Informant38

Craig Venter continues his alien endeavors apace.
________

Nestl� Microbe (Lactobacillus johnsonii)This bacterium lives in our intestines and may protect against harmful microbes. The food company Nestl�, which sequenced the organism, uses it in a yogurt-like dairy product called LC1.

____

Swiss giant Nestle, the world's largest human-food company, will soon be tops in the canine and feline markets as well if its deal to buy Ralston Purina is completed.
-
Dreyer's is the largest manufacturer and distributor of ice cream and ice cream products in the United States. The company sells ice cream under the Dreyer's brand name in 14 western states in the United States and parts of Asia and under the Edy's brand name elsewhere in the United States. In addition, the company sells ice cream under the Dreamery, Starbucks and Godiva brands.
���

The Federal Trade Commission has authorized its staff to seek a preliminary injunction to block the merger of Nestl� Holdings, Inc. and Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc., pending trial. In June 2002, Nestl� and Dreyer's agreed to combine their ice cream businesses in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion. (FTC March 4, 2003)
__

U.S. antitrust enforcers on Wednesday approved Nestle's takeover of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc. on the condition that the companies divest some ice cream brands and distribution assets, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said.
The FTC's five commissioners voted unanimously to clear the deal, with the companies promising to sell the Dreamery, Godiva and Whole Fruit sorbet brands to a unit of CoolBrands International Inc. to assuage antitrust concerns.
The approval comes about four months after the FTC threatened to sue to block the takeover because of concerns that it would eliminate U.S. competition and raise prices for top-tier ice creams like Nestle's Haagen Dazs and Dreyer's Godiva.
_______

"Your politics are complex," he muttered in embarrassment.

Collins, who was a partner in the discovery of the gene mutation responsible for cystic fibrosis, defines himself to be a "practicing Christian." He wears a ring that bears a large cross on his finger. How does he live with the fact that his discovery is now used to justify abortion of genetically diseased fetuses?

"I find it troubling," he says. "But I certainly would defend the desire of couples to have the information, and would certainly be uncomfortable with the state stepping in and telling them what to do with that information. At the same time, my dream in the years when I searched for the gene along with colleagues in Toronto, was to cure the disease. That dream hasn't been realized yet.