4 ms·

Does cannibalism have an inherent propensity to create/spread prions or is it just incidental?

saagarjha 5y ago
Eating infected meat is a way to get infected by prions, which otherwise don't really spread.
teachingassist 5y ago
It's thought yes: Continuing my explanation from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27094602 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27094602 "A 'prion' is a misfolding protein that encourages other proteins of the same type to misfold in the same way - maybe by acting as an incorrect template for folding." So, if you introduce a human prion - here by eating a human and perhaps brain in particular - it will potentially start this process by acting as a first template. (Other animal prions are typically less likely to start this process, since animal proteins will likely be too different)
p1mrx 5y ago
Wild speculation: Maybe a lot of humans have prions, and the ones who survive until birth are just lucky enough to be genetically immune to their own. Cannibalism copies the protein to someone without that immunity. And maybe the proteins of different species are usually too incompatible to be dangerous.
philipswood 5y ago
(Ignoring prions for now) Eating your own kind should definitely expose you to pathogens, infections and parasites that are directly compatible with you. I think in nature it would tend to be a bad strategy due to this, even though in cases it would make a lot of sense otherwise. IIRC the SF novel 'The Legacy of Heorot' had an alien life cycle/population dynamic based on this idea of using cannibalism coupled with a staged life-cycle to allow the creature to exploit a wider ecological niche. The juveniles were herbivores and the adult forms then ate the juveniles, forming a joined niche.
smackeyacky 5y ago
Brains and spinal fluid seem to make it more likely. The PNG tribe thought eating the brain of a dead elder would confer their wisdom.

Eating infected meat is a way to get infected by prions, which otherwise don't really spread.

It's thought yes: Continuing my explanation from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27094602 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27094602 "A 'prion' is a misfolding protein that encourages other proteins of the same type to misfold in the same way - maybe by acting as an incorrect template for folding." So, if you introduce a human prion - here by eating a human and perhaps brain in particular - it will potentially start this process by acting as a first template. (Other animal prions are typically less likely to start this process, since animal proteins will likely be too different)

p1mrx 5y ago

Wild speculation: Maybe a lot of humans have prions, and the ones who survive until birth are just lucky enough to be genetically immune to their own. Cannibalism copies the protein to someone without that immunity. And maybe the proteins of different species are usually too incompatible to be dangerous.

philipswood 5y ago

(Ignoring prions for now) Eating your own kind should definitely expose you to pathogens, infections and parasites that are directly compatible with you. I think in nature it would tend to be a bad strategy due to this, even though in cases it would make a lot of sense otherwise. IIRC the SF novel 'The Legacy of Heorot' had an alien life cycle/population dynamic based on this idea of using cannibalism coupled with a staged life-cycle to allow the creature to exploit a wider ecological niche. The juveniles were herbivores and the adult forms then ate the juveniles, forming a joined niche.

smackeyacky 5y ago

Brains and spinal fluid seem to make it more likely. The PNG tribe thought eating the brain of a dead elder would confer their wisdom.