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Published online 10 September 1999 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news990916-2
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How prions get pleated
Creutzfeld-Jacob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cows arise when a normal protein, 'prion protein' or PrP, somehow folds in an abnormal manner. By causing brain damage, this misfolded protein, called 'PrPSc', sees to it that the affected patient or animal progressively loses its mental and physical capacities.
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