Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > February > February 20, 2004:
Hour Two: New Mad Cow Prion / Backyard Bacteria

Bacteria: They're in us, on us and all around us. There are thousands of the tiny microbes that we know nothing about. However, a new breed of treasure hunter is unearthing them -- sometimes where you'd least expect. What those bioprospectors are finding could be useful for future drugs, chemicals, and environmental treatments. Join Ira and his guests in this hour of Science Friday as we dig around for bacteria.

Plus, we'll talk about the discovery of a new form of prion linked to Mad Cow disease. The abnormal protein, discovered by scientists in Italy, is said not to show up on the screening tests for BSE commonly used in the United States. Might the new prion be responsible for some unexplained sporadic neurological disease?

Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Richard Johnson, M.D.
Chair, Institute of Medicine Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: Assessment of Relevant Science
Distinguished Service Professor, Neurology; Microbiology; Neuroscience
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland

Betsey Dexter Dyer
Author, A Field Guide to Bacteria (Cornell University Press, 2003)
Bojan Jennings Professor of Biology
Wheaton College
Norton, Massachusetts

Jo Handelsman
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor
Department of Plant Pathology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

This segment produced by Erica Altman

Archived Audio:
mad cow
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bacteria
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Related Links:
New Form of Mad Cow Protein Discovered
New BSE form identified
In Italy, new form of mad cow strain
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center
APHIS | Hot Issues
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

Books/Articles Discussed:

"A Field Guide to Bacteria" by Betsey Dexter Dyer. Cornell University Press, 2003.

"Identification of a second bovine amyloidotic spongiform encephalopathy: Molecular similarities with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease" by Cristina Casalone, Gianluigi Zanusso, Pierluigi Acutis, Sergio Ferrari, Lorenzo Capucci, Fabrizio Tagliavini, Salvatore Monaco, and Maria Caramelli. PNAS Early Edition, Feb 16 2004.

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