Originally posted by Boksha Isn't the "mad cow disease" a result of protein misfolding?
Yes.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Scrapie (BSE in sheep) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (Nothing to do with the UT2004 bot - honest!) disease in humans are all caused by a misfolding prion protein in the brain. Normal CJD is caused by a one-in-a-million chance that the prion escapes destruction, and vCJD (variant CJD) is from eating contaminated meat.
Weird thing about these prions is that they can reconfigure normal prions into badly folded ones, continuing the cycle until eventually the brain is so clogged up with bad prions, cells starve to death one by one and your brain turns spongy. :bulb:
Originally posted by Shakuurn Weird thing about these prions is that they can reconfigure normal prions into badly folded ones, continuing the cycle until eventually the brain is so clogged up with bad prions, cells starve to death one by one and your brain turns spongy. :bulb:
Originally posted by Shakuurn Weird thing about these prions is that they can reconfigure normal prions into badly folded ones, continuing the cycle until eventually the brain is so clogged up with bad prions, cells starve to death one by one and your brain turns spongy. :bulb:
One time, I folded the bed sheets so badly, my wife starved me and now my brain is spongy.....
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