For the first time, we have a structure of an infectious mammalian prion. The preliminary structure of the misfolded protein that causes mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease looks like a coiled mattress spring.

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For the first time, we have a structure of an infectious mammalian prion. The preliminary structure of the misfolded protein that causes mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease looks like a coiled mattress spring.