NIH Finds Clue To What Makes Prions Kill

Government scientists have found an important clue to how rogue proteins that cause mad cow disease and its cousins destroy the brain: These mysterious substances must latch on to the outside of cell membranes to be toxic. If scientists could break the fatty Velcro-like bond that anchors these so-called prions, they might devise a treatment for the deadly illnesses, suggests research published in Friday's edition of the journal Science.