media	gallery

Media Releases

07.2004 Detecting Mad Cow Disease, Scientific American

New tests can rapidly identify the presence of dangerous prions—the agents responsible for the malady—and several compounds offer hope for treatment [PDF]

04.19.04 Are We Cannibals, National Geographic Channel

Scientists are uncovering controversial evidence that points to a startling new theory—all of us may have descended from cannibals. [Culture Shock Week]

12.24.03 Countries Ban American Beef After First Mad Cow Case, New York Times

[WASHINGTON] A sick cow slaughtered about two weeks ago near Yakima, Wash., has tested positive for mad cow disease in early laboratory results, the first such case in the United States, the secretary of agriculture said on Tuesday.

Shortly after the announcement, Japan said it was banning imports of American beef. The South Korean agriculture ministry said in a statement that South Korea was also halting American beef imports and that it was pulling American beef products off supermarket shelves.

11.19.03 Academy calls for improved tests to beat prion disease, nature

[SAN FRANCISCO] Diagnostic tests for prion diseases need a "quantum leap" in sensitivity if they are to help prevent future outbreaks, says a report from the US National Academy of Sciences.[pdf]

1.31.03 Treatment Found for 2 Heart Ailments, New York Times

ABSTRACT - For the first time, researchers have found a way to treat two deadly heart ailments that are caused by a protein that folds into an abnormal shape.

Although the treatment is tailored to the two forms of heart disease, it is based on principles that may lead to similar therapies for other conditions caused by misfolded proteins, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, adult-onset diabetes and the human form of mad cow disease.

5.21.02 In Folding Proteins, Clues to Many Diseases, New York Times

ABSTRACT - Article on new research into understanding of how proteins in blood fold; folding is constant process in which strings of amino acids form specific shapes to perform myriad tasks; as many as third of proteins end up misfolded; Harvard Medical School neurology Prof Peter Lansbury is focusing role protofibrils, made up of tiny spheres of misfolded proteins, may play in development of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes and other amyloid diseases; photos; chart (M) Consider the consequences of a garbage strike. Trash accumulates, streets are clogged and daily life is disrupted. Eventually, things can come to a standstill.

12.10.01 Chemistry Highlights 2001, Chemical and Engineering News

8.20.01 Prion Treatments Come Into View, Chemical and Engineering News

8.18.01 Old Drugs to Treat New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, The Lancet, 358, 563 [pdf]

8.14.01 CJD ‘Treatment’- How Does It Work?, BBC World News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1490000/1490177.stm

8.14.01 CJD 'Breakthrough' Examined, BBC World News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1489000/1489589.stm

8.14.01 Familiar Drugs Freeze Deadly Prion, The Times

8.13.01 UCSF Study Finds Two Old Drugs May Help Fight Prion Disease, UCSF News Service [PDF]

8.13.01 Mad Cow Research: Potential Cure, KRON4 News (QuickTime)

8.13.01 Hope For vCJD Cure, BBC World News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1487000/1487946.stm

8.12.01 Briton 'Cured' After CJD Drug Trial, BBC World News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1487000/1487946.stm

4.30.01 Wanted: Hot Industry Seeks Supergeeks, Newsweek