June 29, 2006

Brittle prions are more infectious

Brittleness is often seen as a sign of fragility. But in the case of infectious proteins called prions, brittleness makes for a tougher, more menacing pathogen. Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher have discovered that brittle prion particles break more readily into new "seeds," which spread infection much more quickly. Science Daily Link

July 6, 2006

Experiments raise hopes for pre-symptom vCJD blood test

Writing in the Friday, July 7, 2006, issue of Science magazine, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) have reported on experiments that soon may help medical science estimate how many people are infected with the human form of mad cow disease, the “silent” phase of which can last up to 40 years.
The blood tests this advance should facilitate also could help prevent accidental transmission via infected blood transfusions and organ transplants of the malformed proteins causing variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), the scientists suggested. FSnet Link