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Most people have never heard of prions. Indeed, most are only barely aware of the diseases caused by them, except, perhaps, for mad cow disease. Yet prions are the stuff of a revolutionary science'a science that might lead to cures for some of humankind's most devastating diseases. Fatal Flawsis a scientific detective story about this elusive protein, starting with the discovery of kuru, a disease unique to New Guinea in the 1950s that baffled scientists and carried with it whispers of cannibalism. Kuru began a scientific stampede to seek out the agent of this mysterious disease'the prion'a misfolded protein whose existence some of the world's top scientists still find difficult to accept. Today, the subject of prions remains controversial, yet the proteins might promise new treatments for some of the most intractable brain diseases, ones that affect millions around the planet, including Parkinson's, ALS and Alzheimer's. In Fatal Flaws, Jay Ingram unties a complicated interweaving of biology, medicine, human tragedy, surprise and disbelief in the world of prions, and he unravels some of history's most stunning revelations about disease, the brain and infection.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Physiopathology, History, Prion Diseases, Prions, Pathogenicity, Popular worksEdition | Availability |
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1
Fatal Flaws: How a Misfolded Protein Baffled Scientists and Changed the Way We Look at the Brain
2013, Yale University Press
in English
0300195184 9780300195187
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2
Fatal flaws: how a misfolded protein baffled scientists and changed the way we look at the brain
2013, Yale University Press
in English
0300189893 9780300189896
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zzzz
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WorldCat
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3 |
zzzz
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4
Fatal Flaws: How a Misfolded Protein Baffled Scientists and Changed the Way We Look at the Brain
2013, Yale University Press
in English
1299284108 9781299284104
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zzzz
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WorldCat
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5
Fatal flaws: how a misfolded protein baffled scientists and changed the way we look at the brain
2012, HarperCollins
in English
- 1st ed.
1443412120 9781443412124
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aaaa
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Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-239) and index.
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Work Description
"Discovered and identified as the cause of mad cow disease only three decades ago, the prion is a protein molecule that, when misshapen in the brain, becomes fatal. Novel and controversial, prions have provoked a scientific revolution. They challenge the very foundations of biology: A disease-causing entity with no genetic material at all? A molecule capable of infecting, multiplying, and killing? This book recounts the birth of prion science and the imaginative detective work scientists have undertaken as they struggle to find the answers to devastating brain diseases from mad cow and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease to Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's, and others. As in each of his best-selling books, Jay Ingram here makes complex scientific concepts accessible and shows how little-known events may have profound significance. He describes the development of prion science as a rough-and-tumble affair, with rivals, eccentrics, interfering governments, and brilliantly creative people all playing salient roles. Weaving biology, medicine, human tragedy, discovery, and bitter scientific competition into his account, he reveals the stunning potential of prion science, whose discoveries may unlock the answers to some of humankind's most destructive diseases"--Provided by publisher.
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