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> But it wasn't a virus — or a bacterium, fungus, or parasite. It was an entirely new infectious agent, one that had no genetic material, could survive being bo

• gambiting 5y ago
  Well because it's "just" a protein which by itself isn't alive. It's like how heavy water(water where the hydrogen atom is replaced by a deuterium atom) will eventually kill you if ingested in large quantities, because your body just doesn't recognize it as any different from normal water - it takes the molecules and builds stuff with it, but because it's not quite the same, things start breaking down eventually. This is roughly the same - body takes this protein in, "thinks" it's a different type of protein, the resulting cell is "broken" diseases follow. You'd literally need to break that protein down so that it's completely destroyed, either with extremely high temperatures(not boiling) or with acids. People think of it like bacteria and then are surprised it can't be "killed" - well it can't be killed because it's just a basic building block, it just happens to be defective.
  • harles 5y ago
    My expectation is that most proteins would be broken down into their amino acids before being absorbed. Maybe it's just the law of large numbers that lets some through? It seems like a pretty spectacular feat to be cooked, digested, and enter the brain intact.