Trends in U.S. food prices, 1950-2007

The potential effect that food prices may have on the health of the U.S. population needs to be further explored, particularly in light of the rising food prices currently being observed. Declining food prices over time have been singled out as a main contributor, for example, to the rising trend in obesity. In this paper we use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, the Consumer Expenditure Survey, and the United States Department of Agriculture to analyze trends in various types of food prices, to create a food price index, and to estimate the price of a calorie. Results may be used by future researchers in estimating the health implications of these trends. We find that while the general trend in food prices has been declining, that of restaurant meal prices and prices of fruits and vegetables has risen over time. It is doubtful that the decline in food prices has been sufficiently large to account for the large increase in caloric intake that is said to have contributed to the obesity epidemic in the U.S.     

Protein translation, 2007

Translation of RNA to protein is essential for life. It should perhaps not be surprising, therefore, that appropriate regulation of translation plays a key role in determining longevity. This Hot Topic article discusses papers published in the last year related to the importance of translation and its regulation by signaling through the target of rapamycin kinase, in modulating aging and age-associated diseases.     

BSPR/EBI 2007 meeting report--Integrative Proteomics: From Molecules to Systems. July 25-27, 2007 Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Hinxton, UK.

This report reviews the joint British Society for Proteome Research (BSPR) and European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) 2007 meeting, 'Integrative Proteomics: From Molecules to Systems' which took place at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Hinxton, UK, from 25th to 27th July. The aim of this year's meeting was to explore how the integration of 'omic' technologies can lead to a comprehensive understanding of cellular organization, differentiation and signalling. Studies investigating protein-protein interactions and trafficking illustrated how the combination of proteomics and bioinformatics is allowing systems biology to develop as a discipline in its own right.     

OECD Best Practice Guidelines for Biological Resource Centers. OECD, 2007, 115 p.

The book is the first published collection of guidelines regulating operational activities of biological resource centers, approved by representatives of the 30 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The published standards were prepared as a result of multiple discussions held by expert groups of the OECD members, together with key experts of partner nations, under the auspices of a specialist task force established by the OECD Working Party on Biotechnology.