Banquet Pot Pies (Warning)

On Oct. 10, 2007 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) discovered that the Banquet Pot Pies with the code "P-9" on the side of the box was causing salmonella.

Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Most people recover within a week without treatment, but serious complications can occur. Infants, elders, and people with weak immune systems are more likely to become severely ill from salmonella.

The USDA, CDC, and state health officials are investigating at least 139 cases of salmonella in 30 states that were reported this year and that may be related to the pot pies. At least 20 people have been hospitalized in connection with the outbreak, according to the CDC.

ConAgra, the manufacturer of the pot pies, is cooperating with the investigation. The company reminds consumers to cook the pot pies thoroughly as instructed on the packages.

"The cooking instructions for these products are specifically designed to eliminate the presence of common pathogens found in many uncooked products," ConAgra states in a news release.

So far, health officials haven't proven that the pot pies caused the salmonella cases. But based on interviews comparing foods eaten by patients and people without salmonella, the CDC calls the pot pies "the likely source" of the illness.

It's not clear from the USDA's report whether the people who ate those pot pies and fell ill cooked the pot pies thoroughly. The Missouri plant where the pot pies were made has voluntarily halted its operations because of the reported illnesses.

Japanese Create Transluscent Frog

Japanese researchers have succeeded in creating see-through frogs. They have created these frogs to observe blood vessels and eggs, organs, underneath the skin so that people do not have to perform dissections.

“You can see through the skin how organs grow, how cancer starts and develops,” said the lead researcher Masayuki Sumida, professor at the Institute for Amphibian Biology of state-run Hiroshima University.

“You can watch organs of the same frog over its entire life as you don’t have to dissect it. The researcher can also observe how toxins affect bones, livers and other organs at lower costs,” he told AFP.

This is just absolutely amazing! What will they come out with next? Is it just me or does it seem sort of scary in a way? This is just awesome though, it is hard to believe that this frog is actually living. Such an incredible creation.