4 ms·
Prions are indeed very concerning on a concrete per-instance basis, but —unlike viruses— not that concerning in the abstract as a generic threat. Prions as a ph
by Mordisquitos 3y ago
Prions are indeed very concerning on a concrete per-instance basis, but —unlike viruses— not that concerning in the abstract as a generic threat. Prions as a phenomenon do not exploit an essential feature of our metabolism, and cannot 'evolve' per se, but are limited to the specific cases in which a) a given protein sequence can stably misfold rendering it ineffective, b) exposure of already functionally 'eufolded' proteins to the misfolded one can trigger subsequent misfolding, and c) misfolded versions of the protein can and do consistently come in contact with non-misfolded functional ones.
I'm not trying to downplay the threat and incredible difficulty of preventing known prion diseases, particularly with regards to destroying the infectious prions. However, to illustrate the rarity of the phenomenon on a per-protein basis, consider how the processes involved in cooking have themselves been denaturing (i.e. mifolding) an unimaginable number of all kinds of proteins in a myriad of ways all since human prehistory, and yet we have no known examples nor even hints of new prions having been created in the process.
- lumost 3y agoThe mass processing of food could be the additional mechanism allowing mass distribution of prions, no? Through processed foods, an apex predator like humanity comes into contact with proteins from several orders magnitude more animals than our ancient hunter gatherers or farmers. This problem is compounded as our livestock eat processed foods themselves. Perhaps prions were not as dangerous for most of evolutionary history as they simply lacked a distribution vector?
- consumer451 3y ago> The mass processing of food could be the additional mechanism allowing mass distribution of prions, no? My grandmother was from "the old country" and would never allow us to buy ground meat in a package. She made us ask the deli to grind her selected cuts, in front of her. Back then, I wrote this off as some kind of old world silliness. I remember being embarrassed about the whole kerfuffle. I know she wasn't thinking of prions, just contamination in general. Now I realize that I was the silly one, and she was very wise.
- rafaelmn 3y agoProbably more about getting known cut/fresh meat. Easier to see what you're buying before it's ground. Also they don't can't sterilize the grinder between customers so doubt it does much for hygiene. This is very common around here.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Turing_Machine 3y agoI was in grad school with a bunch of people from other countries (a common situation, obviously). Almost to a person, they were deeply suspicious of ground meat.
- giantg2 3y agoIf the feed restrictions don't work, we don't have any checks in place. With stuff like CAFOs and an 18 month time to market, it's possible we create conditions that can spread prions quickly buy they get to slaughter before they become symptomatic. We won't know until it's already a massive issue.
- consumer451 3y agohttps://www.texastribune.org/2018/01/10/time-oprah-winfrey-beefed-texas-cattle-industry/ https://www.texastribune.org/2018/01/10/time-oprah-winfrey-b...