WSJ: Herbal Supplements Face New Scrutiny

by Laura Landro

Elderberry extract and acai to boost the immune system. Black cohosh to lessen the discomforts of menopause. Soy capsules to prevent bone loss and prostate cancer.

Many botanical supplements—made from the seeds, bark, leaves, flowers and stems of a wide range of plants—have been widely used as folk remedies for centuries. Americans have been consuming growing quantities of the supplements in hopes of warding off disease and easing symptoms of various conditions. But there is scant scientific evidence to support their health benefits.

Usage of botanicals is growing.

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Cranberry

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Elderberry

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Milk thistle

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St. John's wort

Now, the federal government is stepping up research into the safety and effectiveness of a wide range of over-the-counter supplements, including plant oils, garlic, soy, elderberry, licorice, black cohosh, St. John's wort and the Asian herb dong quai. The aim is to better understand how compounds in the plants affect health and to help consumers make more informed choices about supplements, which can interact with prescription drugs, cause side effects or lead to new health risks. Sales of botanical supplements in the U.S. topped $5 billion last year, up 17% from five years earlier, according to the non-profit American Botanical Council.

"Sometimes people assume because a product is natural, it is also safer. But these compounds can have both benefits and potential side effects and we need to understand both of those," says Floyd Chilton III, director of the Center for Botanical Lipids and Inflammatory Disease Prevention at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Dr. Chilton's center received a $7.5 million federal grant to study botanicals, including whether plant oils such as echium and borage can help play a role in preventing cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes.

"People are using supplements for purposes for which they were not intended," such as treating health conditions they have self-diagnosed, or using multiple supplements in combination with prescription medications, says Marguerite Klein, director of the Botanical Centers Research program at the National Institutes of Health. One concern, she says is the heavy use by women of black cohosh to treat menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes. Limited research seems to support the black cohosh's benefit. But it isn't known how the botanical works. Black cohosh has been linked in some patients to liver damage, and breast-cancer patients are often advised to avoid using it because its effects on breast tissue are unknown.

Helping to spur the research initiative are the Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, both part of the National Institutes of Health. The agencies last month awarded grants totaling about $37 million to five dietary supplement research centers, expanding a program that has already awarded more than $250 million in research grants for herbs and botanicals since 2002. The NIH is also funding research into botanical products through the National Cancer Institute, which is interested in how components in botanicals might influence cancer risk and tumor growth.

The Powers of Garlic

1:50

Adding garlic to your diet has several health benefits including assistance in warding off cancer and boosting the immune system. Video courtesy of Fox News.

Studies funded by the federal grants have so far shown that chamomile capsules may help reduce anxiety compared to a placebo and that an extract from the milk thistle plant can interfere with the life cycle of the hepatitis C virus. They also have refuted some purported benefits of botanicals, showing, for instance, that ginkgo biloba does not prevent heart attack, stroke, or cancer, or stem memory loss and that St. John's wort was no better than a placebo in treating symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and teens.

Unlike drugs, which must be tested in clinical trials and approved by the Food and Drug Administration before they can be marketed, botanicals and other supplements don't require regulatory approval. The FDA in June began requiring all supplement makers to follow strict quality manufacturing standards, but the agency only periodically inspects plants.

An investigation published in May by the General Accounting Office found deceptive marketing practices at a number of online retailers, including claims that supplements could prevent or cure conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular disease. The investigation also found trace amounts of potentially hazardous contaminants, such as lead or bacteria, in 37 of 40 herbal dietary supplement products it tested.

Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, which tests supplement brands for quality, says the group finds problems with about 25% of all supplements, and especially with herbal products, many with ingredients from overseas. A recent review of supplements made from ginseng—commonly taken to boost energy and vitality—found that 45% failed quality tests because they didn't contain the advertised amount of ginseng or were contaminated with lead. Test results and other information are available to members, who pay $30 annually.

Consumers also can find information about potential uses, benefits and risks of dietary supplements at federal websites ods.gov and nccam.gov. Another government site, Medlineplus.gov, grades scientific evidence on a variety of supplements.

William Cefalu, director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, says researchers are only beginning to understand how thousands of different compounds in a single plant may interact, and how the concentration of a particular plant chemical affects its potency. For example, peppermint tea is considered safe to drink, but peppermint oil, often taken for irritable bowel syndrome or indigestion, is much more concentrated and can be toxic if used in high doses.

Because the potency of wild plants can vary, some researchers are cultivating their own. At the Center for Botanical Interaction Studies at the University of Missouri in Columbia, 600 types of soybean seeds are being cultivated to study different concentrations of the same compounds in the plants and how they might work to prevent prostate cancer. The center is also growing 60 types of elderberries to study the plant's possible role in boosting the immune system against infection and fighting cancer and inflammation in the body. Center director Dennis Lubahn says there may be variations in individual plants that will make a difference in how well they fight disease. "We've come a long way from the traditional medicine woman sampling leaves in the forest," he says.

Petal Power?

Researchers are studying if plant-based supplements on the market can help treat many diseases and conditions.

BOTANICAL	POSSIBLE BENEFIT	POSSIBLE RISKS
Black cohosh	Prevention of hot flashes and other menopause symptoms, may help improve bone density.	No long-term safety data on breast tissue; may cause liver damage.
Soy(phytoestrogens)	May lower risk of LDL ('bad') cholesterol; reduce hot flashes and other menopause symptoms.	Possible role in development of breast, uterine cancers.
Milk thistle	May promote growth of liver cells, improve symptoms of liver disease; possible treatment for hepatitis C.	May lower blood-sugar levels in diabetics; allergic reactions, gastrointestinal side effects.
Ginseng	May lower blood sugar, boost immunity, increase stamina.	Headaches; allergic reactions; sleep and gastrointestinal problems.
Elderberry	Anti-oxidant, may lower cholesterol, boost immune system, improve heart health.	Diuretic effects; no scientific data on benefits.
Cranberry (extracts, tablet, capsules )	May prevent urinary tract disorders, stomach ulcers, dental plaque; anti-cancer benefits.	Could cause GI upset; may interact with blood-thinning drugs.
Evening primrose	Modest benefits for eczema; may be useful for rheumatoid arthritis and breast pain.	May cause gastrointestinal upset, headache.
St. John's wort	May help treat mild depression.	May limit effectiveness of prescription medications; unproven as treatment for major depression.

—Email informedpatient@wsj.com

.It is plainly obvious why the government and their special interest groups (pharm. companies) are spending millions of dollars looking into natural treatments. As always, it's the money they are losing to this new market - 5 billion to be exact as stated in the article. I also noted there were no deaths or serious complications using these alternatives mentioned as an anecdote or otherwise. The Possible Risks column are filled with symptoms that "may" appear. Symptoms that are similar and common to prescription drugs. And actually, they do not look as bad as a whole in comparison. We read daily about newly uncovered risks from prescription meds and even deaths. I am hopeful this is a sign we are moving in the right direction now that money is going into different pockets. There are choices out there and so are answers to chronic illness. We just have to be in charge of our own health and get it done.

FDA sets up offices in China to ensure food safety

So this is now what our tax dollars are going towards? Lame government employees overseas to somehow ensure the food that's shipped is safe. They say they are reacting to the melanine incident. But what about the food we have here in this country? OUR food supply is what needs improving, babysitting, monitoring, what have you. Is it really more cost effective going to China rather than fixing our food supply woes here? Even if I didn't have a degree in economics (which I do, a minor anyway), this doesn't jive.

In over my head with Lyme, but I couldn't let this little nugget of info go by without comment. IDIOTS

Ashley

Vaccine Refusals Fuel Measles Outbreak

REUTERS

Vaccine refusals fuel measles outbreak

Parents refusing to have their children vaccinated against measles have helped drive cases of the illness to their worst levels in a dozen years in the United States, health officials reported on Thursday.

In 2008 alone, 131 cases of measles have been reported, with 15 serious enough to be hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Most of those infected were not vaccinated and there is no reason for any cases to occur when vaccines can prevent them, the CDC said in a weekly report on death and diseases.

"Measles can be a severe, life-threatening illness" the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said in a statement. "These cases resulted primarily from failure to vaccinate, many because of philosophical or religious belief."

Only 13 percent of the cases were imported, the CDC said, naming Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, India, Israel, China, Germany, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Russia. "This is the lowest percentage of imported measles cases since 1996," the CDC report reads.

At least 15 patients, including four children younger than 15, were hospitalized, although no one has died, the CDC said.

"In the decade before the measles vaccination program began, an estimated 3 to 4 million persons in the United States were infected each year. Of these, 400 to 500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis."

Encephalitis is a life-threatening inflammation of the brain that can be caused by viral infections such as measles.

More than 90 percent of the patients were not vaccinated, the CDC said, had no evidence of having been vaccinated, or were babies too young to have been vaccinated.

"Of the 95 patients eligible for vaccination, 63 were unvaccinated because of their or their parents' philosophical or religious beliefs," the CDC said.

Some religious groups refuse vaccination but many parents have fears that vaccines are unsafe or may cause conditions such as autism -- fears the CDC says are unfounded.

"Increases in the proportion of the population declining vaccination for themselves or their children might lead to large-scale outbreaks in the United States," the CDC said.

Outbreaks of measles are being reported now in Israel, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Britain among people who are declining the vaccine.

British health officials said in June that measles had again become endemic for the first time since the mid-1990s due to parents declining to get their children vaccinated.

The last serious U.S. outbreak was in 1989-1991, when 55,000 people got measles and 123 died. The CDC said 55 cases of measles were reported in 2006.

Measles kills about 250,000 people a year globally, mostly children in poor nations. The disease causes fever, coughing, irritation of the eyes and a rash. Serious complications include encephalitis and pneumonia that can be fatal.

"Measles knows no borders, but can be prevented for less than one dollar per child in a developing country. We must be steadfast in our efforts to reduce measles cases globally," the Measles Initiative, which includes the American Red Cross, CDC and United Nations agencies, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Michael Kahn)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.

I am just LOVING this. Really! And not because I want everyone to get measles. Things may finally be coming to a head. Apparently having 1 in 150 kids pop up on the spectrum isn't enough. Human nature, things have to get worse for them to get better. And it always comes down to money. Maybe lots and lots of measles will force change within the child vaccine protocol.

FDA to hold meeting on baby bottle chemical (BPA)

FDA to hold meeting on baby bottle chemical

Fri Aug 15, 3:15 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it will hold a public meeting next month about the safety of a chemical found in baby bottles and many other products.
Environmental groups say the chemical, bisphenol A, can hurt children and animals. But the FDA and European regulators, as well as the plastics industry, say it is safe.
The National Toxicology Program, part of the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health, has issued a draft report expressing concern that bisphenol A could cause neural and behavioral problems in fetuses, infants and children.
The FDA said its meeting would focus on this.
The chemical, commonly known as BPA, is used in polycarbonate bottles, including water bottles and baby bottles, as well as the lining of cans including infant formula cans.
Environmental and consumer safety groups have pointed to studies that show the chemical can interfere with how the body absorbs the hormone estrogen, which is key to the development of young bodies.
The meeting, set for September 16, will welcome public input, the FDA said.
The agency has posted a draft assessment that says further study of the chemical's safety is badly needed, as there is not enough information now to judge whether people are taking in unsafe levels -- and what those unsafe levels might be.
Democratic U.S. senators in April introduced a bill to ban BPA in children's products. Canada is also moving to ban it.
U.S. states including California, Maryland, Minnesota and Michigan are considering bills to ban or restrict BPA in children's products.
But a scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority said last month it had looked into how people metabolize BPA and concluded that the tiny amounts of the chemical to which humans are exposed leave the body quickly enough to cause no harm.
Some retailers and manufacturers have said they will stop using the chemical in some products.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Xavier Briand)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.

In case you hadn't seen this earlier this year....As always, one of the last lines in an FDA related story is the most telling. Yeah, maybe we should look into how people metabolize BPA. Or perhaps NOT metabolize it as with our ASD children and 1 in 6 children today with developmental delays or disorders. Yeah, maybe we SHOULD look into if it's "leaving the body quickly enough to cause no harm." Hmm...well you have these bottles, then you got your chemicals in food, and the toxins we breathe in and touch. Hmm...will one day they realize how big this really is?

FDA Looking for Recruits

FDA Launches Fellowship Program To Develop Pipeline Of Scientists, Other Professionals

Article Date: 19 Jul 2008

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced it is launching a two-year fellowship program aimed at attracting scientists, engineers and health professionals to the agency. The FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program will provide participants with advanced training in the scientific analysis involved in the safety and regulatory decisions unique to the agency's mission.

"Attracting the best scientists to FDA helps us make timely decisions and give doctors and patients helpful and accurate advice about treatment options. And timely decisions encourage more investment in developing new drugs and better medical devices," said Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Tevi D. Troy. "The FDA Commissioner's Fellowship Program will not only bring great fellows in the door, but encourage them to make FDA their career."

I find this completely hilarious. And so telling don't you think? They are not brave enough to make the right decisions by standing up to special interest groups, but are brave enough to say they are in trouble. Trouble indeed for future government which means trouble for us. Even more mistakes, ineptness.

Why Won't They Label? Consumers Wonder...

An article in the 1/27/08 Chicago Tribume states that food safety groups and polls say most Americans won't knowingly buy food from cloned animals. Two bills in Congress are asking for labeling. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) asks the question.

Why won't they label? I think the answer is obvious, because most people won't buy it then! Duh people! Ignorance is bliss. As we know, the FDA claims that cloned products are "no different" thus not requiring a label siting their difference. Are you freakin' kidding me? Not different? Is the American public that dumb to buy that excuse for profit? For now, 89% of Americans want cloned foods labeled, and 69% said they have concerns. We've seen the outcome with hormones and dairy. So this is the next showdown. I am hopeful that the American public will demand their info so they can make informed choices.

Consumers need to know more about allergens; FDA helps out

Consumers need to know more about allergens; FDA helps out

An estimated two percent of adults and about five percent of infants and young children in the United States suffer from food allergies. Allergic reactions to food vary in severity, but approximately 30,000 people require emergency room treatment, and 150 die each year as a result of them. The only means of preventing allergic reactions is to avoid the foods that cause them. FDA's allergen labeling rule helps them to do so.

To help people avoid the risks food allergens pose, the Food and Drug Administration requires that the labels of all foods FDA regulates (all foods except meat, poultry, and certain egg products) must clearly identify the source of all ingredients that are-or are derived from-the eight most common food allergens. This requirement became effective January 1, 2006, so there may still be some product labels in stores or people's homes without this information.

While more than 160 foods can cause reactions in people with food allergies, the eight most common allergenic foods account for 90 percent of food allergic reactions, and are the sources from which many other ingredients are derived. Many of these foods could be ingredients within meat and poultry products, and mislabeling them or failing to label them on meat and poultry products results in product recalls.

The eight foods are:1. Milk, 2. Eggs, 3 Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod), 4. Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp), 5. Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans), 6. Peanuts, 7. Wheat, 8. Soybeans

Unless they are part of the ingredient's common or usual name (or are already clearly identified in the ingredient list), these eight food allergens may appear on food labels either:

—In parentheses following the name of the ingredient, e.g., lecithin (soy); flour (wheat); and whey (milk); or,

—Immediately after or next to the list of ingredients in a "contains" statement, e.g., Contains wheat, milk, and soy.

Symptoms of food allergies typically appear from within a few minutes to two hours after a person has eaten the food to which he or she is allergic. Symptoms can include:

* Hives * Flushed skin or rash * Tingling or itchy sensation in the mouth * Face, tongue, or lip swelling * Vomiting and/or diarrhea * Abdominal cramps * Coughing or wheezing * Dizziness and/or lightheadedness * Swelling of the throat and vocal cords * Difficulty breathing * Loss of consciousness

For more information on food allergies and allergen labeling, go to FDA's webpage at www.cfsan.fda.gov or call FDA at:1-888-SAFEFOOD.

Huh. I find it interesting that our government continues to focus on bandaids rather than looking at causative factors in our environment. True, I am happy they are labeling and "alerting" the herd.

For fun, I put together my top Questions to FDA:
1) Why are us parents having children with impaired immune systems, which in turn, cannot discriminate between food and real viruses and bacteria that pose a threat?

2) Why are us parents having children with impaired GI systems, which in turn, cannot efficiently assimilate food and flush out toxins?

3) Why do we continue to add soybeans, our number 1 GMO, to viturally all processed foods?

4) Why do we continue to feed our livestock the top allergic ingredients, such as wheat and soy?

5) Why is dairy in virtually all processed foods?

6) Oh, and it seems you forgot to list the behavioral symptoms of allergies such as: Dark circles under eyes, Eczema, psoriasis, Diarrhea, constipation, Gas, bloating, Spaciness, Stimming, Aggressive behavior, Runny nose, Bronchial symptoms and asthma, Stomach tenderness, Reflux, Ear infections, Nausea, Tightening of throat, Headache, and Fatigue

7) Last but not least, why are we not studying healthy children and adults? How do their genes, lifestyle, and GI/Immune systems differ? What can we learn from them? What are they doing? And what are they NOT doing?blockquote>

A Smart Idea by the FSA in the UK

UK's FSA backs folic acid in flour, curbs on food
Thu Jun 14, 5:32 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Food Standards Agency board on Thursday gave the go-ahead for plans to add folic acid to foods in a bid to cut birth defects and said levels should be controlled in some products to prevent over-consumption.

Wow. Thinking ahead by a government? Prevention? I wonder if our government knows the meaning of that word. Why can't our FDA do the same thing? Flouride comes to mind. Now all our food and water is filled with this metal that can be helpful at moderate levels. Who is monitoring the big picture? No one. And now Tom's of Maine the maker of one flouride-free toothpaste was bought by one of the biggies, Colgate.

FDA Targets Unapproved Nausea Drugs

FDA Targets Unapproved Nausea Drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it was asking manufacturers of a certain type of drug to treat nausea and vomiting to stop making and marketing the products. Specifically, the FDA is asking manufacturers of suppository drug products that contain trimethobenzamide hydrochloride to stop making them because they are not FDA-approved.

" Nausea. Oh Nausea. Rock on." Anyone know that Beck song?
What's the most nauseous to you? For me, it's the FDA's conduct toward the Autism population. Indeed, most nauseating.

Top Reasons to Hate the FDA

1) A new report contends that mistakes and mismanagement by the FDA have delayed a new computer system to track the side effects of drugs after they go on the market. The agency rejects its conclusions. It seems everyday we hear about a recall!

2)The FDA has promoted the use of cough medicines for children for years when they have never been tested on children. Old formulas have simply been re-packaged and marketed with guestimates for usage. Finally, they are admitting they are unsafe and shouldn't be used!

3)Promoting the use of vaccines for preemies

4) Fresh food guidelines

5) Mad cow mismanagement

6)Promotion of cloned food

Tyson unit recalls ground beef on E.Coli risk

Tyson unit recalls ground beef on E.Coli risk:
USDA Fri Mar 2, 11:56 PM ET

Tyson Fresh Meats, a Wallula, Washington unit of Tyson Foods Inc., is voluntarily recalling about 16,743 pounds (7.6 tons) of ground beef that may be contaminated with E.coli, the USDA said on Friday.

The problem was discovered through routine sampling at another federally inspected establishment and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said it had received no reports of illness associated with consumption of these products.

The ground beef was produced on February 16, 2007 and was sent to distributors in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

E.coli is potentially a deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The young, elderly and those with weakened immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

The FDA has kept me so busy this week. New cow antibiotics that create new superbugs. E Coli still out there.

U.S. reviewing safety of children's cough drugs

Ages ago our DAN ped told us that NONE, really NONE of the drugs are tested on for/on children. And where do you think our ASD kids fall? Kids that have unique wiring to consider? Totally screwed and up to Dr. Mom and Dad to figure it out.

Finally the FDA is admitting there's a problem. And only because they have to since a petition of "prominent" pediatricians forced them to. Frominent? Hmmm...very interesting don't you think? There are far too many comments to post for fear I'd bore ya'll. However, I cannot resist posting my favorite quotes so far on this topic. As always, if you really want to know what's going on, just read the last paragraph of any article and you'll find the gems! Here goes:

"In a recent study of hospital emergency room records from 2004 and 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that at least 1,519 children under age 2 had suffered serious health problems after being treated with common cough and cold medicines. Three of the children died, the disease control agency found."

"Like hundreds of older drugs, many of the medicines in these products did not receive thorough safety reviews by the F.D.A. "

"Parents will do anything for their kids," Dr. Sharfstein said. "They will buy expensive syrups if they think their kid will do better."

"The agency has put all the compounds on a "monograph," meaning that manufacturers can use and combine them in pills and syrups without doing any of the expensive and lengthy studies that would be needed for a new drug. Because the drugs are so widely available, there is no incentive for manufacturers to perform such studies. Information about their lack of efficacy and worrisome side effects have trickled out. "

"There is this incredible disparity between how the products are regulated and what the scientific evidence and consensus states," Dr. Sharfstein said.

An excellent example of economics working its magic. Supply and demand. That's all it is.

Largest U.S. Dairy Shuns Milk From Clones

Largest U.S. dairy shuns milk from clones
Fri Feb 23, 3:07 PM ET
The largest U.S. dairy processor and distributor said even if food products from cloned animals become a reality, it will not sell milk from animals that have been cloned because of ongoing consumer concerns. Dean Foods Co. said late on Thursday that several surveys have shown their U.S. customers are not interested in buying milk or milk products that come from cloned animals. "Our decision not to accept this milk is based on meeting our consumers' expectations," the company said in a statement. "We see no consumer benefit from this technology." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration tentatively ruled late last year that milk and meat from some cloned animals are safe to eat, bringing the controversial technology closer to American grocery carts. Dean said if the FDA approves the sale of milk from clones it will work with its dairy farmers to ensure the milk they supply to the company does not come from those animals. Proponents have touted cloned animals as safe and hope the technology will create animals that produce more milk, better meat and are more disease-resistant. Opinion polls, however, show consumers are more wary. A survey by the International Food Information Council found that more than half of consumers were unlikely to buy food made from cloned animals, no matter what the government says. Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a surrogate mother. Hundreds of livestock animals already have been cloned, but producers and the nascent industry have voluntarily agreed not to sell any foods from these animals until the FDA decision is finalized.
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited

Again, the FDA is picking and choosing what they test and what they don't test for us, the American public. CRAZY! Personally, the scary thing is that if this indeed happens, these providers may not be required to label this meat which leaves Joe consumer with no choices. The sad thing, is that all of these resources are going to cloned meat that promotes our current inefficient disease promoting industrialized farming methods. These methods are what needs changing!

Researchers Report Mad Cow Breakthrough

U.S. researchers say they have developed cattle that may be biologically incapable of getting mad cow disease, the Washington Post reported.

As a result of genetic engineering, the animals lack a gene that is crucial to the progression of the disease. The cattle were not designed for use as food -- rather, they were developed so human pharmaceuticals can be made in their blood without the risk that the products might get contaminated by the infectious agent that causes mad cow, the newspaper said.

The agent -- a protein known as a prion -- can cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which can be fatal to humans.

Scientists said the animals will facilitate studies of prions, and similar techniques might be used in subsequent development of animals with more nutritious meats. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it will set more stringent standards for engineered food animals than it recently set for clones.

"This is a seminal research paper," said Barbara Glenn, director for animal biotechnology at the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

The Washington industry group represents Hematech, the Sioux Falls, S.D., company that created the gene-altered cattle.

"This shows the application of transgenics to improving livestock production and ultimately food production."

Source: Playfuls.com Science & Technology

Breakthrough?
I say band-aid.
I say band-aid with unforseen consequences! The U.S. government is ignoring the source of our food supply problems (centralized production) and promoting more designer animals that leave us in even more dire straights.

Does anyone know what a prion is? No one really does. They've been scratching their heads since I first heard of it in college. It seems to be "sort of" part virus, part bacteria. Scientists don't KNOW, but our government is eager to risk society regardles. Again, they pick and choose what they want science to stand behind.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not "pro-mad cow". It would be great if lots of people wouldn't get sick or die because of this illness, as well as the cost of killing infected herds. But wouldn't it be great to look at the science we do have, the methods and history we do have, that all point to one thing. It's time to redesign our farming methods! For health, for cost reasons, and for ethical reasons.