New Research Suggests Mad Cow Disease May Have Been Triggered by More Than Misfolded Proteins

For decades, mad cow disease — bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) — has been blamed almost exclusively on misfolded infectious proteins known as prions. But groundbreaking research led by the University of Alberta is challenging that long-standing theory and shedding new light on why the devastating outbreaks in the U.K. unfolded the way they did.