To SH firstly: Our test has taken many years to perfect and has finally been proven to be an extremely sensitive and accurate test which can detect the presence of PrPsc (Scrapie-form Prion) in as little as 1ml of urine. The test doesn't care how old the donor of that urine is or whether or not it can do the Boston Two step. The test simply identifies whether or not the prion is present in the sample. Secondly, and I too hope I am not being too candid for you, one has to remember current and conventional science (tests) relies on the fact that the animal usually has presented some form of symptoms which in turn, indicates serious degenerative damage to the brain function thus causing the symptoms such as ataxia or shuddering and falling (downers). Consider this if you will; an animal which is hosting the infectious prion may well walk down the chute and appear to be perfectly normal as it goes to the kill floor. But it can still be harboring the infectious prion. Had the rancher chosen to keep that

animal for a month or a year longer, perhaps then it would have displayed the symptoms of being infected. MY argument here is that the animal, like a human infected with AIDs, may not display outwardly that it is a carrier. But it, like the human AIDS sufferer, is still infected. So I would ask if you would practice safe sex with an AIDS patient or not, since they apparently look normal??  Secondly, to repsond to your pointed remarks which went something like this : "Sounds to me like someone sees a chance to make some money here with a BSE test that is "supposedly" better than previous tests on younger cattle." All I can say to you is that we decided two years ago to not try to prove our test ourselves in our own labs, but to send it to one that would conduct the evaluation with an extremely independent viewpoint. THat lab was the United States National Prion Surveillance Center Laboratory, located at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the world's most respected facilities. THey came back to us and said that our test not only works well, but with some of their scientific input, it can detect the presence of the infectious prion in samples that indicate that the prion is there long before any clinical symptoms have appeared.

Lastly, as for making money on this, you are damn right we will make money on this and for your information, approximately 75% of the profits will be going into further research for the identifaction of markers in diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Hodgkins and so on and to the funding of "Post-Doctoral" studies in prion research. Yes, we are here to make money, but frankly, I resent tohe conotation that we are here to make money off the backs of Ranchers. We are here to help and we are working hard to get our test proven to the point of validation.  So, "SH," if you wish to stay current with the world of science and the rest of us "Fast buck artists," as you so delicately referred to me, stay turned. We will try to provide some sanity to this BSE question and hopefully pursuade you that we are the good guys here, not the thieving bastards who wish to make money on the backs of those who risk their livelyhood each and every day on the farm. And SH, please do not believe all that the Feds are telling you about tests and BSE, and especially SRM's. They are still thinking in haphazrd ways and ely on old opinions that were formed back when BSE was still an unknown. I hope that was informing and not too candid. Ron.