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release name: How.the.Cows.Turned.Mad.Unlocking.the.Mysteries.of.Mad.Cow.Disease.eBook-EEn

release date: 08.21.07 size: 2.35 MB

author: Maxime Schwartz

title: How the Cows Turned Mad: Unlocking the Mysteries of Mad

Cow Disease

ISBN: 0520243374 FORMAT: PDF category/genre: Health

release notes/summary (backcover information)

Fear of mad cow disease, a lethal illness

transmitted from infected beef to humans, has

spread from Europe to the United States and

around the world. Originally published to much

acclaim in France, this scientific thriller,

available in English for the first time and

updated with a new chapter on developments in

2001, tells of the hunt for the cause of an

enigmatic class of fatal brain infections, of

which mad cow disease is the latest incarnation.

In gripping, nontechnical prose, Maxime Schwartz

details the deadly manifestations of these

diseases throughout history, describes the major

players and events that led to discoveries about

their true nature, and outlines our current state

of knowledge. The book concludes by addressing the

question we all want answered: should we be afraid?

The story begins in the eighteenth century with the

identification of a mysterious illness called scrapie

that was killing British sheep. It was not until the

1960s that scientists understood that several animal

and human diseases, including scrapie, were identical,

and together identified them as transmissible

spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The various guises

assumed throughout history by TSE include an illness

called kuru in a cannibalistic tribe in Papua New

Guinea, an infectious disease that killed a group of

children who had been treated for growth hormone

deficiencies, and mad cow disease. Revealing the

fascinating process of scientific discovery that led

to our knowledge of TSE, Schwartz relates pivotal

events in the history of biology, including the

Pasteurian revolution, the birth of genetics, the

emergence of molecular biology, and the latest

developments in biotechnology. He also explains the

Nobel Prize-winning prion hypothesis, which has

rewritten the rules of biological heredity and is a

key link between the distinctive diseases of TSE.

Up-to-date, informative, and thoroughly captivating,

How the Cows Turned Mad tells the story of a disease

that continues to elude on many levels. Yet science

has come far in understanding its origins,

incubation, and transmission. This authoritative book

is a stunning case history that illuminates the

remarkable progression of science.

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