The May Issue of Agricultural Research published by the USDA-ARS contains several stories about microbes involved in everything from anthrax to zoonoses—diseases that can spread from animals to people.
One story that I found interesting is on the research being done to faster identify and detect botulinum toxin in food. Traditionally researchers needed 4-8 days to run tests, now scientists from ARS' Foodborne Contaminants Research Unit, part of the agency’s Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California, near San Francisco, have developed a cheaper and much faster test producing results in 20 minutes.
One story that I found interesting is on the research being done to faster identify and detect botulinum toxin in food. Traditionally researchers needed 4-8 days to run tests, now scientists from ARS' Foodborne Contaminants Research Unit, part of the agency’s Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California, near San Francisco, have developed a cheaper and much faster test producing results in 20 minutes.
