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Science

Canadian Scientists Develop "Antibody Spice" 45

Posted by timothy from the will-wait-for-3rd-generation dept.
worst_name_ever writes "Scientists in Canada have developed a substance that can be added to foods to kill germs. Apparently, though, this longevity-producing spice is derived from freeze-dried egg yolks and not from giant sandworms as I would have guessed."
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Canadian Scientists Develop "Antibody Spice" More

Canadian Scientists Develop "Antibody Spice"

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  • And Mexican scientists discovered the secrets of the sand worm...

  • From eggs? (Score:3, Funny)

    by stevew ( 4845 ) on Tuesday March 25, 2003 @12:41PM (#5591681) Journal
    That's just great! So I can kill off germs in my food, but my choresterol will go sky high!!?!

  • Spice? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    the substance is nicknamed a spice because it can be sprinkled or sprayed onto meats, fruits and vegetables to complement existing sanitation protocols

    Bull. The substance is called spice because it sounds better than preservative. Many preservatives are natural just like this one. Many spices are preservatives. This chemical has not taste. It's not a spice.

  • Girl Power! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Visigothe ( 3176 ) on Tuesday March 25, 2003 @12:43PM (#5591688) Homepage
    Is anyone else scared that the Canadians will make a race of genetically superior "Super Girl Groups"

    "Antibody Spice" is just the beginning!

    Be afraid, be very afraid!

  • 3 second rule (Score:3, Interesting)

    by moc.tfosorcimgllib ( 602636 ) on Tuesday March 25, 2003 @12:43PM (#5591693) Journal
    Isn't it healthy to eat a few "bad" germs so your body can build a healthy resistance to them?
    • Only when you're young, after age 13 or so, your thyroid(sp) shuts off and your stuck with the immune system you have.
      • I think you mean thymus.

        Take a look at this URL:http://www.jdaross.mcmail.com/lymphatics6.htm
      • Actually, your lymphocytes are always turning over. Any antigen you've been exposed to causes them to proliferate and also generate long lasting memory cells which help fight any secondary infection by an identical source. This is why we never get the same flu or cold twice. However, since the flu virus is always mutating, a slight change in form no longer allows your body to recognize it and you are susceptible again and need to go through the process repeatedly.

        • Re:3 second rule (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Maeryk ( 87865 )
          Actually, your lymphocytes are always turning over. Any antigen you've been exposed to causes them to proliferate and also generate long lasting memory cells which help fight any secondary infection by an identical source. This is why we never get the same flu or cold twice. However, since the flu virus is always mutating, a slight change in form no longer allows your body to recognize it and you are susceptible again and need to go through the process repeatedly.

          This is why my wife, who was "deathly alle
          • a lot of people who were "immune" to poison ivy find out later that that has changed.

            Poison ivy reactions belong to an interesting class of immunological responses. It usually takes at least one exposure (which is asymptomatic) before your immune system decides to collect up a lot of hypersensitive response cells and then the next exposure makes you a not so happy person.
            • Poison ivy reactions belong to an interesting class of immunological responses. It usually takes at least one exposure (which is asymptomatic) before your immune system decides to collect up a lot of hypersensitive response cells and then the next exposure makes you a not so happy person.

              My dad is hypersensitive. (we are talkign hospital visits from contact). My mom is (well, was) immune. Used to rip it out by the roots, bare handed in a tank top and shorts, for days on end, nary a bump. I always just get
  • NaCl.

    You saw it here first.

  • What about people allergic to eggs? Will there soon be no edible food for them? Evolution in action I guess...

  • The spice will be most useful when traditional sanitation safeguards (i.e. rinsing, refrigeration, and thorough cooking) are unavailable or unreliable, the researcher says.

    Does this mean more fecal matter in your food now that this will lower the incidence of foodborne illness?

  • Eyes of Ibabcluck (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Will this new spice give users that distinctive "yolk on yolk" color?

    And does this mean the Egg Council may become as powerful as the Spacing Guild?
  • Is it just me or were you guys reminded of a terrible, yet famous, girl band from a few years ago? Perhaps this new member was all they need to get back together.
  • As this kind of food techologies emerge the diet of human beings gets further from natural food. It is all the artificial content of our food (including the genetic one) that gives and will give Cancer and other actual and future diseases strength. Just plant some vegetables on your back yard and provide yourself some health.
  • There was similar work done with Tobasco sauce as a way to kill off bacterium in raw oysters a few years back. Anyone have a recollection on how that came out?
  • And I thought that the Spice Girls were gone forever. When will the madness stop?!
  • The new "spice" will be sold in high flow shakers, becasue (everybody now) "The spice must flow"

  • About 1 in 3 chicken is infected with salmonella. Eating undercooked chicken is the most common cause of food poisoning. Since eggs pass through the rear of the hen, a lot of eggs is infected with salmonella too. Thats why use of non-pasteurised egg products (i.e. mayonaise) is banned in US. Now, this antibody requires 1. hens to be given vaccination shots, alot of them 2. their eggs being freeze dried. 3. taking this wonderful non-sterile egg-powder and sprinkling it onto lousy food from wending machine o
  • What will they think of next, non-caloric, non-nutritive foods you eat to lose weight? Oops, Gaiman and Pratchett already did that one.
  • This raises some other safety concerns. For example,

    what happens to bacteria already in your system?

    what happens when the antibody now in your digestive tract gets noticed by your OWN immune system?

    What happens if you're allergic to eggs? Is it possible to develop this in a different medium?

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