The Institute of Food Science & Technology, through its Public Affairs and Technical & Legislative Committees has authorised the following Information Statement, dated November 2004, prepared by its Professional Food Microbiology Group, and replacing the version dated 14 September 1996.
Summary
Foodborne illness caused by verocytotoxin-producing E.coli (VTEC) – sometimes referred to as enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) – was first recognised in the early 1980s. Although the
UK scientists have designed a knowledge management system which could enable medical practitioners to make speedy, informed decisions about breast cancer patients. The project pulls together information which was previously held in separate locations and it has the potential to revolutionise patient diagnosis and management.
The MIAKT project (Medical Imaging with Advanced Knowledge Technologies), aims to facilitate medical practitioners in diagnosing and treating breast cancer.
Star formation is one of the most basic phenomena in the Universe. Inside stars, primordial material from the Big Bang is processed into heavier elements that we observe today. In the extended atmospheres of certain types of stars, these elements combine into more complex systems like molecules and dust grains, the building blocks for new planets, stars and galaxies and, ultimately, for life. Violent star-forming processes let otherwise dull galaxies shine in the darkness of deep space and make
UC Riverside Team Finds That Lowering Enzyme Increases Drought Tolerance in Corn
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside report the development of technology that increases the tolerance of grains crops to drought by decreasing the amount of an enzyme that is responsible for producing the plant hormone ethylene.
UCR Biochemist Daniel R. Gallie led the research, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the Californi
Wafer-thin coatings from diamond-like carbon can prevent dangerous biofilms of bacteria from forming on indwelling catheters in the urinary tract. What is more, the coated catheters glide into the ureter with considerably less friction, to the delight of medical staff, and even more so to that of the patients, who experience the procedure as substantially less unpleasant. The new coatings have been developed and tested by scientists in the experimental urology section of the University of Bonn in
A novel type of engine which aims to use less fuel and reduce noxious emissions without detracting from the car’s performance is being developed thanks to an investment of £93,500 from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), the organisation that champions UK innovation.
Keith Hall, from Maidenhead in Berkshire, is a chartered mechanical engineer who has worked with names such as Audi, Jaguar and Ford. His Bruntel Environmental Engine aims to match the p
A UK scientist has discovered the route and type of transport taken by peanut proteins through the gut to the immune system. This route favours an immune response, which helps explain why peanuts are one of the most allergenic foods.
Dr Claudio Nicoletti from the Institute of Food Research, said: “Food allergy is an immune system over-reaction to a food protein. The cause of this over-reaction has remained a mystery. Our aim was to identify the route that proteins from digested pean
During the holidays most people worry about putting on a couple of pounds, but in addition they should be concerned about what they’re doing to their hearts. Every year during the holidays, emergency rooms like those at UCSD Medical Center see patients with symptoms of palpitations and light-headedness. Further evaluation usually confirms the patient has an abnormal heart rhythm, often atrial fibrillation, says Ajit Raisinghani, M.D., Director of the UCSD Non-Invasive Cardiac Lab. This condi
Although they are one millionth the size of a human hair and are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye, nanoparticles may become one of the most significant new products in the biomedical field thanks to University of Missouri-Columbia researchers who have developed a procedure to make them that is 240 times faster than previous methods.
Today, nanoparticles are used in applications as varied as making laundry detergent to medicines. However, for them to be beneficial in
Like an episode of “CSI: Computers,” a UF researcher has developed a technique that gives digital detectives twice the forensic evidence they now have to catch all kinds of hackers, from curious teenagers to disgruntled employees to agents of foreign governments.
Writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Digital Evidence, UF doctoral student Mark Foster proposes a new and improved method of computer crime solving, called “process forensics.” “If a guy walks in
The Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group (MPRG) in Virginia Tech’s Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has developed the fundamental software for use in designing software radios and is offering this tool free to other wireless communications researchers throughout the world.
“The tool available on the Virginia Tech website already has been downloaded by numerous companies and universities from around the world,” said Jeffrey Reed, professor of electrical
A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism, according to two new studies from Cornell University food scientists.
The studies show that the chemical quercetin, a so-called phytonutrient, appears to be largely responsible for protecting rat brain cells when assaulted by oxidative stress in laboratory tests.
Phytonutrients, such as phenolic acids and fla
A study looking at chronic infectious respiratory diseases that affect most swine during their critical growing stage has shed new light on the reasons for restricted weight gain and reduced muscle mass.
In the November issue of the Journal of Nutrition, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that the production of inflammatory cytokines by immune cells appears to be responsible for declines of both protein accretion and weight gain in swine infected w
Scientists with the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have recently been counting their zoo animals from a lofty perch: namely, outer space. Using high-tech cameras fixed to an orbiting satellite 280 miles overhead, a WCS scientific team tallied some of the zoo’s own animal collection to see if satellites can help count wildlife populations in remote locations throughout the world.
The WCS team is currently analyzing high-tech maps produced by the satelli
Dangerous side effects, ASPS study says
Flip through any women’s magazine and you are sure to find advertisements hawking pills to enlarge women’s breasts. But do these pills actually work? Probably not, says the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Not only are breast enhancement pills unproven, they could be dangerous, according to a study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery® (PRS), the official medical journal of the ASPS. “There are upward of 30 different h
Research refutes long-held belief that diversity was declining
When dinosaurs became extinct from the effects of a massive asteroid hitting Earth 65 million years ago, there were more varieties of the reptiles living than ever before, according to a new analysis of global fossil records by a team of researchers led by a University of Rhode Island paleontologist. “Our analysis finally lays to rest the old, utterly unsupported idea that dinosaurs were declining in diversity during t
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