Interestingly, E. coli from cows fed hay were almost completely destroyed by acid, whereas the E. coli from corn-fed cows had significant survival rates in acid. These results mean that the increase in E. coli outbreaks may be caused, in part, by diet. In animals fed diets containing high levels of corn E. coli grows to much higher levels and is more likely to survive passage through a person's stomach. The authors of the study suggest that feeding cows hay for one week prior to slaughter would greatly reduce the number of E. coli in the intestines of cows and also greatly reduce the incidence of E. coli contamination of meat. Carrot Antifreeze Farmers and gardeners have long known that carrots can survive cold weather.
Carrots belong to a small group of plants and animals that make antifreeze proteins.
These special proteins interact with small ice crystals and prevent their growth. Cells die when ice crystals grow too large and damage cell walls. Recently, scientists in New York and England located the gene for the carrot antifreeze protein and transferred it to another plant species, where it functioned properly. This opens the way for commercially useful crops to be genetically engineered to tolerate cold weather. For a brief period in the 1730's, areas of Eastern Europe, especially Hungary, were said to have vampires.