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For almost 50 years, scientists at a secret laboratory on Plum Island off Long Island in New York have studied live foot-and-mouth virus. If released, the virus would devastate the 45 million dollar U.S. livestock industry.

“Here at Plum Island, we are in a constant state of readiness 7 days a week, 365 days a year, heightened even more now that our neighbor Britain has the disease in earnest,” says veterinarian Thomas McKenna.
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British scientists are beginning to seriously consider a new theory about the cause of Mad Cow Disease, proposed by organic farmer Mark Purdey, who feels that the conventional explanation-that BSE is caused by animals beingfed infected meat and bone meal-is wrong.

Purdey believes that Mad Cow Disease is caused by cattle being exposed to high levels of the metal manganese, as well as a common insecticide, phosmet. He also believes that people who are exposed to these substances are susceptible to CJD, the human form of BSE.
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A Swedish explorer who specializes in hunting unusual species has invented a special trap for the Loch Ness monster. Jan Sundberg and his Global Underwater Research Team (GUST) plan to use multi-beam sonar equipment and an acoustic underwater camera to create a 3-D image of the loch’s depths. Their Nessie trap is 23 feet long and over 16 feet in circumference.

“The sonar has previously only been used in the sea by scientists mapping the ocean and looking for volcanoes and earthquake sites,” says Sundberg. “This is the first time it will have been used in freshwater. If there is a family of monsters or animals down there this sonar will find them.”
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The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed precious Roman documents, along with the city of Pompeii. Now scholars have discovered a new way to read the scorched remnants of these ancient texts.

In Utah, Brigham Young University researchers are using light-imaging technology originally designed for NASA to clean up the scrolls, making it possible to read documents dating back more than 2,000 years.

“Some scholars have told me they take 2 or 3 weeks to read a line of text,” says project leader Steven Booras. “When that first image came up, I have to admit I was thinking, ‘Hey, we’ve got something here.'”
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