Mad cow disease; BSE, is by prion - which is not an organism . Sorry
to be pedantic but the whole problem is that prion is a protein, but
has infectious capabilities. This is what makes it unique and has
been puzzling scientists. Basically if you take a sample of normal
and mutant prion and mix them together the normal becomes mutant -
hence it behaves in an infectious way. The problem is that there is
no primary difference between normal and mutant prion - it is
believed to be a confomational change in the folds of the protein
together with the glycosylation (extra sugar groups stuck onto the
protein).
Pete
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Dr. Peter Dixon
Neurogenetics Unit, Department of Clinical Neurology
6th Floor, Institute of Neurology
Queen Square
London WC1N 3BG
Tel: 0207 837 3611 xtn 4305
Fax: 0207 278 5616
Mobile: 07712607905
email: P.Dixon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, peterdixon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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