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Discovery could speed diagnosis of mad cow, other diseases

Scientists at McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls have found a powerful new tool to understanding prion diseases, including mad cow, chronic wasting and Creutzfeldt-Jakob.

Dr. Ranjit Giri, associate research scientist at MRI, discovered a new way to study prions, the infectious agents that cause the fatal degenerative brain diseases collectively known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

The research could serve as the basis for improving diagnostic tests for the diseases, said Dr. George Carlson, who directed the project.

The breakthrough is especially important now that the United States’ third case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in a beef animal from a farm in Alabama. The cow didn’t enter the food supply for humans or animals, authorities said.

By PAULA WILMOT
Tribune Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/NEWS01/603160301/1002

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