The prions that cause this disease are creepy -- do we even know what they really are yet? _____ Texas patient dies of mad cow disease Health officials say a Texas patient is the fourth person in the United States to die of a rare brain disorder that is believed to be caused by consumption of beef products contaminated with mad cow disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in a statement that recent laboratory tests confirmed a diagnosis of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the patient. full article
Oh that's just great, dude at work is cooking steaks tonight and this is all that will be on my mind.
Steaks are supposedly the way to go. Bulk ground beef from a place like Safeway is the worst, most people studying this believe, because they often get a lot of nervous system tissue in the ground. (There's also, for instance, about 500 different cows sampled in your average McDonald's burger -- blech. That's more chances to get something infected too.) If you can get your ground from a real butcher, choosing the cuts of meat to put in it: (a) it's going to taste a million times better, (b) it's more expensive, but (c) you're a lot less likely to get one of these prion-type of things. I believe it's been confirmed in certain segments of the US deer population too. Not that this keeps me from eating venison when I visit my parents.
Hmm, the steak vs ground beef thing makes since. Thanks for easing my mind B. I will admit Im a bit of a germafobe at times.
I have limited knowledge, but prions are just amino acid strands and protein strands can be denatured through heat. So shouldn't prions be able to be denatured through heat?
One cow says to the other Did you hear about that mad cow disease? No, what is it It's a disease that eats away at your brain and makes you go crazy Really?! That's terrible! I feel sorry for the cows who get it I know. Me too. I'm sure glad I'm a chicken I
Stop worrying about it. Chances are you won't die, if you do then that's just bad luck. Medium-rare all day.
Yeah. Since it's not a virus or bacteria, and transmits via eating brain cells, streak is likely pretty safe
Prepare to die slowly from that ground beef. I hope your not handling your duty pistol when the nerve symptoms kick in. You may shoot yourself or the wrong person.
