Prions, the Garden, and You
<p>Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an unusual disease of deer that has been <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/scientists-warn-zombie-deer-disease-103054576.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZWNvc2lhLm9yZy8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAArCk22R6_K7jNGK-lHVq2naAog9NJmDFf3S35E6vV7CTKRhiVXootXJwngkP_e7eraoPQO_D4of8rWEMoEwSasGhkuD1xEQBSr_HwJWqp4eW3eYuKJnI8SiTutq3tarb_Iqkzg0o8_hqby1GjrH3_yaTpKYOicexp-QnVJgK3t8" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">making headlines</a> for all the wrong reasons. Chronic wasting disease is interesting because it is not caused by a virus or bacteria, but instead an infectious particle called a prion. Prions are proteins that propagate themselves in the body by triggering a normal protein to misfold itself into the infectious form. Mad cow (BSE), scrapie, and CWD are all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmissible_spongiform_encephalopathy" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">prion diseases</a> and are all 100% fatal to those that actually contract them, though the process can take years.</p>
<p>Prions are of particular concern to humans because some prions have demonstrated an ability to infect and kill humans. The proteins that can be misfolded into prions sometimes misfold spontaneously, leading to a terrible syndrome called Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD) that inevitably leads to a terribly painful death. Humans can also contract similar diseases to CJD by consuming beef infected with BSE or human flesh from someone with CJD, leading to vCJD or Kuru respectively.</p>
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