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I had to Google NEN to determine that it stands for New England Nuclear. Sorry, no can do. The only isotopes I use are permanent fixtures of my irradiator, just over 50,000 Curies of cesium-137, behind three feet of steel and lead. *Warm* steel and lead.

I didn't see 28 Days, but I can certainly understand the sentiment. Irradiated food is not only safe, wholesome and nutritious, it is ofter safer, healthier and more nutritious than non-irradiated food, since the spoilage organisms and any human pathogens have been eliminated. This is especially important for commodities that have a history of foodborne illness outbreaks, or in an environment where multiple foods may pose an increased risk of harboring pathogens.

This isn't just me spouting the party line because I drank the Kool-Aid. There's more than 60 years of research by industry, academia and government on the safety and nutritional adequacy of irradiated food, and it's culminated in as solid an endorsement as anything could receive.

I'm presenting a talk on the subject at the Institute of Food Technologists's annual meeting in Orlando this July. Any Slashdotters who are registered for the meeting may want to swing by.

Plasma treatment of food is also deeply, deeply cool. There are some exceptionally fascinating aspects to this technology, not just for food, but for lots and *lots* of applications. You'll be hearing more about it in two or three years. As it happens, I'm writing a book chapter on non-thermal plasma treatment of food. It's open in another window, and I should be working on it instead of procrastinating on Slashdot.

I like my job. It's fun being a scientist.

There is a research program within the USDA that is all about biofuels and development of improved efficiency of conversion: Crop Conversion Science and Engineering Research Unit . It has projects titled:

Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction of Corn Oil and Value-Added Products from Corn Germ Produced in New Generation Dry-Grind Ethanol Processes

Economic Competitiveness of Renewable Fuels Derived from Grains and Related Biomass

Enzyme-Based Technologies for Milling Grains and Producing Biobased Products and Fuels

Valuable Polysaccharide-Based Products from Sugar Beet Pulp and Citrus Peel

Engineering Scale-Up, Process and Economics Research Support Group

Now, if I were more of a conspiracy theorist than I already am, I'd say that this was a bio-engineered fungus. But who would develop it, I hear you asking? (Well, one of you asked it, at least.) The US Government in their top secret Plum Island research center (which has a biohazard rating two higher than the National Center for Disease Control!)? The NSA at Fort Meade? The Army biological weapons branch?

Worse! The RIAA!

Think about it. CD-Rs and CD-RWs are the demesne of music pir8s, and are a tool used for the theft of the property of the RIAA! Wouldn't it be great if the pirates had their tools eaten out from under them?

So, what happens? RIAA immunizes their CD's against this fungus. RIAA agents release it into the environment in colleges and in major metropolitan centers (i.e. anywhere there's a Tower Records.) Before you know it, CD-Rs are being eaten all over the place, CD burners become useless overnight, and millions of gigabytes of data are irrevocably lost faster than you can say "US Government Approved Methods for Destroying Media Containing Classified Data!"

It's a conspiracy, I tell you, a conspiracy!!

Ahem... uhm, that is, if I was any more of a conspiracy theorist than I already am. =)

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Chief Technician, Helpdesk at the End of the World