Friday, July 13, 2012

Tackling Wine Allergies


Tech Tackles Wine Allergies -- Discovery News

Some people are allergic to certain wines -- that nice Loire Valley red gives them a rash or headache, or that California Chardonnay makes them sneeze. The University of British Columbia's Wine Research Center might have found a way to solve this problem.

The team at UBC has modified two genes of a strain of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has been used in winemaking for decades (if not centuries). The yeast was modified to eliminate the need for a species of bacteria needed for the winemaking process. That bacteria produces chemicals that cause allergic reactions. About 30 percent of the population has some allergy to wine.

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My Comment: What struck me about this article was the following stat .... about 30 percent of the population has some allergy to wine. that's a big market being left out.

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