Systems Biology Provides First Global Analysis Of Prion Disease In A Mouse Model (Medical News Today) Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle and the McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls, Montana, published in Molecular Systems Biology a ground-breaking study which modeled the progression of degenerative brain diseases, one of which is "mad cow disease," that are caused by misfolded proteins called "prions". The paper can be accessed at http://www.nature. [News Source]

Vet shortage plagues farms (Billings Gazette) HARDIN - It is finger-numbing cold outside in a cow shed east of nowhere. Farm veterinarian Betsy Bialon is donning a pair of cheap shoulder-length disposable gloves, which she clips with surgical clamps to a poncho made from a brown leaf bag. [News Source]

NDP: Consumer Confidence Slips in Supermarket Food Safety (Progressive Grocer) Although the majority of Americans believe the foods in supermarkets are safe, the percentage that feels this way has decreased over the last five years, according to new research from The NPD Group, a leading market research company. [News Source]

Former inspector warns of bioterrorism, outbreaks. A retired food inspector is warning lax meat import rules leave Canada vulnerable to bioterrorism and outbreaks of dangerous bacteria such as Listeria. [News Source]

CNN - Mad Cow Expert May Have Died From Disease (WSB-TV 2 Atlanta) A Spanish Pathologist Who Specialized In A Human Strain Of "Mad Cow" Disease Has Died, And Officials Said Sunday They Suspect The Disease Played A Role In His Death. [News Source]

Mad cow disease suspected in Spanish doctor’s death (CNN) A Spanish pathologist who specialized in a human strain of mad cow disease died Saturday, and officials suspect the disease played a role in his death, officials said. [News Source]

Royal Society snaps up a stately hothouse. The Royal Society, Britain’s premier scientific body, has bought one of the country’s finest stately homes and plans to make it into a rural hothouse to train leading researchers on key global challenges, including disease, food shortages, water shortages, and climate change. [News Source]

Bristol cows ‘as damaging as airports’. Plans to graze cattle in a Bristol park to provide beef for city schools have come under fire from vegans and environmental campaigners. One opponent of the plan claims it would be "like opening a new runway at an airport" in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. [News Source]

Lawmakers request delay of new mad cow rules (Columbus Telegram) Rep. Adrian Smith and 29 other members of Congress are calling for a delay on new rules that are intended to keep mad-cow ... (1 comment) [News Source]

JapanToday: Japan News and Discussion ジャパントゥデイ:日本のニュースを英語で読む (Japan Today) The Japanese government said Friday it has lifted a suspension on beef imports from a U.S. factory as measures have been reaffirmed to prevent the factory’s incompliance with a Japan-U.S. beef trade pact aimed at safeguarding against mad cow disease. [News Source]