Loading...
The Rural Voice, 1999-08, Page 12CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP READY TO DRIVE 1994 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Fully equipped including power seat. Only 67,000 km. local trade, excellent condition, real sharp. 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS Fully equipped including dual power seats. Only 55,000 km, local one owner, showroom condition, none nicer. "We only sell the best for less and wholesale the rest" CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP DODGE TRUCKS If you don't see what you want, ask us, we'll find it for you. Sunset Strip, Owen Sound Ontario, N4K 5W9 (519) 371 -JEEP (5337) 1-800-263-9579 Fax: (519) 371-5559 8 THE RURAL VOICE 1 Scrap Book U. of Guelph seeks plants to benefit animals Commercially useful transgenic chickens should be in the hands of primary breeders within the next five years, say researchers at the University of Guelph. Ann M. Gibbons and Jan Losos say one of their objectives through transgenic technology is the deposition of novel components in the eggs. Of particular interests is lysozyme, an egg white protein. Lysozyme was discovered over 70 years ago and plays an important role in food production as an antimicrobial agent. It effectively destroys bacteria and many food- borne yeasts by degrading components of their cell wells. Lysozmye's natural function is to reduce microbial contamination within the incubating egg. Humans have consumed lysozyme, in eggs, as part of their diet for thousands of years. With consumers demanding high quality food containing fewer of the traditional synthetic preservatives, lysozyme offers an attractive alternative. It is used with such common foods as milk products, fish, shellfish. cooked meats. fruits, fresh vegetables, salads and bean curd. Lysozyme can also reduce the thermal requirements for preserving canned foods, thus improving the flavour, texture and colour of the product. Lysozyme is a selective antimicrobial agent, destroying harmful organisms while allowing beneficial microorganisms to survive. The cheese industry uses lysozyme. "Our research has two objectives." say Gibbons and Losos. "One is to insert extra copies of the chicken lysozyme gene into the chicken genome to increase the levels of natural lysozyme in the egg white. The other is to use genetic modification to produce novel versions of the lysozyme gene that encode modified lysozyme enzyme with a broader range of activity against disease -causing or food - spoilage bacteria." Canada currently produces 15 per cent of the world supply of lysozyme but cost and supply are obstacles to more wide -spread use. If researchers can significantly increase production capabilities there will be tremendous market applications for the research.0 —Source: Agri food Research in Ontario Spinach -based computer chips? Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have been exploring ways to use microscopic protein structures from spinach leaves as electronic devices. In theory, those structures might someday find use in optical computers, as well as solar cells, artificial retinas and other devices that convert the radiant energy of light into electrical outputs. The Oakridge researchers reported their latest plant -based electronics at a meeting of the American Physical Society. The research team had earlier found out how to extract and isolate the tiny spinach proteins, which are part of the plant's machinery for converting sunlight into chemical energy. The protein structure, called Photosystem I, can generate a light -induced flow of electricity in a few trillionths of a second. Now, the researchers say, they have found how to attach the protein structures to a gold-plated surface and orient them in specified directions. This is an advance, they say, toward making simple electronic switches and logic circuits liked those on silicon computer chips. "This is the first step in wiring components together," into more complex systems, said physicist Elias Greenbaum, group leader for the experiment. Greenbaum, who has been working on the physics of photosynthesis for more than 15 years agrees it's too early to know if the research will have commercial applications. "This is basic science. We're not talking about development or manufacturing of devices that are going to replace silicon technology.0 — Source: Newsday