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<br /> LEANER CHICKENS THROUGH
<br /> UGH MRI
<br /> Looking at the contour lines on the computer Use of MRI in agricultural research is in its
<br /> screen, you would never know it was the image of infancy. For now, "the practical application of
<br /> a sleeping chicken or that the image may lead to MRI is limited by the expense of the instrument.
<br /> broiler chickens with leaner meat. The small research unit used in these tests cost
<br /> about a million dollars," says Paul C. Wang of the
<br /> The modern broiler chicken was bred to produce Department of Radiology, Howard University
<br /> more muscle mass,particularly in the breast,which Hospital,Washington,D.C.,who cooperated in the
<br /> is the most economically valuable part of the bird. tests conducted at the univesity's facility. -
<br /> < In the process, the chicken became fatter.
<br /> Even though chicken is still considered relatively Vince Mazzola
<br /> ;lean, scientists believe it can be made leaner. USDA-ARS Non-Ruminant Animal Nutrition
<br /> Chickens have a great deal of fat tied up in a Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research
<br /> triangular body in the abdomen, "which costs the Center, 10300
<br /> poultry industry about $500 million annually in Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD
<br /> waste. Additional fat is found under the skin",says
<br /> ARS animal scientist Alva D. Mitchell
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<br /> Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, a handy
<br /> diagnostic tool for doctors, is making inroads into
<br /> animal research. MRI can be used to visually Meeting Announcement '
<br /> dissect living tissue without harming the animal.
<br /> w� The California Animal Nutrition Conference will
<br /> MRI's three-dimensional cross-sectional be held on May 12-13, 1993 at the Centre plaza
<br /> images, we can follow the muscle and fat Holiday Inn, Fresno, California.
<br /> development in a chicken from hatching until it
<br /> reaches market weight. At the end of the test,the For Pre-registration Contact..s.
<br /> bird will still be around to breed," says Mitchell Donna Boggs "f
<br /> = who does his research at the Non-Ruminant 1715 Capital Avenue
<br /> ���`' Animal Nutrition Laboratory in Beltsville, _° Sacramento, CA 958141:
<br /> 441-2272
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<br /> The birds are anesthetized to keep them
<br /> motionless in the test chamber where they are
<br /> surrounded by a magnetic field. Changes in the II �`
<br /> field, induced electronically, help differentiate the
<br /> tissues. An image is displayed on a screen and Dou g
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<br /> r f 'printed on X-ray film. A series of images can be Monthly Editor
<br /> translated into three.-dimensional form, which is Area Poultry Farm Advisor
<br /> displayed on a color computer monitor. University of California
<br /> 21150 Box Springs Rd—"'
<br /> "The images of the various tissues are electronically Moreno Valley, CA 92557
<br /> tinted to better visualize them. On the screen the
<br /> image can be moved around to see the tissue from,
<br /> all angles," says Mitchell. Ralph A. Ernst
<br /> Technical Editor g,
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<br /> The �MRI machine can also be used as a �Extension Poultry Specialist
<br /> a spectrophotometer, an instrument for measuring Department of Avian Science
<br /> University of California
<br /> elements. "In this mode, it is possible to measure t � tY
<br /> total fat and water content of the entire bird" says , Davis, CA 95616
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