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Categories: Anthropology: General, Biology: Microbiology
Published Unraveling one of prion disease's deadly secrets
(via sciencedaily.com) A professor of biochemistry and molecular biology report an unanticipated role for prion nucleation seeds that enhances their ability to appear and resist curing.
Published Household bleach inactivates chronic wasting disease prions
(via sciencedaily.com) A 5-minute soak in a 40% solution of household bleach decontaminated stainless steel wires coated with chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions, according to a new study. The scientists used the wires to model knives and saws that hunters and meat processors use when handling deer, elk and moose - all of which are susceptible to CWD.
Published Breakthrough in chronic wasting disease research reveals distinct deer, elk prion strains
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a new gene-targeted approach to study chronic wasting disease in mice, allowing opportunities for research that has not previously existed.
Published Northeastern U.S. deer more susceptible to wasting disease than those to the west
(via sciencedaily.com) Some deer are more susceptible to chronic wasting disease that is spreading through herds of white-tailed deer across much of the United States, according to researchers, who have identified a panel of genetic markers that reliably predict which animals are most vulnerable to the contagious neurological disorder.
Published Retinal prion disease study redefines role for brain cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists studying the progression of inherited and infectious eye diseases that can cause blindness have found that microglia, a type of nervous system cell suspected to cause retinal damage, surprisingly had no damaging role during prion disease in mice. In contrast, the study findings indicated that microglia might delay disease progression.
Published New skin test detects prion infection before symptoms appear
(via sciencedaily.com) Prions can infect both humans and animals, causing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, mad cow disease in cattle, and chronic wasting disease in elk and deer. The infectious, misfolded protein particles often go undetected as they destroy brain tissue, causing memory loss, mobility issues, and ultimately death. Preclinical detection of prions has proven difficult, but new research suggests skin samples hold early signs of prion disease that precede neurologic symptoms.
Published Amyloid pathology transmission in lab mice and historic medical treatments
(via sciencedaily.com) A study has confirmed that some vials of a hormone used in discontinued medical treatments contained seeds of a protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, and are able to seed amyloid pathology in mice.
Published Soil compound fights chronic wasting disease
(via sciencedaily.com) A major compound in soil organic matter degrades chronic wasting disease prions and decreases infectivity in mice, according to a new study.
Published Eyes of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients show evidence of prions
(via sciencedaily.com) By the time symptoms of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) are typically discovered, death is looming and inevitable. In a new study, researchers report finding tell-tale evidence of the condition's infectious agent in the eyes of deceased sCJD patients, making the eye a potential source for both early CJD detection and prevention of disease transmission.
Published Not all prion strains interfere with each other
(via sciencedaily.com) The first example of prion strains that replicate independently in vitro and in vivo suggests that strain diversity may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study.
Published Possible molecular pathway for neurodegeneration in prion diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study has shed light on the mechanisms underlying the progression of prion diseases and identified a potential target for treatment.
Published Cross-species prion adaptation depends on prion replication environment
(via sciencedaily.com) A hamster prion that replicated under conditions of low RNA levels in mouse brain material resulted in altered disease features when readapted and transmitted back to hamsters, according to new research.
Published No chronic wasting disease transmissibility in macaques
(via sciencedaily.com) Chronic wasting disease (CWD) did not cross the species barrier to infect cynomolgus macaque monkeys during a lengthy investigation exploring risks to humans.
Published Transmission risk of familial human prion diseases to mice
(via sciencedaily.com) Familial human prion diseases are passed within families and are associated with 34 known prion protein mutations. To determine whether three of the unstudied mutations are transmissible, scientists exposed research mice to brain samples from three people who died from a familial prion disease. After observing the mice for about two years, they found two of the mutations, Y226X and G131V, are transmissible.
Published Soil characteristics may be related to chronic wasting disease persistence, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Deer infected with chronic wasting disease are doomed to a slow and certain death, eventually wasting away as they lose the ability to eat and drink. There is no cure and no vaccine, and the number of infected deer continues to rise every year. But scientists recently published a new study that could help explain the movement of the disease across the landscape.
Published Chronic wasting disease
(via sciencedaily.com) New research summarizes the efforts in disease surveillance and risk management of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and shows that past management strategies such as selective culling, herd reduction, and hunter surveillance have had only limited effectiveness. The summary points towards new advice for optimal, cost-effective strategies in aggressive disease control.
Published New trick up their sleeve
(via sciencedaily.com) Nerve-damaging protein particles called prions have long been known to exist in mammals. Now, in a surprising discovery, investigators report they have found evidence that bacteria can also make prions. Prions—self-propagating clumps of misfolded protein—have been identified as the cause of several rare but universally fatal neurodegenerative conditions, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy, popularly known as mad cow disease.
Published Newly discovered infectious prion structure shines light on mad cow disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Groundbreaking research has identified the structure of the infectious prion protein, the cause of 'mad cow disease' or BSE, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which has long remained a mystery.
Published Prion-like protein found in plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have determined that a plant protein involved in the timing of flowering could in fact be a prion. This is the first time that a possible prion has been identified in plants, and it may play a role in a plant's 'memory' of cold exposure during winter.
Published New assay offers improved detection of deadly prion diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are a family of rare progressive, neurodegenerative illnesses that affect both humans and animals. TSE surveillance is important for public health and food safety because TSEs have the potential of crossing from animals to humans, as seen with the spread of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). A new study describes an advanced assay that offers better sensitivity than currently available tests for detecting a prion disease affecting elk.