USDA: Cow with BSE likely to be only infected animal in herd
Since bovine spongiform encephalopathy was diagnosed in Washington state in December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been "operating out of an abundance of caution" with regard to public and animal safety, said Dr. Ron DeHaven, the USDA's chief veterinary officer. [more]

USDA-APHIS teams up with states to test electronic certificates of inspection
The Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health of the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is working with six states—California, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin—to test an electronic Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. [more]

Genome roundup
This past December, scientists completed a first draft of the genome sequence of the chimpanzee. This ape joins a handful of other animals whose genomes were sequenced in 2003, and several more sequence maps are expected in 2004. [more]