Study confirms: mad cow is transmissible to humans

www.sciencedaily.com...

sorry

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have taken a major step towards understanding how abnormal prion proteins, the suspected cause of mad cow and related diseases, change shape to jump from one animal species to another. In test tube experiments, they were able to make human prion proteins exhibit characteristics of mouse prions or hamster prions through the substitution of either one or two amino acids.


The last i knew, the government reports stated that we had nothing to worry about with mad cow or cronic wasting disease?

[Edited on 10-4-2004 by mo_trot]

[Edited on 10-4-2004 by mo_trot]

MEMBERS: Do not simply post news articles in the forums without comment. If you feel inclined to make the board aware of current events, please post the first paragraph, a link to the entire story, AND your opinion, twist or take on the news item.

Speaking of Mad Cow.
Read this BS:

A Kansas meatpacker may take the U.S. Department of Agriculture to court because the agency will not allow companies to voluntarily test all of their slaughter animals for mad cow disease.

...
Japanese officials have demanded U.S. officials test all beef shipments to the country as a condition for reopening trade. Creekstone was poised to create its own lab and use a rapid test already approved by the USDA. Before the ban went into effect, the company expected to ship as much as 2,000 tons of beef to Japan this year. Now Creekstone is losing about $100,000 a day.

Agriculture Undersecretary Bill Hawks said Friday that mad cow tests are for animal health surveillance purposes. Using the tests the way Creekstone proposed "would have implied a consumer safety aspect that is not scientifically warranted," Hawks said.

www.omaha.com...

The USDA is refusing to allow them to test all cows for BSE.

I hope the USDA wises up and allows the testing.