[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Thanks for answering. That's kind of what I thought.

I realize there are better place to find this information than GreekChat, but what is the biology of Mad Cow?

I really thought it was viral. I don't know why.

I know that it ends up making holes in brain tissue and that prions, I think, are involved, but what kind of pathogen is it?

From wiki

The infectious agent in BSE is believed to be a specific type of misfolded protein called prion. Misfolded prion proteins carry the disease between individuals and cause deterioration of the brain. BSE is a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)[citation needed]. TSEs can arise in animals that carry an allele which causes normal prions to contort by themselves into the disease-causing shape. Transmission can occur when healthy animals come in contact with tainted tissues from others with the disease. In the brain these proteins cause native cellular prion protein to deform into the infectious state, which then goes on to deform further prion protein in an exponential cascade. This results in protein aggregates, which then form dense plaque fibers, leading to the microscopic appearance of "holes" in the brain, degeneration of physical and mental abilities, and ultimately death.

That's really rather dense, and sorry, but I'm not sure I can actually simplify it.
But yeah, they get it when they're fed cow nervous tissue. Sheep get a similar disease.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Seriously. But just wait. He "retorted" her "facts," so according to what seems to pass for logic, he must be wrong. There'll be a five gazzillion-word post full of links to "sources" telling him he doesn't know what he's talking about. It is inevitable.

I can't even read those posts.