Prions and Mad Cow Disease

The alarm sounded by Canada's confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has reaffirmed the exigency of establishing improved safeguards and more aggressive surveillance protocols in North America and around the world. Research converging on the probable causative agent--prion proteins--calls for intensive assessment of the headway gained in tracing prions, testing for transmissible neurodegenerative diseases, and developing methods for cornering the epidemic. With an illustrious p