Nature:
Prions are particles of misfolded proteins that cause several
neurodegenerative diseases, including bovine spongiform
encephalopathy in cows, scrapie in sheep, and
Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans. Although those
diseases can be transmitted by ingesting prions, what causes
prions to form in the first place is a mystery. Now, as
Nature's Daniel Cressey reports, a team from London
has
demonstrated that prions will form spontaneously in the
presence of steel wires. Previously, the wires had been used to
collect already-formed prions. Two possibilities appear to
account for the observation: Either the wires catalyze prion
formation or, by concentrating prions, the wires tip an
otherwise equal balance between spontaneous formation and
degradation toward formation.
