Science Media Centre

News reports within the last day or two have revealed that some of New Zealand’s meat undergoes a process called ‘gas flushing’, in which carbon dioxide and oxygen are pumped into meat packaging to significantly lengthen the meat’s shelf-life. Meats which have undergone the process, also called Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), are not currently labelled [...]

NOTE: Further comments added The UK’s Food Standards Agency is investigating claims that milk from the offspring of a cloned cow is on sale in British supermarkets, according to a statement released overnight. European Union rules on novel foods ensure no products from clones’ offspring can be sold legally without a scientific assessment of safety. [...]

Mark Hotton writes in the Southland Times about a speech by AgResearch’s Dr Jason Archer in which he outlined several technologies which could help improve New Zealand’s meat production. While New Zealand will never be able to produce meat as cheaply as some other countries, technologies are being developed which could help farmers to sustainably [...]

Tim Cronshaw writes in Business Day about recent US research suggesting that processed meat can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and the reaction from the New Zealand Meat Processors Association, which says the research could mislead kiwis. Kiwis eat less processed meat than those who took part in the study, meaning [...]

Life after silicon – future electronics The journal Science gives over much of this week’s issue to the role silicon-based transistors have played in revolutionising computing and the possible way forward as scientists strive for faster, more powerful computers and electronics. Some scientists writing in Science are focusing on the re-engineering of silicon-based transistors while [...]

A report presented this week at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society suggests that despite claims to the contrary, eating less meat and dairy will not have much of a mitigating impact on climate change. That’s because in most developed countries, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock make up a small percentage of [...]