Prion hunter

Prospects for a test to discover whether slaughtered cattle are infected with
BSE look brighter. In this week’s Nature (vol 390, p 74), a team led by
researchers at the Zürich-based company Prionics describes a monoclonal
antibody that recognises the misshapen form of the protein PrP that is thought
to cause BSE and similar “prion” diseases. Prionics is now working to develop a
diagnostic test based on the antibody.