Is the beef war finally coming to an end? (Asia News Network) Now that the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won the important local elections, the beef war, triggered by the conclusion of a protocol signed on Oct. 22 for importation of bovine products that may cause spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease, seems to be coming to an end. [News Source]

Taiwan poll’s weight overhyped (The Japan Times) HONOLULU — Voters in Taiwan went to the polls in 17 counties and cities recently to elect mayors and magistrates. The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party won 12 of the 17 seats and enjoyed an overwhelming victory in elections of county and city councilors and township chiefs. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won only four of the leadership posts (with the remaining one going to a KMT ... [News Source]

More could get vCJD than thought (Guardian Unlimited) More people may be incubating variant CJD, the human version of so-called "mad cow disease", than was previously thought, according to scientists who today report an unusual case of the disease. All those tested worldwide since 1994 when the first cases were identified have been MM homozygous. However, a 30-year-old man who died of vCJD in January this year was found to have a different genetic ... [News Source]

More people could have ‘mad cow disease’ than thought (Guardian Unlimited) Unusual case of 30-year-old man prompts scientists to reassess prevalence of vCJD More people may be incubating variant CJD, the human version of so-called "mad cow disease", than was previously thought, according to scientists who today report an unusual case of the disease. All those tested worldwide since 1994 when the first cases were identified have been MM homozygous. However, a 30-year ... [News Source]