this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
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In a scattershot pattern that now extends from coast to coast, continental US states have been announcing new hotspots of chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The contagious and always-fatal neurodegenerative disorder infects the cervid family that includes deer, elk, moose and, in higher latitudes, reindeer. There is no vaccine or treatment.

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[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They’re downright awful. They can survive much higher temperatures than most other pathogens which means cooking often fails to destroy them.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3160281/

Several reports have shown that prions can persist in soil for several years.

[–] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And get into the plants growing from that ground, infecting animals who eat them. Prion diseases are seriously scary, and I wish we were putting more effort into finding a cure.

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How do you cure a protein in a stable shape?

That’s all a prion is, it’s just a misshapen but stable protein that causes other proteins to fold into that stable shape too.

You can’t vaccinate against a shape.

We can’t scan every protein in a body and selectively destroy the ones that shaped wrong.

The only thing to do is to destroy prions whenever they are found and with extreme prejudice. But, that’s expensive so it won’t get done.

[–] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 4 points 1 year ago

I don't know how it could be cured, but just because we don't currently know of a way to do it doesn't mean it isn't possible. Surely research hasn't exhausted all possibilities?

[–] My_IFAKs___gone@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you for the links. I already knew about prions, but I'd never seen the Med Twins before. A channel where an attractive young man talks about medical science in a foreign accent? You just found my catnip.

[–] My_IFAKs___gone@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I didn't even know it was my catnip until I found it, and I typically tend more toward the Cleo Abrams and Up and Atom types. But gosh, Manuel's dark, kind eyes, compassionate and informed tone, and natural bedside manner really took some of the edge off the horror of prion diseases. Like, if he were the one who had to break the news to me that I had CJD and only had one torturous year remaining, it'd be slightly more palatable.

[–] P00ptart@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Yeah it's like 800+ degrees to "kill" it. As prions aren't alive, they can't really be killed, just destroyed. And they last for years in the natural environment.