Whether a protein can transmit disease in mammals has been an open question for some time. The latest test of this idea provides some strong evidence in favour, but is unlikely to end the debate. Studies of the infectious agent responsible for the transmissible spongi-form encephalopathies have spanned more than six decades. But the slow course of these diseases, and experimental difficulties in their study, has left the nature of this agent in doubt. Now, a report in Science by Legname et al. represents a major step towards proving that a protein is the only essential element of the infectious agent.
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