Hi! All: I have been hearing about this scary news in the media that a known carcinogen called ACRYLAMIDE is found in major carbohydrate conaining staple foods such as rice, potato (french fries and poato chips), and bread especially when preparations are made in high heat in the presence of fat. Apparently, WHO has called for an emergency conference of the specialists in this field to examine this issue. But, they also added that it was too early for people to stop eating such items yet! I am very much interested in finding the original source of this info for a special reason. I do not want to scare anybody. But, I would like raise a cautionary note at this point, until we get some clear data and advice from the WHO on this issue. As a scientist, who has been using acrylamide on an everyday basis for running polyacryalamdie gel electrophoresis used in the study of DNA and proteins, I know for sure ACRYLAMIDE MONOMER IS A NEUROTOXIN; but once it is polymerized it is not toxic to the nervous system. We always warn our students about this. This raises a special red flag in my mind. Are we slowly poisoning our nervous system by eating such food items? If so, what is the role of this factor in the initiation and / or progression of PD and other neurological diseases in susceptible individuals? I do not have an answer to this question. We may have to wait for the WHO declaration after this conference. It would be important to know the exact nature and quantities of the chemical in each preparation and what kinds of health hazards this might cause to humans. I request all of you to keep an eye on this news and if you hear anything about this, please kindly post the details and the source of the news without fail or delay. Thank you very much. Raj [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn