infants

According to researchers, infants introduced to starchy table foods such as cereal and crackers which have high sodium content may develop a lifelong liking for salty foods.

In response to a series of tainted milk scandals that sickened 300,000 infants last year, researchers at the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology of the China Agricultural University have produced transgenic cows by inserting human genes into cloned cow embryos and then implanting the embryos in surrogate cows.

The technology is similar to that used to produce Dolly the sheep.

In a written statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics has criticized a 1976 federal law – the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) -- which lacks the provision for the government officials to order tests or ban industrial chemicals, instead relying upon the self-regulation by chemical manufacturers.

"Over the past few decades, tens of thousands of new chemicals have been introduced into the environment, often in extremely large quantities," said the statement.