Lasers detect synthetic chemical in baby formula food

October 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Each of the world's 6.7 billion people has a signature body odour. Now scientists are tracking down those odiferous arches for diagnosing diseases and crime prevention.

October 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Police long have used trained dogs to sniff out human scents in pursuing criminals. Now, scientists are trying to decipher the chemistry of human odour to develop technology that can detect and classify smells.

September 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to detect plants by interfering with their sense of smell, which could reduce damage to crops by insect pests and contribute to food security. Scientists at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) made the discovery.

September 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers in Australia have demonstrated the first laser built with diamonds that has comparable efficiency to lasers built with other materials. Richard Mildren of Macqaurie University in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and Alexander Sabella of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Edinburgh, South Australia developed the device.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have suggested an improved method for detection of food-borne pathogens. Dr. Edmund Ting, Senior VP of South Easton, MA-based Pressure BioSciences, Inc., believes that improvements in food safety depend on the rapid and accurate detection of food-borne pathogens, both in pre-release quality control testing and in post-outbreak investigations.

June 3rd, 2009 FDA reviewing decision on safety of BPAWASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing its conclusion from last year that a much-debated chemical used in baby bottles and food containers is safe for infants. The news came just hours after two influential Democrats sent a letter Tuesday questioning that decision to new FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

June 2nd, 2009 2 Democrats push FDA to review BPA safetyWASHINGTON — Two Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider its conclusion that a much-debated chemical used in baby bottles and food containers is safe for infants. The FDA said Tuesday it already has plans for such a review.

May 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the University of Southern California have developed a quicker and cheaper breed of electronic detectors for viruses like SARS and other biological materials, which may prove very helpful in the battle against epidemics. Project leaders Zhongwu Chou and Mark Thompson point out that the basic nanotube and nanowire biosensors consist of a piece of synthetic antibody attached to a nanowire that's attached to an electrical base, immersed in liquid.

May 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Hard plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles are not devoid of health risks because a study has found that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA)-which is used to make plastics and has been linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes-often releases into the liquid contained in such containers. Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that participants who drank for a week from polycarbonate bottles showed a two-thirds increase in their urine of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA).

May 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A researcher at Purdue University has found a novel way to detect trace amounts of melamine in infant formula. With the help of infrared lasers and light spectroscopy methods, Lisa Mauer, an associate professor of food science, was able to detect melamine in baby formula at one part per million in about five minutes or less.

April 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has demonstrated, for the first time, lasers in which the direction of oscillation of the emitted radiation, known as polarization, can be designed and controlled at will. The demonstration was made by applied scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), in collaboration with researchers from Hamamatsu Photonics in Hamamatsu City, Japan.

March 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Synthetic biology can provide a simpler and cheaper way of making artemisinin, the most powerful anti-malaria drug and also help prolong its effectiveness. Fermenting artemisinin via engineered microbes like yeast can be done at a much lower cost than extracting the drug from Artemsisia annua, the sweet wormwood tree.

January 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has shown that high levels of bisphenol A, a chemical used in making plastic baby bottles, harms growing foetuses by remaining in the body longer than suspected. The compound has been found to harm the brain and prostate glands in developing feotuses and infants, while adults with higher levels face greater risks for heart disease and diabetes.

December 30th, 2008 BEIJING - The Chinese government is preparing a 'pre-emptive' monitoring system to ensure food safety to prevent recurrence of the countrywide tained baby food scandal that killed six infants and sickened nearly 30,000. 'It means we will try to rid food problems by early detection, early warning and early intervention,' Su Zhi, deputy general director of health inspection and supervision bureau in the health ministry, said Wednesday.

December 28th, 2008 SHIJIAZHUNG - A Chinese court Monday arraigned four people involved in the tainted baby food scandal, which killed six babies and affected nearly 300,000, for violating public security. The Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court, which began the hearing for Gao Junjie, Xue Jianzhong, Zhang Yanjun and Xiao Yu (Gao's wife), was told that the four accused produced and sold more than 200 tons of 'protein powder' that was made from toxic industrial chemical melamine, malt dextrin and whey powder.