Biophysicists unravel cellular 'traffic jams' in active transport

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Inside many growing cells, an active transport system runs on nano-sized microtubule tracks that resemble a highway, complete with motors carrying cargo quickly from a central supply depot to growing tips or wherever materials are needed. In spite of the cell's busy, high-traffic environment, researchers know the system somehow works efficiently, without accidents or traffic jams.

Now a team of biophysicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, using a special technique and unique microscope, have improved upon earlier studies that used too-simple models not able to account for the densely crowded, dynamic conditions in a real cell. The new work, led by biophysicist Jennifer Ross, greatly advances understanding of how active transport proceeds smoothly, particularly in long cells such as neurons where it is vital to their survival. Findings appear in the current early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

Ross says, "What others learned from the simpler models and experiments gave insight into how single motors work, how load affects velocity, and how single motors are stopped by static objects such as microtubule-associated proteins or intersections. But so many questions remained, such as what happens in a high-traffic with many other motors? How can single motors and cargos with many motors efficiently maneuver?"

With this work, she says, "We're getting closer to understanding the more complex, crowded environment of the cell and how large objects, like organelles, can be moved from the cell body in your spine out to your big toe along a neuron one meter long. Although previous studies thought that traffic would be a problem because it would cause motors to detach, we found it is not a problem for an organelle because there are so many motors. We found that the traffic would slow you down, but not enough to hurt any essential processes. It would take the organelle 12 days instead of six to travel a meter."

A key to Ross and colleagues' experimental system is a custom-built, single-molecule total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope she built for her laboratory. It is much brighter than commercially available instruments and gives researchers the remarkable ability to see and photograph individual molecules in real time.

For this investigation exploring the effect of high traffic on active transport via microtubules, they also used quantum dots (Qdots), a nanocrystal of semiconductor material that fluoresces in different colors based on size, making them useful biological probes, Ross points out. "We use them as a stand-in, a model for common cellular cargo such as a mitochondrion, after we discovered that they bind to multiple cellular kinesin motors. If individual motors are like cars, Qdots are a bus," she adds.

The transportation analogy works remarkably well for understanding the molecular-level active transport system, says Ross. The multi-lane nano-scale microtubule system in a cell is like a multi-lane highway along which essential cargo is moved. An organelle needed at the growing tip floats around until it finds a microtubule. Kinesin motors with two "feet" that fit neatly into the tracks then latch onto it and "walk" along toward the goal in prescribed footprints.

But a basic problem for the motors is they cannot change lanes. If they come upon a slow-moving or stopped motor in the track, all traffic stops in that lane and cargo may be released. This led earlier observers to assert that stalled protein on the microtubules, a "traffic jam," poses a threat to active transport. Yet Ross says evidence doesn't support this view; somehow cells find a way to use active transport smoothly and successfully.

In the UMass Amherst experiments, she says, "We're trying to find out how cells do this, work without accidents or stalls. We set up experiments in which we kept adding motors to see what happens in a high traffic situation." An unusual quality of the Qdots, Ross adds, is that they attach to multiple motors and move along all lanes of traffic at once.

The researchers use three colors for labeling the Qdots, 10 percent of the motors and the microtubules, then take videos in real time to measure how far the single-track motor moves in a given time compared to how far the Qdot goes. They also measured how fast each component moved and how much time each spent on the microtubule.

"We were surprised at first because the Qdot could move eight or 10 microns along the track in these high-traffic situations when a single motor could almost not move at all. Then we realized the Qdot had multiple motors attached and further, it could take on or let go of motors while still holding onto the other parts of the track. They might have 10 motors bound with 20 feet on several tracks. So even if a single motor gets hung up, the cargo can still move," Ross explains.

"Interestingly, the Qdot and single-motor velocities were identical, so they didn't go any faster, they just stayed on longer and it enabled them to go farther. We have showed that having multiple motors is one way a cell can handle high traffic situations in active transport."

"We've shown that high traffic is not an issue. It slows things down but it does not stop transport. I think this is a big discovery. Others before us have said that traffic could bring it all to a halt, but it turns out that if you have multiple motors it would solve this problem."

###

University of Massachusetts at Amherst: http://www.umass.edu

Thanks to University of Massachusetts at Amherst for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125689/Biophysicists_unravel_cellular__traffic_jams__in_active_transport_

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Chiefs begin picking up pieces after heartache

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? The Kansas City Chiefs returned to work Monday at their practice facility near Arrowhead Stadium, trying to find a sense of normalcy after two days of unimaginable heartache.

It proved nearly impossible to do.

The locker that once belong to Jovan Belcher, the linebacker who killed his girlfriend and then turned the gun on himself Saturday, still had all his belongings in it. His shoes were piled up on the floor and freshly laundered clothes hung from a hook.

To enter the building, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli had to walk past the place in the parking lot where Belcher put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, and Crennel admitted that an unsettling feeling came over him.

Teammates gathered in meetings and to watch film from Sunday's 27-21 win against the Carolina Panthers, one that ended an eight-game losing streak. They couldn't help but notice the empty seat that once belonged to their close friend.

"We have to deal with the events of the last few days, and it's not over, and it may not be over for some of us for most of our lives, but time heals all wounds, and so we're going to start working on the time thing," said Crennel, who's been a rock for everyone in the organization.

"It was like coming to work like you normally do," he said. "Now you think about the events as you walk through the door and walk through the parking lot, but you know the events are over, and you can't undo them. All you can do is work for the future and toward the future."

Following the emotional victory over Carolina, Crennel declined to discuss many of the details surrounding Belcher's suicide. He shared a bit more on Monday while attempting to prepare his team for the next game, including his exchange with the linebacker moments before his death.

"I was trying to get him to understand that life is not over, he still has a chance and let's get this worked out," said Crennel, who didn't know about Perkins' murder while he talked to Belcher.

Crennel, who has coached at the college or pro level for more than 40 years, said he had never seen Belcher with a gun before, and expressed his concerns over players owning firearms without knowing the laws.

"Generally what we've attempted to do was tell them to know the law, turn your gun in to our security people, let us hold onto it and then after that, if you need it, you can take it home," he said. "You can go put it in your safe or whatever you need to do with it, but the law allows for them to have guns."

Much of Monday seemed quite normal for the Chiefs.

They gathered for their normal team meetings in the morning, and watched video of their win over Carolina. They broke mid-afternoon to begin planning for next Sunday's visit to Cleveland.

Still, there were signs at every turn that nothing was quite as usual.

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt routinely sticks around the day after a game, but this time he was there to lend support to an organization in mourning. Chaplains were also at the facility, as were outside counselors brought in to help players and staff come to grips with tragedy.

"It's new territory for everyone," tight end Tony Moeaki said. "We're all trying to figure out how to handle the situation. We're just trying to take it one day at a time, come into meetings ? it's nice to be in meetings, watching film. Your mind's not on it as much."

Linebacker Brandon Siler said he spent Thanksgiving with Belcher, and "it was Thanksgiving as you know it, all laughs and praying and loving."

"It was hard to walk back in the parking lot, but it was harder to sit in the meetings," Siler said. "He sits right beside me. That was hard. You keep looking at that seat, thinking he was going to show up at some time, you know? That's hard."

Players were also struggling to reconcile the man they knew with the man who murdered 22-year-old Kasandra M. Perkins, and who left a 3-year-old girl, Zoey, an orphan.

"I try not to do it, really," right tackle Eric Winston said. "I just try to accept the fact who he was pre, and who he was after, and I'm not sure those thoughts can live together, but until the end of the season, that's just going to have to do."

Yes, there is still a season to be played.

The Chiefs visit the Browns on Sunday and visit Oakland the following week, before returning home to play Indianapolis. Their season finale is Dec. 30 at Denver.

"It's something that there is no textbook on how to handle, and how to feel, and there's a lot of emotions, confusing emotions," center Ryan Lilja said. "But we're going to try to get back to football as best we can, and let guys grieve whatever way they need to, and be respectful of that, but we need to try to be back on football, and it's going to be tough."

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chiefs-begin-picking-pieces-heartache-223049825--nfl.html

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Kenyan candidates facing ICC cases to run jointly in vote

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Two Kenyan presidential hopefuls indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly inciting post-election violence said on Sunday they intend to join forces in next year's vote by running on the same ticket.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former cabinet minister William Ruto announced the deal at a rally hosted by Ruto's United Republican Party and Kenyatta's The National Alliance party in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru, 140 km northwest of the capital Nairobi.

Under the agreement, Kenyatta will seek the presidency and former rival Ruto will be his vice presidential running mate.

"We have agreed here to make a government with Uhuru Kenyatta as the president, and William Ruto will be the vice president. We have agreed that God-willing, next year URP and TNA will form the next government," Ruto told thousands of supporters gathered in a stadium.

The Hague-based ICC said in July that four prominent Kenyans, including Kenyatta and Ruto, would be tried for their alleged roles in fuelling bloodshed in 2007 and 2008 that killed more than 1,200 people. All deny wrongdoing.

Their trials for crimes against humanity were set for April 2013, a month after presidential elections in east Africa's largest economy.

Next year's election will be the first under a new constitution and the first since the 2007 poll that led to the violence. Kenya had previously been a relative haven of peace in a troubled region.

Ruto and Kenyatta's pairing raises the prospect of having Kenya's sitting president under indictment in the Hague.

Although both have said they will heed the April summons, there is speculation they will not appear. Many western governments had wanted the two men to face the court before the election.

"We have agreed we are uniting on behalf of the people of Kenya. Our alliance is not for fighting anyone. We are uniting for the sake of the people of Kenya," said Kenyatta.

A Kenyan non-governmental organisation known as the International Centre for Peace and Conflict filed suit on Friday at the Kenyan High Court challenging Ruto and Kenyatta's suitability for elective office, given their cases at the Hague. The suit was filed after a similar case against the two was withdrawn.

The indictment of an elected president would put Kenya in situation similar to that of Sudan, where President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC to face charges of genocide and other atrocities.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kenyan-candidates-facing-icc-cases-run-jointly-vote-164849106.html

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Wildfire in Rocky Mountain National Park prompts evacuations

DENVER (Reuters) - A wind-driven wildfire in Rocky Mountain National Park northwest of Denver jumped containment lines overnight, triggering the evacuation of hundreds of people on Saturday, fire officials said.

Wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour blew flames from the so-called Fern Lake Fire close to dwellings and destroyed at least one cabin, said fire spokeswoman Traci Weaver.

The east side of the park was closed, and authorities called 1,100 cell and home phones, warning people to either evacuate or prepare to leave quickly if winds drive flames their way.

About 200 people went to stay at an evacuation center in a high school in nearby Estes Park after evacuations were ordered early on Saturday, said Nick Christensen, spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

There are no reports of any injuries, Christensen said.

The forced evacuations represented a dangerous development in firefighters' efforts to quell the stubborn Fern Lake Fire, which has burned for nearly two months.

Efforts to battle the fire have been hampered by the steep, rugged terrain, gusty winds that have restricted air resources, and a lack of precipitation, Weaver said.

The blaze, which has blackened some 1,550 acres, was ignited in October by an illegal campfire and is burning through stands of beetle-killed trees.

It was about 40 percent contained before the overnight flare-up, officials said.

Winds subsided after daybreak Saturday, Weaver said, and two heavy air tankers from Southern California were dispatched to the fire. "What we really need is snow," he said.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver: Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wildfire-rocky-mountain-national-park-prompts-evacuations-044856795.html

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Copper has died; Long live Copper in our hearts. (Thoughts on ...

Note: part of this was begun on Monday, November 26, a day before Copper died.

He was terminal. He was not going to get better. His bone marrow was not producing red blood cells and the RBCs he had were dying. He was dying. He was not that same dog that would jump from five steps up?to get to the door to go outside. He didn?t want his favorite treat. He turned his head when I tried to give him?a cooked turkey liver.

It was painful; not for him but for me as I watched him waste away by the hour. He was not suffering, physically. A low RBC, at?its basic level, causes a person to be tired, lethargic. That?was Copper, sometimes too tired to lift his head.?It was not natural. It was not Copper.

(Below was?written on the 26th. I have tried not to edit it as the writing was fresh and raw)

He was ?hospitalized? at the vet?s office and given an IV of meds to help him get better. Many tests were done and many things were ruled out but it was hard to come up with an answer as to why he was so ill; he looked healthy. Comparing blood tests started showing that his blood was deteriorating but the vet did not know if it was a production problem or a destruction problem.

We now have answers and have to look at what is best for our dog, our family member. Copper is not producing red blood cells. And the blood cells that he has are looking very tired. Soon he will not have any red blood cells in his body.

What does this mean to a dog or a person? Well, he gets tired very easily; he is lethargic; he has lost his appetite. That is because the red blood cells move oxygen around the body. That is not happening. Copper also has low platelets. That is actually why he was initially taken to the vet, he kept bleeding from the nose and mouth. It was just odd, but that is what happens when there are not enough platelets, you bleed, or when you start, it is hard to stop.

We had plans to be away from home for Thanksgiving. We did not know how Copper was going to handle us being away so we left him with the vet and kept our Tinkerbelle at home with our niece. When I went to pick up Copper today, we had one last blood test to confirm what the vet had feared; Copper was dying and it would not be long before he was dead. Through many tears, I learned all I needed to know to be able to go home and share with the family our options.

I now await the arrival of?our children to discuss the end of life plan for our dearest family member, Copper. I brought Copper home so we can share our last moments, to have closure, to say to him what we need to say, to say good-bye. It is hard to believe that soon he will no longer be physically with us.

(That is all I could write. The rest was written today and is still wrought with emotion but there have been a few days to process what has happened)

Murphy?s Law?went into action. Talking to the family did not go as planned. My son did not get my text because his phone had died so he did not come home right after school. I had to pick my daughter up from school because?my son did not get my text. Conversations were done individually.

The initial discussion happened with my husband as soon as Copper and I got home from the vet?s. Through a bucket full of tears, we talked about, not what was best for us but, what was best for Copper. He needed to be allowed to be at peace. I cannot say that he needed to be without pain because I could tell that he was not in pain. You live with someone for nine and a half years, you get to know them and he was not in pain; he was sad. The life that he had in his eyes before we went away for Thanksgiving was gone. Before he had a sparkle; that was gone. He was oh so skinny. He had lost 5 pounds, more than 25% of his body weight in three weeks.

Kent and I decided that we would have a discussion with our children about ending his misery. Kent went ahead and called Dr. Johnson and made an appointment to have him put down the next day. Our thought was, we could always cancel the appointment if the kids were not on board.

NOW, let me tell you, I believe in euthanasia. I have believed in euthanasia for as long as I can remember. I wrote term papers on passive euthanasia in high school and college. I gave speeches on euthanasia. Kent and I signed Living Wills, as soon as we were married, stating that we did not want to be kept alive by artificial means if there was no hope of recovery. We had that discussion again when a friend of ours was in a bicycle accident. It is not something that we don?t talk about. It is something that we discuss with family so everyone knows how we feel.

I spoke with my daughter as I drove the 10 miles from the high school to home. She asked if she needed to take over driving as the tears ran down my cheeks. But I said no because I needed something to concentrate on, even if it was only driving a road that I have driven thousands of times. She knew what I was going to say. She had been preparing since I had sent the text 5 hours prior. She knew and she knew that Copper needed to be released. She was not fine but she was okay.

My son got home after martial arts and we had the talk. I can still hear him say, ?Oh, Copper,? the way he did almost every day. I told him, as I had told?my daughter, that he needed to say his goodbyes because tomorrow was the day.

Monday was a blur. And Tuesday came too quickly.

We have a dog door that goes into the garage where the dogs have a special place to get out of Nebraska weather. There are also dog houses and chairs for them to sit on outside, when the weather is nice. Needless to say, our dogs are very spoiled.

Well, we put Copper in the garage to be with Tinkerbelle and I would go out an check on him frequently. There were a few times throughout the day, I would go out and lie next to him, stroke his soft, curly hair and just talk. Talk to him about how much I loved him and how lucky we were to have him in our lives. I told him that what we were doing was to make him well in another place (I do believe that an animal?s life does not end here on Earth. I have to believe that) I also told him I was sorry because what we were doing, no matter how much I thought it was the correct decision, was a hard decision.

About?45 minutes?before he was to go to the vet?s, I picked him up; he was no longer able to walk much of a distance without tripping or falling. I took him outside and told him to ?go potty?. He stumbled around a little and then I picked him up and brought him inside. I sat holding him on the ?dog sofa?. It was the last time I would hold him. His head lie limply on my chest. I was hoping he could hear my heart beat and know that it was more than just an organ that pushed blood throughout my body. I was hoping he knew that it was a heart that was breaking, that was so full of love, that it needed to let him go so? he could be healed. I just took it all in and prayed that there really was a Rainbow Bridge that our pets crossed over to another life.

It was decided that Tinkerbelle would go to the vet?s with me so she knew that Copper had died. She needed to know that Copper was not coming home. She had seen him leave over the past three weeks and he had always come home. Tinkerbelle needed to know that her friend would not be around anymore.

Dr. Johnson told me on Monday that the process would take about 20 minutes but I needed to block out an hour in case his office got busy. He wanted the process to happen without interruption so he wanted me to be prepared to not have things begin at the scheduled time. I was okay with that.

We drove to town and I continued to talk to both dogs the whole way. The tears had not started, yet. Getting out of the car I had Copper in my arms and little Tinkerbelle on a leash. Tinkerbelle was nervous because the last time she was at the vet office was to give a blood transfusion to Copper when we did not have a diagnosis.

(I am going to explain the process and my experience. If you do not want to read about it, please go down to the XXXXXX?s. You can start reading again after that).

It was 4:45. The office was not busy. It was us and the office staff. We were directed into the room where we always go; the exam room where we learned of Copper?s fate. I laid Copper on the cold, stainless steel table and continued stroking his coat. Tinkerbelle was roaming the exam room, shaking like a leaf, not sure what to expect.

The vet and his assistant came into the room and again explained the procedure that was going to occur. He had explained it Monday to make sure that we were completely informed as to what would happen. Euthanasia is derived from two Greek words which together mean ?good death?. That is what we wanted for Copper, a good death.

It was time. I let the assistant take over controlling Copper on the table. It was really not necessary because he was lying there not moving but I moved to petting his head and hoping he felt the love. Doc Johnson leaned over and whispered something in Copper?s ear. I don?t know what?was said, but I imagine it was something about everything was going to be okay, he was going to be in a better place, he was loved. It was their private moment.

At this time, I picked up Tinkerbelle and held her as Copper?s leg was shaved for the injection. A tourniquet was put around his leg and Doc tried to find the vein. ?That vein is gone.? Oh wow! He explained that he needed to prep the other back leg. So he moved that leg aside and shaved his other leg and put a tourniquet on it. He?told me that he was able to find that vein and started the injection.

I swear that within 30 seconds he looked at me and said, ?He is gone?. I?looked shocked and said, ?So soon.? He looked at my tear?filled eyes and said, ?He was almost there. He just needed a little help.?

It was peaceful. There was no release of air from his lungs. There were no fluids leaving his body (which I knew was a possibility at death). His eyes stayed open (which I have read is natural). I think?that is why I was so surprised that he was dead. It took less than a minute and his eyes were open. Oh Man! Copper was dead!

Dr. Johnson told his assistant to go get a towel so Copper could be laid on the floor?for Tinkerbelle?to see him. I don?t know if it was the assistant or the doctor that laid Copper on the floor. All I remember is when Copper was picked up, his head flopped back because it was not supported; the sign I needed that confirmed his death. I know that sounds weird but him laying on the table and his chest not rising, did not confirm it for me; the vet saying he was dead did not confirm it. His head flop confirmed it and I was sad.

Tinkerbelle sniffed a little but would not get close to Copper. I put her tennis ball close, but she would not go after it. I knew she knew Copper was dead because nothing would stop Tinkerbelle from going after her tennis ball.

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Dr. Johnson explained, on Monday, that Tinkerbelle would go through the same grieving process that a person goes through. We were not to be surprised if she started ripping up pillows and that was okay because she needed to work through her grief. I have seen a change in Tinkerbelle. She does want to be held more. She does not rollick in the back yard like she did with Copper. She will get better. We just have to be patient. (She still likes her tennis balls though!)

It is?appropriate that as I write this the vet office called and said Copper?s?ashes are ready for pick up. We opted to have him cremated. We will decide at a later date whether to have has ashes stored in an?urn (which my son wants to make in Advanced Pottery) or?have his ashes spread in a favorite spot.

Copper is dead but he will forever live in the heart?s of those who loved him. My grief is not over. But I am better. And I know Copper is better. Two comments were made that?put a smile on my face: from my sister who commented after I sent out an announcement to family and close friends,???I just wondered how Copper was doing. He?s doing GREAT! He and Jake are chasing butterflies beyond the Rainbow Bridge. I?ve got tears for you all and for all our wonderful nonhuman family members. You?re right, they do tell you when they?re ready to go, even if you?re not ready.? And from my neighbor after I posted his ?obituary? on Facebook, ?We all are sorry to hear about Copper.? Will miss seeing him romp through the side yard!??

I am so grateful for the person who envisioned the Rainbow Bridge, a place for our beloved pets to roam after death. Whether it is true or not, whether they cross the Rainbow Bridge or head directly to ?people? Heaven, I have hope that Copper will be with me again, when my time comes. http://www.rainbowbridge.com/hello.htm

Blessings to all of you who have suffered the death of a pet.?Copper?s death?is probably one of the most devastating deaths that I have experienced. He was always true and loving and never judged me (at least I can believe that because he could not speak to me in human speak). There will never be another Copper.

In memory of Hollybriar Copper Wired Van Horn b. 5/21/03 d. 11/27/12

This is the last photo taken of Copper

Source: http://alittlecaffeine.com/2012/12/01/copper-has-died-long-live-copper-in-our-hearts-thoughts-on-euthanasia/

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SMS turns twenty-years-old today

SMS technology turns twenty today. The messaging service is wildly popular among mobile phone subscribers worldwide, but it wasn?t always the go-to service for communication. The idea for SMS was conceived in 1984, but the service didn?t go live until 1992. It remained obscure until 1999, when it finally took off.

The idea for SMS was originally conceived by Finnish engineer Matti?Makkonen, who was meeting with two colleagues for pizza after a mobile telecom conference in 1984. The trio came up with the idea for a messaging system that would work over a GSM cellular network. It took eight years for the technology to go from?a dinner?table idea to a standard accepted by wireless carriers.

On?December 3, 1992, the first text message, containing?the timely greeting ?Merry Christmas,? was sent from Neil Papworth of the British company Sema Group to Vodafone?s Richard Jarvis. Papworth sent the message from his computer to Jarvis? Orbitel 901 handset.

In 1993, SMS service was deployed on a handful of wireless carriers in the US and Europe, but adoption of?the technology was slow. Nokia was the only manufacturer to support user-generated SMS messaging on all its GSM phones, and the technology only worked within each carrier?s network. Customers on a carrier like early adopter Fleet Call (now Nextel) in the US could only send messages to other Fleet Call customers. This changed in 1999 when carriers decided to let subscribers send messages to customers on rival carriers.

In the twenty-years since its debut, SMS has exploded. Today, customers send more than 7 trillion text messages every year at a rate of 200,000 per second. It is estimated that 79 percent of all mobile subscribers worldwide use SMS on their phones, and in some countries like the UK that number is almost 100 percent.

[Via BBC News, BBC news interview and Times of India]

About The Author

Kelly Hodgkins

Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she's not writing, she can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.

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Source: http://www.intomobile.com/2012/12/03/sms-turns-twentyyears-old-today/

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Florida guide uses hunting as rustic therapy for combat veterans

By Bill Briggs

Courtesy John Bennett

John Bennett, shot by a sniper while serving with the Army in Iraq, is one of many wounded veterans to go hunting with the Sportsmen's Foundation for Military Families. He bagged a nine-foot alligator in Florida.

In the swamps and river bottoms near his Florida ranch, outfitter Danny SantAngelo has spent 20 years guiding veterans ? some without arms, legs or sight ? back to soothingly familiar country: in the field, stalking live prey, armed with weapons.

Often, such group hunting excursions were contract jobs that SantAngelo accepted from what he calls "these big, million-dollar-a-year projects for wounded soldiers."

"They take these soldiers and veterans, gather them up from different areas, and take them to a facility like mine where we?d house them, host them and hunt them for a few days," SantAngelo said. "A bunch of soldiers getting together in a camp again, sitting in the woods with guns, and maybe a lot of them even drink too much, so to say. And at the end, they?d high-five each other, hoot and holler and pull out of here.

"We've always donated 100 percent of our services to help these groups. And, of course, I never said no. I always said yes, and did it."

---

?

For SantAngelo, however, that changed three years ago when, during one outing, he spotted a veteran hunter with tears in his eyes.

?He was having a tough time. He confessed to me he couldn?t believe he?d been so selfish and had come. He?d been gone several years on tours, fighting in combat. He?d only been home a couple of months. But now he was off again with a bunch of soldiers, sitting around this campfire,? SantAngelo said. ?He?d felt like he?d walked off and left his family all over again.?Well, I began to see that for these guys, there?s really no benefit afterward.?

As large, organized hunting trips for veterans proliferate in popularity, SantAngelo is changing the rules, at least in his corner of the swamp. He's launched the Sportsmen?s Foundation for Military Families, escorting combat veterans ? and their spouses, children, parents or siblings ? onto land he leases for hunting to spend a few days, as he sees it, of badly needed family bonding.

He?s executing his mission, he said, on a sparse, nonprofit budget, guiding one family per week. His two-person operation ? it?s just SantAngelo and his wife, Carla ? is headquartered on their ranch along the Kissimmee River in central Florida, about 30 miles north of Lake Okeechobee.

?You don?t come here with a couple of war buddies. You come here to be with your family,? SantAngelo said. ?We try to support the people who suffered back home while their hero was away.

?So many of these vets go on different hunting trips all over the country. But I see a lot of bad things going on out there through these big nonprofit groups," SantAngelo said. "A lot of these guys are on medications (for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). They get there with a group of guys they don?t even know. They go to drinking while on medications. Not good. So you have veterans researching all these free hunting trips that are out there for them. But those trips have nothing to do with their families. And what do they really get out of that? They go home and have all the same problems.?

Iraq veteran John Bennett, 41, has been on several of those group-hunting expeditions, despite using a wheelchair since a sniper shot him in 2005 while he was on patrol north of Baghdad, acknowledging: ?Those trips are wonderful, don?t get me wrong.?

But two years ago, Bennett personally saw SantAngelo's vision: hunting plus family may equal better days. He headed to Florida to track alligators at night with one of SantAngelo?s hired guides. For that visit, Bennett had hoped to bring his daughter, but she couldn?t attend. Instead, Bennett spent time with another veteran and his family, he said, riding in a pontoon boat, armed with a bow and arrows, searching for his intended catch.

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?It?s really neat to be able to include your family, especially your kids, so they can see that dad can get out there and still do the things he used to do,? said Bennett, who bagged a nine-foot gator. SantAngelo later shipped him the meat. (If a veteran-client's spouse or children prefer not to hunt, they can fish or canoe or ride horses while at SantAngelo's ranch.)

?The military was such a big part of my life,? added Bennett,?a former infantry soldier who joined the Montana Army National Guard in 1991. He lives in Cascade, Mont.??Even if I had not been a hunter before, just knowing that I could still shoot a firearm and not be completely freaked out by it was good.?

Indeed, SantAngelo contends hunting and fishing can serve as a form of rustic therapy for combat veterans from all wars, a return to some of the tactics and tools they once knew intimately, but now utilized in a safe, quiet environment.

For that reason, SantAngelo?s foundation foots the bill to bring in and then guide ex-military members with an array of devastating wounds.

Blind veterans who come to his ranch use a double-stocked rifle, sharing the weapon with a guide who ? when the prey is in the scope ? whispers to inch the barrel slightly up or down, left or right, then instructs the best moment to squeeze the trigger. Veterans without arms can blow into a special tube, which actives the trigger of a rifle. Veterans without full use of extremities use laptops and joysticks to aim their weapons and fire at wild boar, alligators, coyotes and turkeys. SantAngelo also takes his clients on the river to fish for trophy bass.

Meshing outdoors sports with the tricky transition from the battlefield to home front is a concept the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also has adopted. VA officials have seen the same behaviors SantAngelo has witnessed: that many large hunts arranged for veterans morph into drinking parties and families are never invited.

?He?s exactly right,? said Jose Llamas, the community and public affairs officer for the VA's?National Veterans Sports Programs.??These other organizations put on weekend trips where it?s hunting, camping, fishing. But it?s drinking, and there?s no follow-up at the end.?

In addition to hosting adaptive sports summits?across the country where family members are encouraged to join disabled veterans in surfing, cycling, skiing, fishing and target shooting, VA recreational therapists ? via various VA medical centers ? routinely take local veterans fishing, Llamas said.

?Hunting is not one of those things you can do in every community,? he added. ?But from our Paralympic grant program, we just gave $25,000 to a VA hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., to get the equipment needed to take the (disabled) veterans out hunting.

?What we do is incorporate (hunting, fishing and other sports) into the health-life plan of the veteran,? Llamas said. ?The secretary of the VA, Eric Shinseki, is very adamant about this being not just one weekend out of the year, not a vacation, but a step in the right direction of the veteran becoming more productive in the community by living a healthy lifestyle, by being an example to other veterans.?

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/02/15575983-florida-guide-uses-hunting-as-rustic-therapy-for-combat-veterans?lite

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