3 ms·
Prions are nightmare fuel. It's surprisingly not as much talked about despite the damage they can cause. - There is not cure or prevention - can linger in soi
by darth_avocado 3y ago
Prions are nightmare fuel. It's surprisingly not as much talked about despite the damage they can cause.
- There is not cure or prevention
- can linger in soil, on trees, and on hunting bait for years or decades
- really hard to detect, since it takes years to show the symptoms
- induce behavior where prions get to spread more
- potential to jump species, including primates
- _qua 3y agoIt's quite interesting that they're not more of problem thus far.
- huytersd 3y agoThe only one I know of is Kuru which passes from person to person in Papua New Guinea due to cannibalism.
- AlotOfReading 3y agoKuru is generally considered extinct, since funerary cannibalism hasn't been practiced for decades and there haven't been new cases in many years despite an incubation period of up to 50 years.
- rcxdude 3y agoit's because it's basically a quirk of one protein, which is only really found in the brain and nervous system, which is well isolated from the environment. And while it's resilient it's not like it grows in any environment which isn't the brain. So while it's a big problem if it gets in, it's really hard for it to happen in normal circumstances (even eating it, which is the main vector in animals, requires you eat quite a lot or get ludicrously unlucky).
- toomuchtodo 3y agoAlso impervious to heat unless sustained above ~1000F for several hours.