What Actually Caused Mad Cow Disease

Do you remember the Mad Cow Disease scare from the 90s? What really happened? Did it go away? Join Stefan Chin for a mad new episode of SciShow and learn all about what really happened to those cows. Let's go!
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Sources:
www.oie.int/en/animal-health-i...
www.cdc.gov/prions/bse/about....
www.bseinfo.org/bseclinicalsig...
www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health...
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-co...
www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVac...
www.who.int/mediacentre/factsh...
www.cdc.gov/prions/vcjd/vcjd-...
www.cdc.gov/prions/vcjd/risk-...
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Images:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ap...

[@Master_Therion]

The odds of getting a Mad Cow Disease infected steak is... rare.

[@boy638]

Master Therion Well done on your joke.

[@PMW3]

that makes me feel medium well

[@xavierssounds3232]

Go home

[@schadenfreudebuddha]

unlike so many other modern comedians, at least you don't work "blue." Eddie Murphy's "Raw" was infectious, though

[@Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1024]

Master Therion Don't you mean extra rare.

[@Joeobrown1]

wait, dead cows were fed to other cows? that's like a chicken going to kfc

[@zachrowell6795]

Joe Brown Cows are also fed chicken manure on a regular basis.

[@speedy01247]

unlike cows chickens DO eat other chickens. But then again they are capable of eating and processing that meat unlike cows who are supposed to be herbivores.

[@roxyzaraza111]

Sitting on Ceilings ur digestive system can't handle of it

[@johnlocke3426]

Cattle are capable of digesting meat, they're just much better at digesting plant matter.

[@codename9824]

Joe Brown refeeding livestock was pretty common until the Mad Cow issue popped up. There are multiple species the are effected by spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie is sheep, MCD in cows, Kuru and CJD in humans.

[@kimboxdorfer7010]

I have unfortunately been learning about prion disease for the last 15 years. My family carries the genetic mutation for CJD (sometimes called fCJD because it's familial). If you have this genetic mutation your life proceeds as normal from birth and then something kickstart's the disease. My grandma was in her sixties, my mom was in her late 50s, and I had a cousin pass this summer in her early forties. Once you begin having symptoms there's nothing to do, no treatment, no help. You have weeks to months to live at that point. And every part of you that makes you, disappears. You start feeling dizzy and maybe have a slight hand tremor. The neurologist tells you you're crazy to think that it's cjd. Don't you know how rare it is? They've never had a single patient with cjd! It's much more likely an essential tremor. You have trouble remembering words, being able to speak your thoughts clearly. You lose the ability to walk and dementia starts. Pain comes when you're no longer able to move limbs like you could before and all your muscles lock up. And of course bladder and bowel control also goes pretty quickly. Towards the end you lose consciousness, only really waking when your body is turned to prevent bed sores or your catheter is checked and that's because of pain. And then when you're lucky you stop breathing. If you carry the mutation for this disease, you will develop it at some point. And you have a 50% chance of passing this autosomally dominant mutation to your children. And you have to watch family member after family member go through the same thing. And the neurologist who didn't believe you before now sends you Christmas cards, every year. Because the thing you hate most about your family, he finds interesting. And there is a stigma. Funeral homes don't really want your body. They suggest direct to cremation or a closed casket with no embalming. No one in your family, even those who test negative, can ever donate blood again or an organ. But of course you don't want anyone else to ever have to have this disease(not that they could get it from someone who tested negative), so why would you argue. And there's also this idea that you have something in your body that is both genetic and contagious. I used to tell the people at my work that if I fell and cracked my head open to just leave me be. All because of a tiny misfolding Prion...

[@wayermane5069]

I would consider not having kids in this situation.

[@garry29]

@@wayermane5069 ya but you feel heavened when you come to know that you already have 2 sets of twins

[@moshariff6320]

How u doing now?

[@kimboxdorfer7010]

@@moshariff6320 Life finds a way to continue. The realization that everybody dies actually brings comfort. Mostly because it means that you aren't that special, even with a rare genetic disease in your family. The trauma does continue. We all had young families when we learned about fCJD and now those babies are on the cusp of adulthood. There is an invisible divide in our family, because we know the genetic status of the children of the family members who tested negative. You can't pass on an autosomal dominant mutation if you don't have it. Those kids and young adults are safe. But the children of family members who carry the mutation will need to have hard conversations. We've never hidden this, but we have also never sat down and explained it in detail. They will need to decide if they want to be tested, if they want to have children, if they want to participate in research. They will have to figure out for themselves how to live with this. So as a family we are celebrating 16th birthdays, first loves, and high school graduations with this hanging over our heads. But life continues and for the most part, I am doing OK. Thanks for asking.

[@sunnyquinn3888]

That's the part of the disease I have a hard time wrapping my brain around. The idea of a disease that is both genetic and contagious goes against everything I thought I knew about where diseases come from.

[@rparl]

Feeding dead cows to live cows is diasgusting. I spent time on some dairy farms and they would NEVER do that. I blame industrial, factory farms and their MBAs.

[@rparl]

@Phoenixsaurus Rex In feed lots, where cattle are fattened for final sale, they are fed (salty) anchovies, so they will temporarily gain water weight.

[@alzoron]

Another thing not mentioned in the video that makes prions scary is that they're notoriously difficult to destroy. They can survive radiation, disinfectants and high temperature. Basically everything we normally do to disinfect food and food preparation surfaces does nothing to prions.

[@masterkevkev]

That's basically because prions aren't actually "Bacteria" or a virus... they're just proteins. Bad.... bad proteins.

[@VienerSchnitzel69]

And they have a 100% mortality rate meaning that they are the only infectiously spread disease that kills everyone it infects.

[@beezusHrist]

William Lesco and they can lie dormant for decades appearing in later stages of people's life which makes doctors misdiagnosis the disease as dementia at times. I'm POSITIVE there have been more than 230 deaths worldwide from CJD.

[@MarioSanchezAbelenda]

VienerSchnitzel Rabies does too, it has 100 per cent mortality ratio when synthoms show up (it's quite rare, and sorry if I wrote something wrong).

[@VienerSchnitzel69]

Mario Sánchez Nearly 100% but about 99.9%. About 8-10 people have survived it through the use of the Milwaukee Protocol.

[@AndrewKnesse1]

so... changes in mooooood? I'll go home now...

[@christineviolet1171]

Andrew Knesse I

[@stethacanthus7861]

Mad Sheep Disease can also be really baaaaad.

[@ttnrg6778]

Andrew Knesse please

[@the_phantom_cat7912]

Andrew Knesse you'll ho home THANK GOD

[@lunathedoggo1942]

Andrew Knesse

[@worleyzack]

I have health anxiety and I've been struggling with the thought of having a prion disease. I've had muscle twitches, loss of appetite which are all symptoms of anxiety. But this video helped me put that aside and I've stopped worrying now that I know it's close to impossible to even have a prion disease in the U.S. It doesn't run in my family neither.

[@somneang87time29]

How’s your sleep?

[@worleyzack]

@@somneang87time29 It's getting better, hopefully it stays that way.

[@awogames9042]

How’s it going?

[@leonjiang2318]

@@Etaoinshrdlu69 is this true

[@cob-son]

ive had something similar after a very traumatic event in my life. turns out it's just hypocondria, stress and anxiety.

[@GumaroRVillamil]

New farming techniques? So not feeding dead cow brains to living cows is new? Who knew!?

[@MJFallout]

wouldn't exactly call it 'a technique' either.

[@chocolatechips1183]

So gross I'm glad I dont eat meat

[@chocolatechips1183]

So inhumane to poor animals

[@brycxio]

The real concern is Mad Snail Disease

[@brycxio]

Too Slow🐌 lol

[@brycxio]

*⛵

[@strifera]

You meant Mad Snail Disease, but I'll blame your typo on the ADD.

[@jriibzmodus4792]

Sponge bob!

[@shironasama0445]

t.c.a.w Exposed Dang it I was going to say that

[@micahphilson]

I was actually thinking about this just the other day. All those major diseases all over the news every once in awhile seem to just vanish after a few years. When I was younger, Mad Cow seemed to be plastered everywhere and was a household name, but I realized the other day that I hadn't thought of it in at least a good 5-6 years now.

[@Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1024]

Micah Philson Except cancer it's still here.

[@KhanMann66]

Anybody remember SARS? Bird flu? Swine flu?

[@MatanuskaHIGH]

Micah Philson media propaganda

[@Spartan0430]

we're talking more about "fad" diseases that just randomly become super popular on the news like mad cow disease, swine flu, ebola, zika etc.

[@MelissaFlaquer]

Or they just don't affect the people with the money, ebola, malaria, zika and chikunguya are still an issue in several countries. Colera and Polio are still there and the news don't talk about tuberculosis as much as they should given that it is one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. BTW, there was a case of vCJD last year.

[@jacobmeier2716]

Anyone else here after hearing about the deers having a disease like this

[@webuyhouse8917]

Jacob Meier me

[@nut9978]

me

[@bruhmemegang6381]

Me

[@nickredbear9293]

Yup

[@izaiahigartua1268]

Yea

[@corv1d770]

I had an elementary school teacher of mine who died of Kruetzfeld-Jakob a few years ago. She must have been infected when she was younger and it simply gestated in her body until it was activated and started killing her. When I researched to figure out what it did to the infected it made me feel sick honestly. She was such a sweet woman and from what her family had reported she had been reduced to an aggressive, angry person with no sense of what was going on around her. It's devastating.

[@PopsicleSponge]

I studied this at uni and wrote a paper about it. Its a prion disease. The protein chains affected adopt a different tertiary folding structure. One in which the atoms actually take up less space than in the original thus leading to gaps and an overall spongey bulk material. Because this incorrect form is actually more energetically favorable it acts as a template or chaperone protein. nearby proteins of the same secondary polypeptide chain structure, naturally follow the influence of this new form and follow suit to adopt that same folded shape.The entropy of this interaction is wholly -ve meaning no effort is actually required to keep it going once its begun, so the change is spontaneous once infection occurs. Some of the first investigations into CJD were on a disease called Kuru. Tribes in papa new guinea had a tradition of eating the brain tissue of dead tribe members after their passing, but without cooking it. This lead to the incorrect, for our bodies needs anyway, but again energetically favorable structure getting into the body. Leading to degeneration. And killing alot of people. And BSE turned my dad vegetarian for about 15 years xD. Please Fact check me on this. I'm sure someone can spot an error here.

[@keynoism]

Dude - Comments like this are why I ever brave to scroll down - thank you. Especially the part about how the reaction is sustained - you have filled me with thought food

[@MisaelKpo]

Sooooo, literally a Domino effect, one part of the system lowers it's energy and everything follows.

[@fishbuddy547]

Thank you for the info.

[@BRUXXUS]

I'm probably wrong, but didn't some studies find a mutation in some of those tribe members that made them immune to Kuru?

[@VienerSchnitzel69]

It'd be good to mention the name of the protein, prion protein (PrP), as well as its extremely heavy concentration in the brain relative to the rest of the body. I also have to ask, your father had Classic CJD rather than vCJD correct. I'm thinking about writing a paper on it myself, the topic is fascinating with the various types of prion diseases and the incredible biochemistry behind how the mayhem is caused.

[@Primecat854]

Surprised you didn't mention Kuru when talking about Prions and the whole lot of nastiness they cause, either way this was a good watch!

[@interstellarsurfer]

+ Final Marauder Then they would have to admit the root cause of Mad Cow Disease - when Indian subcontractors, hired to turn boatloads of frozen, dead cows into 'pet food', started buying local human corpses and bones by-the-pound, to grind up and resell as 'pet food'.

[@jzk3919]

And Richard Rhodes (Pulitzer prize author) documentary book, the "BIG FEASTS" tells it the best.

[@neuswoesje590]

@@interstellarsurfer riiiight cause I'm sure buying human corpses on the black market, turning them into food and selling it while hiding all of it was much cheaper than just buying animal meat lol

[@interstellarsurfer]

@@neuswoesje590 You're unfamiliar with the concept of padding the bill? Besides, a dead body is a liability - and animal feed an asset.

[@xxExoticButterzxx]

"Your steak is almost... definitely... probably... not infected" *CLOSE ENOUGH I GUESS*

[@stork2889]

My preschool teacher had mad cow disease, she didn’t work in school for like 2-3 years, she forgot how to eat, how to move and how to be alive. She died in her mid 60’s.

[@MikaelaHoldeman]

😢

[@givemeasi]

Cows are herbivores, if you kept cows eating cow food this wouldn’t have happened

[@booisl33t]

...cows and other herbivores will opportunistically eat small animals/scavenge carcasses. it's creepy as hell. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5y0aKJjnLyKpMk

[@booisl33t]

watch linked video at your own risk. contains footage of deer and cows eating live birds, etc.

[@maximillianlylat1589]

even then this is why cannibal practices are unwise in any animal including humans. infact humans can get a similar effect like mad cow disease from being a cannibal but have no effect when eating any other animal.

[@booisl33t]

it's not the cannibalism that is the issue. prion diseases are caused by consuming infected nervous tissue (brains/spinal cords). it can and does cross species. the mad cow outbreak was due largely to feeding infected sheep to cows. humans can get it from eating infected squirrel brains.

[@codyminecrack248]

All the food is poison 🎶

[@steventoerner4035]

Feeding dead cows to cows probably saved them money somewhere. Money is always the root of all evil.

[@Yora21]

What food contains all the ingredients that a cow needs to grow more meat cells? Cow meat. A cow can't digest a steak well, but if it's already powdered there's no problem. Aside from transmitting disease.

[@TheBespectacledN00b]

The practice started in the 1950s if I remember rightly. The British government in this segment days had a mania for improved self sufficiency in food, given the German U-boats had nearly starved us out during the Second World War. So encouragement was given to anything that could get meat production moving more quickly was to be welcomed. For context, meat was still rationed in the early fifties in Britain. And people were getting pretty sick of it.

[@Admiral_Jezza]

Steven Toerner It's more greed than money itself, but it's easy to see your point.

[@BuickDoc]

"The LOVE of money is the root of all evil."

[@PrinceZappa]

@@TheBespectacledN00b pretty much all food was rationed in the early fifties in Britain, almost hard to believe.

[@Wes8761]

Im a 13 year old (probably way in over my head) researching prion disease and new youtube videos from good sources always help! Thanks Guys!!!

[@spicy_tomato641]

Dam

[@SinfulKitty]

Happy 19th birthday

[@Wes8761]

@@SinfulKitty Its actually October 15th lol, close tho

[@stephenbrand5661]

I was only 8 years old in 93 so this definitely reminds me of my childhood, I remember seeing the drooling, stumbling cows on tv and being pretty freaked out by it.

[@commanderkei9537]

Am I the only one to never let go of my paranoia of this disease? The idea that it could slowly destroy your brain was and IS horrifying

[@O-townplaya]

Me too. I even stopped consuming beef

[@pipsapossu1699]

well if it is 100% deadly why worry.

[@DrPlaneteer]

I remember mad cows being a thing when I was younger... good to know it's mostly under control... prions diseases sound terrifying

[@rockoutloud2me]

As someone who works in blood banking thank you for mentioning it! A lot of people don't realize it can affect their ability to donate.

[@dunzerkug]

There is a similar prion disease in humans called Kuru. Groups in Papua New Guinea that practiced cannibalism in funeral ceremonies cooked and ate most of the body including the brain. After the practice was discontinued new cases dropped dramatically but it still popped up for over 50 years from people who were infected before the practice was ended. The last official death from Kuru was in 2009 and the epidemic was declared over in 2012 with no verifiable cases since.

[@joolzzenda]

I haven't thought about mad cow disease in years! It was never really explained to us very well so I grew up scared that I'd die if I went near farm animals. I guess that's a good way of keeping kids from trespassing in farmers fields

[@Yora21]

Simply don't eat cow brains. Which apparently in the 90s was still a thing.

[@redneckninja313]

It still is.

[@mikeferster7966]

yes because walking next to a fkn cow instantly transmits the disease... ppl don't trespass on farms, and sry if your dumb friends did back in school but more people just throw things in with the cows like poisoned meat or harmless trash. cow tipping is for people with no friends or money

[@alysonshorthouse8858]

I worked for the Meat Hygiene Service from 1995 to 2000. BSE was a huge deal, the precautions were insane

[@KarlBunker]

Cow 1 to cow 2: "Are you worried about mad cow disease?" Cow 2: "Why would I be? I'm a chicken!"

[@shereygould9307]

Glad you touched on the blood donation angle for the U.S. Every single time the bloodmobile comes to town, I pop in and ask if I'm eligible yet. They *say* they're working on a screening test but I'm still not allowed to donate as I lived in Germany 1990-2002.

[@normalhuman9878]

My mom also lived in Germany in the 90’s She mentions the fact she can’t donate blood every time we see the blood truck

[@Rosalynn78]

Great video! I work in the industry where we prevent the bovine nervous system getting into food sources and I'm going to use this as my training intro video to why our job is important!

[@seatbelttruck]

My great-grandpa died of Creutzfeldt Jakob. I'm pretty sure it was just the regular disease, not the variant, however. I don't remember what year he died, but it was before I was born, so almost certainly before the whole mad-cow thing.

[@MrHatoi]

I actually subscribed to this channel because of your video on prions when I was researching Mad Cow Disease... It's all come full circle.

[@seal1237]

My very close aunt passed away from this. It was absolutely the worst thing to see her go through, and it killed us to see how quickly it robbed her motor skills, memory, speech, and just literally everything 💔 😢

[@elioo560]

I bet mad cow disease caused utter chaos.

[@smoking_hi5494]

Your comment is underrated.

[@virivren]

You had one job.

[@technicaldifficulties3289]

You mean UDDER chaos? AHAHAHA

[@cindroman]

I'm really curious and fascinated by prion diseases and this epizode was especially usefull. Thanks a bunch and keep up the good work. Best regards from a nerdfighter in Croatia !

[@densealloy]

Another prion disease is Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) which is interesting and horrifying to read about if interested. Great video as usual.

[@Jeffrey314159]

1:58 Starting in early 1970's energy crises they decided to use less fuel when cooking the ground up remains of cattle( to feed other cattle) by boiling the material in a low pressure chamber.

[@ScottBooneAZ]

I still can't give blood because I was in England in 1982-1984. I wish I could again as I have a rare type and gave over 10 gallons before I was prohibited giving in the late 90s.

[@coughdrop01]

There is no phrase that makes me feel older than "if you were around in the 90s"

[@JennWanderer]

In this Covid-19 reality, youtube just keeps recommending Sci Show disease videos.

[@jakeg3126]

They have that algorithm that varies what is recommended for you by what your watching, what other people are watching, and what they want you to watch. Like google and the politicians of their choice around election time or censor how good or bad a celebrity is

[@flavvsdasilver6442]

Stefan Chin is a great presenter for the show - I liked his delivery of this episode. Keep it up Stefan!

[@dallasnicole5089]

whyyy do they feed cows to cows?! wtfff

[@brycxio]

That my question. Companies are always after the easiest profit, but at what point do they realize a quite obvious line has been crossed.

[@pikatzer]

how else do you make a Krusty Burger Squared?

[@fep_ptcp883]

It is called "Cowception"

[@jovanbergh33]

Sitting on Ceilings In what sense is forcing bovines to participate in canabalism smart business? A species that is generally consider herbivores preferring vegetation..

[@rudyjanke5942]

They used to feed cows to cows as a way of recycling the raw protein back into the product as to not be wasteful. Actual bone and meat "meal" is off the market, but blood meal is still used in small quantities. This Blood meal is tested and proven to be safe before being added to the food. Essentially a pound of blood is a pound of protein. This makes it hard to just throw away. --A trusted dairy farmer in mid Wisconsin area, who currently raises 400 organic cows.

[@ScottSorrellcanada]

I can die a happy man now. Hopefully not from vJCD! Worth every patron dollar!

[@truthxposed8975]

This video actually sucks. Let me explain why facebook.com/rachel.nicole.16121/posts/101302537382411

[@katieg3163]

My family friends that live down the street lost their dad to this disease. They think he picked it up during a deployment in Germany. It took about two months for him to completely deteriorate. It was really sad to watch him fade, and he had seemed really healthy up until that point. It was a crazy fluke, really rare, but I hope someone finds a cure anyway.

[@jerri1255]

I read that the prions bind with plants very well. When the animal dies or sheds the prions the plants take it up, another animal eats the plants and the cycle begins again. I hope that is not correct.

[@PaulKruskamp]

How do you know if a cow has mad cow disease? It goes: "mmmmooooOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH

[@oneofmanyparadoxfans5447]

I'll have you know that a proper evil laugh ends with a sudden onset of coughing, thank you.

[@gelfling]

I remember that... Now I feel so old...

[@klein2137]

No, it's says "vaccines cause autism"

[@Tocsin-Bang]

The first cases in the UK were identified by Carol Richardson, a former colleague, at the Central Veterinary Laboratory at Weybridge in Surrey. The Scrapie idea is my favourite. I remember there being brain specimens in the freezers in the Pathology Department at CVL. I prepared slides there back in the 60s.

[@willdixon9525]

Thanks for sharing. Liked and appreciate your time.

[@chanceaaronblack2792]

I learned some new stuff here today. Thank you for sharing this info!

[@amberbydreamsart5467]

My family lived in the UK for six months around 1998, and weren't allowed to give blood for a very long time. Fun to know more about why!

[@O-townplaya]

You shouldnt normally be allowed to ever give blood

[@jessus1026]

There was also a prion disease that was very common in a Papua New Guinea tribe that engaged in post-funerary cannibalism. They called it Kuru disease and even after discarding the practice, it took decades to die out because of its years long incubation period.

[@afilina]

I know someone who died from this in the 90's. I had no idea that it was so rare.

[@Student0Toucher]

Search up the new Canadian brain disease sounds a lot like this disease

[@whatname3676]

@@Student0Toucher yeah, i wont be surprised if zombies became real

[@triggadre1930]

@@whatname3676 Lay off the weed man. Moderation is key.

[@crypticpancake6595]

That is scary

[@stephanienader7604]

My teachers passed away from this mid-year in second grade. It was sad, she was one of those teachers that everybody liked and was skilled at her job. :(

[@smithatkinson9962]

Holy Sh** . When I was a child I thought the Mad Cow Disease is a joke .LOL

[@phantasm1234]

Hello, SciShow! Do you think you could make a video explaining the current knowledge of cerebral aneurysms? I had one rupture at 19 and after learning so much about them, I would love for a bigger audience to learn of them!

[@furtivecat6895]

Nice video I'm a government contracted scientist and my job is monitoring TSE in Ireland my lab actually developed the first detection method that made the eradication scheme possible, there was a positive this year in March and one the year before which was rather suspicious as it was a German animal that was recently bought at market, and Irish beer prices had only recovered to pre TSE levels.

[@furtivecat6895]

Beef* lol stereotype autocorrect

[@claytonpaisley9721]

My husbands uncle, Larry Paisley, made several important discoveries about mad cow that impacted modern policy and stopped the spread. It was the highlight of his career, RIP uncle Larry.

[@spaceyjacey_]

My grandma died of mad cow disease in the late 80’s. I of course never met her, but my dad told me what she passed away from when I was 5 or 6 and it never left my brain. Such a huge fear of mine.

[@tyshawn8104]

Same, I’m sorry for your loss.

[@trinityrandt2333]

I did an entire project on this last year in biology. It was very interesting!

[@gustavgnoettgen]

My mom was very worried after 1998. She didn't like beef in the first place, and we avoided eating any beef products for five years or so.

[@82dorrin]

This video was truly... Wait for it... Well done!! I'll see myself out.

[@gojosgirl6487]

When I first heard about this back in sixth grade, 2006, I was so freaked out that I flat out refused to eat ANY beef for like a year after that. I still don't order burgers from McDonald's

[@michelleherbert3058]

I thought mad cow disease started with the Chemical Pour-ons most farmers were made to use by the governing meat bodies. One organic dairy farmer wasn't using the chemicles and his cattle tested negative for the disease after they were all slaughtered..... He then went on to get a very good understanding of what these chemicles do to the spines and nervous systems of cattle and made a link between the two. I can't remember his name but his story stuck with me all these years, his determination to find out after losing all his lovely cattle....

[@jorgelsala]

VCJD = Van Claude Jean Damme

[@Patzzia]

This is really good information. Thank you very much

[@cathyshepard253]

I work at a Plasma Donation Center and this is a real concern we ask people about. Thank you for pronouncing creutzfeldt jakob disease, I didn’t know how to say it properly.

[@DuncanEllis]

I moved to the US from the UK in 2001. I have not been able to give blood throughout that time. The funny thing is that I am a vegetarian.

[@beezusHrist]

Duncan Ellis The disease can lie dormant for decades. Have you been a vegetarian all your life because if not, you probably ate tainted meat.

[@user-bl4oq7fd8d]

There are tests for BSE since 2005 and since 2016 we can detect all forms of BSE.

[@2ecember]

Irrelevant question but how was the move from the UK to the US?

[@Ayverie4]

Duncan Ellis My husband was born in the UK and only lived there until like 6 months old. Maybe never even ate any food yet. But he still can't give blood.

[@SuperStarwarsfan101]

I once knew a girl in high school who also was from the U.S. and moved to the U.K. around the late 90s or early 00s and she also can't give blood, because she may have the disease.

[@glennac]

Question: Do paper toilet seat covers really do anything to protect the user from germs?

[@mariakasstan]

The very thought that somwbody was feeding cows to cows is horrifying!

[@EarlSquirrelsonn]

I remember it in primary school in Ireland. We had to stand on mats with disinfectant before we went into the classrooms and everything.

[@normalhuman9878]

My mom lived in Germany in the 90’s and she’s not allowed to donate blood

[@francoislacombe9071]

I never understood how prions could be transmitted through food. We cook our food, and also animal feed, which denatures proteins. Proteins are digested, which breaks them apart. Undigested proteins are not absorbed by the intestines. And finally, the few such proteins that could make it into the blood stream would have to get through the brain blood barrier to reach the brain itself. That's quite a gauntlet for those prions have to run and I'm amazed that any can manage to go through all of it.

[@Thebestusername-fy5sl]

The protein chains affected adopt a different tertiary folding structure. One in which the atoms actually take up less space than in the original thus leading to gaps and an overall spongey bulk material. Because this incorrect form is actually more energetically favorable it acts as a template or chaperone protein. nearby proteins of the same secondary polypeptide chain structure, naturally follow the influence of this new form and follow suit to adopt that same folded shape.The entropy of this interaction is wholly -ve meaning no effort is actually required to keep it going once its begun, so the change is spontaneous once infection occurs. Some of the first investigations into CJD were on a disease called Kuru. Tribes in papa new guinea had a tradition of eating the brain tissue of dead tribe members after their passing, but without cooking it. This lead to the incorrect, for our bodies needs anyway, but again energetically favorable structure getting into the body. Leading to degeneration. And killing alot of people.

[@Vizal]

The thumbnail is a nice wink to the infamous Macromedia Flash applet 😜

[@francescakray233]

Thank you. 🌹

[@Bc232klm]

I thought prion was pronounced like ion?

[@Yora21]

It's probably originally Greek or Latin. And English speakers always pronounce all foreign words wrong. You're free to choose which wrong version you want to use.

[@Resseti82939]

No no no there two very different things

[@Jeffrey314159]

Actually since it is a contraction or acronym of PROteinacious INfectious particle it should be spelled PROIN , but Prion rolls off the tongue better. There was an article about this in DISCOVER magazine many many years ago: The Game of the Name is Fame ~ about how the prion theory was bad science being over sold.

[@cadeprutzman9771]

cubs0110 potato patato

[@Walker1o8o]

It is.

[@RedstoneMaster78]

Holy cow!

[@Speak4Yourself2]

Thanks a lot!

[@johnwhite9760]

for KZbin this was actually a very good little documentary. I'm a dairy farmer in the UK and thankfully my cows never had this dreadful disease.It's good it's now in the past.

[@ntt2478]

"Almost definitely probably not." Love it. Your honor, the jury finds the defendant almost definitely probably not guilty.

[@sorzin2289]

I remember this during the 90's, I was too scared to go to McDonald's

[@wilfriedschuler3796]

@Sorzin If you really want to know more about "The Macdonalds" check in youtube the old ballade from Scotland "The massacre of Glencoe, by the corries" Here the soup Campbells are massacring the Mc Donalds. Deserves them right.

[@joeysmith7296]

Thanks i was scared of it but you calmed me down

[@bnabna1012]

How did he calm u down?

[@Novadolls]

Ha, seeing this is a blast from the past, because Mad Cow Disease was a special interest of mine a few years back.

[@lowlyworm9323]

Only 90s kids remember

[@watermelonineasterhay]

I don't fortunately, as I'm not an older 90s kid (born 89)

[@RedstoneMaster78]

It's a coincidence how I just learned about prion's today in school

[@wrenlittle8826]

Ahh nostalgia. I vividly recall my time as Chefs apprentice in the mid nineties in Denmark. My 'Masters' frustration was comic. "No bone broth, no marrow soup, no brains, no no no no" Incessant grumbling. They were terribly disappointed with the farming industry. I love SciShow.

[@marcmarc172]

Stefan is my favorite scishow host!!!!!

[@MalcolmCooks]

they made it illegal to grind up dead cows and feed them to living cows

[@lilMissAdoria]

They sought psychiatric help for their anger issues and have calmed down. 😂

[@chrisduke3251]

They were sent to anger management class.

[@innerspacesurfer]

"One thing we can say for sure is your steak is almost probably definitely not infected."That's some real good science talking. One day i hope i can science this good. Thanks for all the perspiration scishoe. Keep it up!

[@kilowhiskyforge5713]

Hey bro, I ain't seen you I this channel before but I dig how well you perform in front of a camera. Really well done. I would recommend practising your hand movement on camera. Try to include a bit more time bringing your hands together- clasping?- and then opening them up again during the key points and I believe that will make for a well rounded educational video. Cheers bro

[@gordonlawrence4749]

My first wife didn't need to worry about this - she was a mad cow already.

[@itsSebastianl0lz]

Here I am thinking cows go mad, when they eat tomacco My life is a lie

[@johnjacob688]

It's so weird, I was just talking to someone about this yesterday. We had a guy at work die from mad cow a while back at that's what sparked the conversation.

[@Tara........]

I ate beef in the U.K. during the 90's. CJD has always been there at the back of my mind because it can take decades for the symptoms to appear. It's not something that keeps me up at night but every once in a while I can't help thinking about the possibility.

[@slowiez7209]

The new deer zombie disease brought me here.

[@henkdevos590]

Lol same

[@thedrunkenpilot]

I have a friend who drives a Prion, he's pretty douchey about it.

[@Tonguefunsome]

What a great placement for a Longhorn Steak House ad!

[@michiganabigail]

I did my first college science paper on Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, and then it became a fear of mine! But... it won't stop me from traveling to the UK.

[@partialeggcarton]

That thumbnail. XD

[@eSKAone-]

You really belief the patties at your local burger place are pure ground beef? They grind all sorts of slaughter waste in there, including brains and other parts of the nervous systems

[@Resseti82939]

eSKAone they are now

[@eSKAone-]

SenpaiGaming Whatever let's you sleep at night ;)

[@Andreas918]

senpai is actually mostly correct. Ground meat lacks organ meat mainly because adding it would drastically change the flavor, texture, and feel of the meat. Ground meat is mostly made up of water, assorted plant mater for filling, and trimmings from chuck, sirloin, and round steaks. And in a study in 2008 that went through the ground beef of 8 different fast food chains, small traces of peripheral nerve tissue was found, but brain matter was no where to be seen.

[@TheBespectacledN00b]

Not brains, not in the UK anymore. Not if they want to be able to export to the EU. British beef sorts got banned for a number of years over BSE.

[@MrItsaplane]

+eSKAone Yeah no, that's not how it flies, beef comes from shoulder and back meat, I can tell you having eaten quite a few animals if others part were haphazardly thrown in you would know.

[@DatTrueTruth]

my grandmother actually passed away in 2016 from mad cow disease. i don't think it's as rare as this video makes it out to be. No one knows how she got it but like the video says it can take years to actually show symptoms. Her doctor said it could be from a botox injection she had or from some steak she had eaten in Mexico.. however my aunt has known 2 people that have passed in the last 3 years from it. which leads me to believe it's likely more common than we want it to be. still incredibly rare but not that rare.

[@ScarletAquaCrimson15]

I was making hamburgers yesterday and thought "I wonder what happened to mad cow disease?" then today this video popped into my feed! Mindblown! And thanks for answering that question!