Tag Archives: Prions

IRTA-CReSA signs up for ESCOLAB and Brain Awareness Week

IRTA-CReSA will investigate a possible relationship between cases of sporadic Creutzfeldt Jackob disease and prion diseases of goats and sheep

The State Program for the Promotion of Research, Scientific and Technical Excellence, State Subprogram of Knowledge Generation, within the framework of the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016 of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MEIC) has resolved to estimate the partial (a 56%) funding of the project presented by IRTA-CReSA with the title: “Study of a possible causal relationship between cases of sporadic Creutzfeldt Jackob disease and Scrapie of small ruminants“. Reference AGL2017-88353-P.

The dog that never lost it in a crazy world

Tim was staring astonished to Josefina the cow who, with her eyes wide open, was running away, scared, towards the barn, because she had seen a little mouse crossing the yard. On her way, poor thing, she stumbled and fell. With difficulty she got up again to enter her hiding place. Joseph, the farmer, had also seen the scene and sad, It had been seven years milking her every morning, decided that the time had come for Josefina.

Sane horses and unadapted prions

Time to talk about prions again, these enigmatic infectious agents that cause, among others, the mad cow disease.

Elucidation of the structure of an infectious prion

Prions, the agents that cause diseases such as Creutzfeltd Jakob disease in people or mad cow disease, are unconventional infectious agents. The main reason for this peculiarity is that, according to the most accepted theory nowadays, prions have no genetic material!

Prions in Wildlife?

Last week the discovery of a case of Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a Raindeer (or Caribou, Rangifer tarandus) was published on the website of the Norwegian Veterinary Institute.  The news is interesting for two reasons: it is the first time this disease has been described in Europe and it is also the first time that a field case has been described in this species.

Third Iberian Congress on Prions

The third Iberian Congress of prions was held in Zaragoza the past 2nd and 3rd of November . This meeting brings together scientists studying prion diseases both in the area of human and veterinary medicine as well as groups working on solving the mysterious structure of prions.

A brain like a sponge! – Brain awareness week 2014

In CReSA , among other diseases, we study the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, a group of diseases that drill holes in the brain!