Nano-sensor For Better Detection Of Mad Cow Disease Agent (Science Daily)

In an advance in food safety, researchers are reporting development of a nano-sized sensor that detects record low levels of the deadly prion proteins that cause Mad Cow Disease and other so-called prion diseases. The sensor, which detects binding of prion proteins by detecting frequency changes of a micromechanical oscillator, could lead to a reliable blood test for prion diseases in both …

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Paradise is no name for a cow created inside Frankenstein’s lab. Maybe we should blame Mary Shelley for our discomfort at the work of the gene scientists, creating clones of animals, or plant varieties with attributes otherwise confined to fish or fowl. [News Source]

Making food safe. The U.S. Department of Agriculture just issued the biggest beef recall in history. Not really. It was, in fact, the biggest recall, but not by the USDA, which has no power to recall tainted food. [News Source]

Schools left in dark after beef recall. The massive recall of beef last month thrust school cafeterias into "uncharted territory" over food safety, prompting leading food service directors to question whether the government's alert system is adequate. [News Source]