Have a Grilled Cheese, Bush the Slime-mold Beetle, Cat Allergy Remedy, Confounding Chemistry

Have a grilled cheese

Out of nearly 6,000 entries from all 50 states, one overall winner and six category winners won a total of about $40,000 in cash and prizes. The grand prize went to Ashley Berman of Coral Springs, Fla., for her recipe for Caribbean Grill, which combines Swiss cheese, mango salsa, and curry-buttered Italian bread.

The other winning recipes are the following: Orange Blossom Decker Grill (most original), Grilled Fondue Sandwich (gourmet), Grilled Pizza Cheese (kids' favorite), Queso Con Verde (culturally influenced), Dairyland Cheddar Cranapple Grill (regionally inspired), and Eggplant Chili-Cheese (low carb). To view the winning recipes, go to www.grilledcheese-contest.com.

Bush the slime-mold beetle

Two former Cornell University entomologists have figured out a way to honor the Bush Administration while possibly insulting it at the same time.

Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller were naming 65 new species of slime-mold beetles when they decided to name species in the genus Agathidium for President George W. Bush (A. bushi Miller and Wheeler), Vice President Dick Cheney (A. cheneyi Miller and Wheeler), and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (A. rumsfeldi Miller and Wheeler). The monograph was published in the March 24 issue of the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.

According to the rules of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, the first word of a new species is its genus; the second word, if named after a person, must end in "i"; and the final part of the name lists the person(s) who first described the species.

Wheeler says they named the slime-mold beetles after Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld out of admiration for the three "as fellow citizens who have the courage of their convictions and are willing to do the very difficult and unpopular work of living up to principles of freedom and democracy rather than accepting the expedient or popular." It isn't clear how these leaders' qualities relate to slime-mold beetles, but the Administration's detractors will likely see a connection.

Cat allergy remedy

If you're allergic to cats, buying an expensive, genetically modified feline may not be your only option after all (C&EN, Nov. 29, 2004, page 48). Andrew Saxon, professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and researchers there and at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, have developed and tested a "chimeric human-cat fusion protein composed of a truncated human IgG Fc γ1 and the major cat allergen, Fel d1, as a proof of concept for a new approach to allergy immunotherapy" (Nat. Med., published online March 27, dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm1219).

The compound was successful in sensitized human cord blood-derived mast cells and in mice bred to be allergic to cats. The researchers believe it may work against more dangerous allergies as well.

Confounding chemistry

◾ An article posted on Feb. 1 on www.channelcincinnati.com reads: "Scientists said they need more research into ... how the body reacts to the vitamin D given off by the sun," adding that "researchers ... don't know why the levels of vitamin D our bodies receive from the sun plays a role" in protecting us from certain cancers. (Submitted by Harold Vaughn of Cincinnati.)

◾ The Calendar of Events for the Feb. 3–9 Maui Weekly lists "the Hidden Messages in Water," inviting readers to join a "renowned Japanese researcher to see how you can affect water with your thoughts and words." (Submitted by Irene Newhouse of Kihei, Hawaii.)

This week's column was written by Deanna Miller . Please send comments and suggestions to newscripts@acs.org.