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Novel saw cuts BSE contamination risk
October 16, 2002EMBARGOED UNTIL WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2002 19:00 BST
UK CONTACT - Claire Bowles, New Scientist Press Office, London:
Tel: +44(0)20 7331 2751 or email claire.bowles@rbi.co.uk
MAD COW DISEASE
A NOVEL power saw that can strip the spines out of cattle and sheep carcasses should further cut the risk of infecting people with the agent that causes the fatal brain disease vCJD.
Spinal cord from cattle has been banned from food in Britain since 1996, when the link between mad cow disease (BSE) and vCJD was established. If an animal is incubating BSE, its spinal cord could harbour the defective prion protein that causes the disease in both animals and humans.
Abattoirs normally use a bandsaw to split the carcasses of cattle in half. But if the saw cuts through the spine, material from the spinal cord is likely to contaminate other parts of the carcass. The new saw cuts out the spine before the carcass is split.
Technicians at the University of Bristol`s research abattoir first split five cattle carcasses in the usual way and then tested each half for two proteins found only in central nervous system tissue: glial fibrillary acidic protein and S-100 beta. This revealed that small amounts of central nervous system material was indeed present on the carcasses after they`d been split. Neither the usual abattoir procedure of washing the carcasses with water nor steam cleaning removed the contamination.
Next, Andy Knight and his team from the Silsoe Research Institute in Bedfordshire used an experimental saw to remove the spines before splitting the carcasses (see Graphic). In place of the long blade of a conventional bandsaw it has a looped rotating blade designed to scoop out a channel down the back of the carcass, removing the spine while leaving the spinal cord intact. The electrically powered saw can be suspended on a counterbalanced arm to make it easy for operators to manoeuvre. For the moment, it`s guided manually, but some automation could be used.
Tests on carcasses prepared with the new saw showed that it prevented contamination over most of the carcass. The prototype could not negotiate the thick vertebrae at the neck, but Knight says later versions should overcome this problem. "If we touch the cord we`ve failed," he says. The saw is now being tested in commercial abattoirs.
This is not the first time slaughterhouse technology has been implicated in the spread of prion matter. In 1999, attention focused on how some bolt guns used to stun animals before slaughter blasted particles of brain tissue into their bloodstream (New Scientist, 23 October 1999, p 6).
Author: Michelle Knott
http://www.newscientist.com">New Scientist issue 19th October 2002
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist
A NOVEL power saw that can strip the spines out of cattle and sheep carcasses should further cut the risk of infecting people with the agent that causes the fatal brain disease vCJD.
Spinal cord from cattle has been banned from food in Britain since 1996, when the link between mad cow disease (BSE) and vCJD was established. If an animal is incubating BSE, its spinal cord could harbour the defective prion protein that causes the disease in both animals and humans.
Abattoirs normally use a bandsaw to split the carcasses of cattle in half. But if the saw cuts through the spine, material from the spinal cord is likely to contaminate other parts of the carcass. The new saw cuts out the spine before the carcass is split.
Technicians at the University of Bristol`s research abattoir first split five cattle carcasses in the usual way and then tested each half for two proteins found only in central nervous system tissue: glial fibrillary acidic protein and S-100 beta. This revealed that small amounts of central nervous system material was indeed present on the carcasses after they`d been split. Neither the usual abattoir procedure of washing the carcasses with water nor steam cleaning removed the contamination.
Next, Andy Knight and his team from the Silsoe Research Institute in Bedfordshire used an experimental saw to remove the spines before splitting the carcasses (see Graphic). In place of the long blade of a conventional bandsaw it has a looped rotating blade designed to scoop out a channel down the back of the carcass, removing the spine while leaving the spinal cord intact. The electrically powered saw can be suspended on a counterbalanced arm to make it easy for operators to manoeuvre. For the moment, it`s guided manually, but some automation could be used.
Tests on carcasses prepared with the new saw showed that it prevented contamination over most of the carcass. The prototype could not negotiate the thick vertebrae at the neck, but Knight says later versions should overcome this problem. "If we touch the cord we`ve failed," he says. The saw is now being tested in commercial abattoirs.
This is not the first time slaughterhouse technology has been implicated in the spread of prion matter. In 1999, attention focused on how some bolt guns used to stun animals before slaughter blasted particles of brain tissue into their bloodstream (New Scientist, 23 October 1999, p 6).
Author: Michelle Knott
http://www.newscientist.com">New Scientist issue 19th October 2002
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
New Scientist
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Scripps research scientists find new link between insulin and core body temperature
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a direct link between insulin-a hormone long associated with metabolism and metabolic disorders such as diabetes-and core body temperature.
UCI embryonic stem cell therapy restores walking ability in rats with neck injuries
The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage.
Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.
Researchers explore new ways to prevent spinal cord damage using a vitamin B3 precursor
Substances naturally produced by the human body may one day help prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. A recent $2.5 million grant from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board will fund their research investigating this possibility.
Researchers identify drug candidate for treating spinal muscular atrophy
A chemical cousin of the common antibiotic tetracycline might be useful in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a currently incurable disease that is the leading genetic cause of death in infants.
Master regulator found for regenerating nerve fibers in live animals
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report that an enzyme known as Mst3b, previously identified in their lab, is essential for regenerating damaged axons (nerve fibers) in a live animal model, in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.
Researchers find ways to encourage spinal cord regeneration after injury
Animal research is suggesting new ways to aid recovery after spinal cord injury. New studies demonstrate that diet affects recovery rate and show how to make stem cell therapies safer for spinal injury patients.
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