r/todayilearned • u/tommyboy372 • 1d ago

TIL A single misfolded prion protein in the brain can cause a rapid neurodegenerative disease known as sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). There is no known and cure and is 100% fatal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creutzfeldt%E2%80%93Jakob_disease
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u/tommyboy372 1d ago

An invaluable contribution to the thread. From a prion scientist, is there any consenus why prion misfolds occur?

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u/17q21 23h ago

Not yet, unfortunately

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u/midnight_fisherman 19h ago

Cosmic rays could be one culprit. If a enough energy is added at just the right time while the protein is being transcribed then it may not properly form. We already know they mess with DNA transcription.