The dominant camp asserts that "Mad Cow Disease" and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (T.S.E.s) are caused by a new kind of infectious agent: a form of protein called a prion.

They are called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) when there is evidence of animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission. The definition stems from the characteristic aspect and ...

It is the original example of a group of diseases, known as the "transmissible ... humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease." They affect the brain, disrupting or ...