Grass plants can transport infectious prions

Date: May 15, 2015

Source:

University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonSummary:Grass plants can bind, uptake and transport infectious prions, according to researchers. Prions are the protein-based infectious agents responsible for a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which includes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in cattle, scrapie in sheep, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer, elk and moose. All are fatal brain diseases with incubation periods that last years.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150515155636.htm