dan Samantha Erin Debbie Lori Heather Lydia Ben and more. Every moment was valuable every conversation and every hug. There were also lots of little gestures of affection the miniature red rose that Cathy and Roy had brought for me from their garden in Levelland. It was especially sweet yesterday since I realised that it would have been my 30th wedding anniversary Also Dan had thoughtfully saved the am580 radio program as an MP3 file on the memory stick and Paul thank goodness noticed just in ... 2007-5-15 18:36:29 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10873 Paul a UK medical student has arrived at the Woundcare Center from Sheffield University for a sixweek elective. We were shown the recent phage movie Killer Virus set in Tbilisi Georgia and now the conversation was moving forward. Lasha started telling us about an idea from a month ago that he has been discussing with Betty Kutter in Washington State by email. It is based on some research that was done with phages in the battlefield when several factions of soldiers were fighting in Georgia during the Civil War times of of the early 1990s. Of course the risk of gunshot wounds was great I have seen the bullet holes in the streets with my own eyes A number of soldiers had been issued with spray canisters of approximately 17 different phages in their first aid kits for immediate use if they were shot whereas others were not. Would it make any difference to whether a wounded soldier would develop a purulent infection Yes it certainly did the lesson being that phage sprayed on fresh gun... 2007-5-14 15:07:00 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10806 httpwww.youtube.comwatchvEl9NICCEvsDescription Chronic biofilm infections of wounds can be removed naturally and painlessly with maggot therapy to enable healing to take place. Location Southwest Regional Wound Care Center Lubbock Texas. Other strategies include phage therapy surgical debridement ultrasonic debridement hyperbaric oxygen lactoferrin xylitol etc.. More information at www.amazingphage.infotags wound biofilm bacteria maggot therapy infection clinicThe footage showing the maggots after a couple of days is reserved for the full length feature program one day and for special requests Description After maggot therapy on chronic biofilm infections various strategies can be used to speed up healing e.g. phage therapy gallium silver wound dressings lactoferrin. xylitol bark powder honey extracts. Location Southwest Regional Wound Care Center Lubbock Texas. Further information www.amazingphage.info wound biofilm bacteria maggot therapy infection clini... 2007-5-11 21:10:52 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10805 This morning there was a contrast a patient attending the clinic in chains and handcuffs accompanied by two officers and brought over from the County Jail. The wall display of souvenirs from Georgia was temporarily altered so that the two ceremonial knivesdaggers were removed from the hook for an hour or so. This is an extraordinary educational experience 2007-5-9 20:53:49 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10804 After several hours Wikipedia editing it was a pleasant change to see Roys wife Cathy at the door inviting me to join them for a JapaneseChinese meal out. Yes I had my umbrella again and there were some medical errands to do first. As we drove straight through floods 15 deep and way over the sidewalks Roy quipped One day we fly and the next day we float My favourite Texan joke so far Q How do you make holy water A You put it on the stove and boil the devil out of it Right in front of us at the road junction was a big truck and some roadworkers busy filling in a pothole with tarmac but it was still pouring with rain Thats Texas for you. OK Texas may have the biggest floods but I added from my knowledge of Reigate Surrey and Tbilisi Georgia not the biggest potholes. Roy has to decide finally whether he needs to retire from the Postal Service because of his traumatic leg wounds. If only he had been allowed to work in the office sitting down instead of being on the floor everyday.... 2007-5-8 20:51:55 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10803 Lori and Lasha in the lab are also encouraging me along Lasha the MD from Georgia feels that journalism about phage therapy still puts far too much emphasis on the notion that this science is Soviet. It is not. Here we are in the USA. Thousands of other phage scientists all over the world are doing great things and perhaps it is the clinical trials process that takes time before the announcement of the huge potential for the 21st century. I wonder if the British Embassy will be ready for all this new groundbreaking stuff arriving behind the scenes from professors in key US universities I recall that on Sunday after church one of the 16 yearold boys happened to mention that they had learned in school about bacteriophages from their Science textbooks. HURRAH Yes I agree with Lasha the Former Soviet label still brings up huge preconceived ideas in many peoples minds. Here we are in 2007. Soviet political history does not explain anything at all about the Science or the Technology o... 2007-5-8 20:49:20 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10800 My meeting this morning with paediatric cardiologist Mindee Flippin here in Lubbock was really interesting. She was explaining that there is a great need to prevent bacterial infections with the pipework necessary for tracheotomies especially from the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Now we have brainstormed the very simple possibility of phages for this and the research study was done last year on catheters in Montana so perhaps a clinical trial will be the next step Again I shall watch and wait.I also had the pleasure of meeting two more patients a little boy with MRSA boils from Austin Texas visiting with his parents. After a lot of research of their own they feel that phage therapy could sort it out very easily. Meanwhile they are going to try a healthy regimen including probiotics and now they can make contact with some of the support networks that there are in the US. Afterwards I met up with Jan and Billy Elliott who visit the Wound Care Center from time to time from the ... 2007-5-7 19:30:05 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10801 A quick email to Peter Josling author of the Allicin book and expert on the healing power of garlic prompted an immediate response with superb before and after evidence of wound healing in his case studies. Here at the Wound Care Center we are just wondering now about how it was applied topically or orally and in what amounts. During the afternoon appointment with the patient who received maggot therapy Dr Wolcott decided that multiple strategies were now going to be necessary to heal the large leg wounds and prevent the blistering skin in other places from becoming infected too. This would include phages now. It was a great honour and surprise to be invited by the patient and his wife to spend the rest of the day with them so there was plenty of time to chat. I explained about my experience with phages then showed them my toy superbug model with phages made of felt pipecleaners and net with little wobbly eyes artistic licence since phages of course are viruses and almost robotic... 2007-5-4 19:30:36 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10799 Today was a chance to see the gels being put into tubes ABBA stands for Anti Bacterial Biofilm Agent active ingredients Lactoferrin and Xylitol. Heck this is free advertising Lactoferrin is a protein from cows milk colostrum that fights infection by sopping up the iron that microbed require to grow. A filing for GRAS status generally recognised as safe is under review by the FDA. I hear that the WCC are hoping to obtain tome of the effluent from the University Medical Center sewer because that would give a source of local phages that would work well with patients in Texas. I offer to help and we will go over there soon perhaps. Collecting sewage not in that dress please says one of the staff Next stop was the microbiology lab at Texas Tech thanks to Lasha the doctor from Georgia who is based at the WCC. His colleague phage scientist Ben Burrowes from Brighton UK is very busy engineering phages. He showed me the posters detailing before and after photos of several patients and ho... 2007-5-3 19:27:30 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10798 It is delightful to find on checking the mail that other colleagues and friends are offering their support and spreading messages back in the UK. I can still laugh at the daft notion that even by 5 oclock on Sunday when I had only just started out the UK was already going to the dogs It is very sad that so many people have died from C.diff infections in just one UK hospital yet the lessons learned by the Health Care Commissions official investigation specifically itemising hydration and nutrition were never picked up on. Probiotics and nutritional supplement recommendations by the dieticians had not been followed through by the nursing staff and still I suspect that the vital message is being overlooked all the way down the line. It is not rocket science to realise that if you are killing both good and bad bacteria indiscriminately with antibiotics you need to routinely put back the good ones. I write a comment from Lubbock Texas in response to this weeks news item in a UK tablo... 2007-5-2 19:24:58 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10797 Phage science has inspired scientists and doctors for 90 years across the world despite financial impoverishment civil war ruined equipment and failed electricity supplies even worse. There has been a lack of research funding false and careless reporting in the press and even refusal to publish anything. Yet at individual level phages have inspired magnificent artwork huge dedicated scientific gatherings cartoons humour videos pilgrimages websites poems toys and even a photo of a gingerbread cake. The official line is that more research is needed. How uninspiring. Research is taking place nevertheless. The singlestorey greenroofed Wound Care Center in Lubbock stands smartly in the medical district with green lawned edges and a parking lot much of it covered to protect the vehicles from hailstones. The weather is renowned for its extremes here even brown snow full of dust. But at present as we approach the first of May we have pleasant spring sunshine. Inside is a haven of wound c... 2007-5-1 19:20:45 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10796 It was in the news recently that the Food Standards Agency decided to ban the advertising to children of honey because it makes them fat. What a strange thing to do when it is clinically proven that honey fights infections heals wounds and is good for maintaining a healthy immune system Apart from that nurses and experienced mums everywhere know and without clinical trials that a little sucrose solution works wonders with newborns in soothing them especially from procedural distress. Honey especially is concentrated goodness provided by nature. Perhaps thats how some kids were getting overweight in the first place perhaps the cause was too much stress and not enough comfort and sweetness that distracts them from pain. Banning advertising is a bit extreme isnt it Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins have taught us for generations about what is wholesome and what helps the medicine go down. When something so natural as honey is recommended by example and word of mouth even in song who n... 2007-4-30 19:18:53 http://www.amazingphage.info/page6.htm#10795 Its approximately a ninehour flight to Texas and the weather forecast is good. The brilliant blue sky fades so gently to white as the eye is drawn lower to appreciate the rich tapestry of land mass beneath. A few short hours are sufficient to witness the intricate coves and coastlines of the Isle of Man Northern Ireland the constant blue of the Atlantic then the vast frozen wastelands in Northern Canada serving as a great buffer to this ancient and everevolving planet. It is possible to see massive long wide streaks carved through the tundra manmade tattoos. How glorious that we can fly overhead with a screen directly in front of us advising us silently and electronically of our whereabouts the main cities the rivers and what to expect with the time zones and the temperature. The colour scheme for the physical map of N. America is rather unrealistically green I prefer to remember the way the sunlight has shimmered delightfully on the mountain lakes and streams connecting the va... 2007-4-29 19:15:29