Boston Journal of Medical Science

Research News - Headlines

Issue 12 vol. 93 April 1st 2004

1954 Aspartame Research Declassified

Reuters: Washington DC:  3-31-04 0905 est

In what appears to be a simple clerical error, highly classified research, carried out in the early 1950s, has been made public following the 50 year statute of declassification under the Official Secrets Act. The documents have since been reclassified under the National Security Act, instigated by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency and several other government agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency. While only available for public scrutiny for a total of 12 minutes, some of the material has been copied and distributed, via the internet, to news agencies around the world.      Much of the documentation is missing but  as the following points indicate,  governmental interference was widespread in the misinformation concerning the actual history, properties and intended use of Aspartame. Please Note: Aspartame is generally credited as having been discovered by Mr.James Schlatter in 1964 while carrying out amino acid research in the treatment of ulcers. It also has a dubious history of FDA approval.

Most of the research, according to the material made available, was carried out at this government facility near Roswell, New Mexico between 1947 and March, 1954.

Roswell Facility further information here

Dr. Gunther Kaufman, who was involved with Wernher von Braum in the German Military rocket program and is credited not only  for the fuel system development of the V2 rocket but more importantly, the research of alternative rocket fuels. In 1946, following capture by allied forces at the end of the war, von Braum's team, including Kaufman, were transported to White Sands, New Mexico to continue work on rocket sytems. Kaufman's rocket fuel research was deemed too important to continue at White Sands and so was moved to the more secure facility outside of Roswell. As his research became more involved with the molecular structures of the

compounds he was producing, Kaufman had Hungarian molecular research  chemist, Dr. Lubja Szabados, also captured by the allies at the end of the war, transferred to the Roswell facility. By 1949, they had developed what became known as the "miracle molecule", and named it "Aspartame" after a 16th century Hungarian saint. Through manipulation of the protein polypeptide chains, this molecule could be "tailor made"  for any given

intended purpose. Normally, any such manipulation would, at best, produce a highly unstable compound. The Aspartame we know today, (LD-Aspartame, sugar substitute), was developed during a visit to Roswell by then president, Harry Truman. When the president asked about the safety of the new rocket fuel DL-Aspartame, Kaufman commented that it was so safe you could put it in your coffee. He then placed 2 teaspoons of the manipulated rocket fuel (LD-Aspartame) into his cup of coffee and drank it. Of the some 130 manipulated variations of Aspartame produced, 2 appear to have resulted in the government ordering the cessation of the program, the destruction of the facility and, allegedly, the disappearance of all the staff including Kaufman and Szabados. The first,

DD-Aspartame is described as "a pale blue, highly stable powder when mixed with water at a ratio of 200:1, produces a liquid that will power an internal combustion engine and produces no hydrocarbon emissions", also "DD-Aspartame can be produced at the cost of $23.75 per ton" (these figures dated 1952). The second, LL-Aspartame, was described by Szabados in her research notes as "a tasteless, odourless liquid that displays anticarcinogenic properties. That is, when combined with a known carcinogenic compound the resulting compound retains all the properties of the original but the carcinogens have been either destroyed or neutralised". Please see the following documents, which are copies of the original reports from Roswell.

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