-Caveat Lector- SOME SUSPECT PESTICIDE LINK TO MAD COW DISEASE http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/SecondOpinion/secondopinion010525.html
NICHOLAS REGUSH, ABC NEWS - What if it turns out that the human form of mad cow disease is triggered by environmental factors - and not by infectious beef products - as some ongoing British research at Cambridge University suggests? What if much of the science to date, focusing on contaminated meat, has been overly simplistic or even dead wrong? The immediate implication would be that we would have to rethink everything already done to fight the disease, both in Britain where it began, in Europe, where it has spread, and in other nations, including the United States, where concerns are mounting about its potential to be unleashed. . . The viewpoint held by most scientists is that an infectious agent likely moved from sheep to cows and gained enough strength in its cross-species jump to ravage the nervous system and cause the bovine brain to appear spongy and rife with holes like Swiss cheese. This brain-destroying "mad cow" infection was further transmitted, according to this interpretation, via the rendering of carcasses, to meat and bone meal in feed. . . But not according to David Brown, a biochemist at Cambridge University, who counters that "there is no conclusive proof that [mad cow disease] caused vCJD." Next week at a scientific conference in Quebec City, he'll discuss some of his most recent research, pointing to a possible environmental explanation of both mad cow disease and vCJD. That conference is all about manganese, a heavy metal, that is essential to life and is part of the daily diet - for example, wheat, rice and tea provide the metal - but numerous studies show that environmental overexposure to it can be dangerous to the nervous system. . . David Brown agrees with the conventional view that the key agent in the disease is a protein called a "prion." These prions are thought to keep nerve cells stable. The conventional view holds that prions can somehow become malformed and that's when they become infectious and capable of damaging the brain. The malformed prion, then, according to the conventional view, is the infectious and transmissible agent in mad cow disease and vCJD. The infection is neither a virus, nor a bacterium. Brown parts company here with the conventional view, altogether dismissing the notion of an "infectious" prion. He told me: "I have [published] evidence from my cell culture experiments that shows manganese can change the prion into its abnormal [and dangerous] form." This is especially the case when the supply of copper to the cell is low. If David Brown's research is on a correct path, then scientific and public concerns about infection from beef could eventually be dwarfed by concerns about toxic effects in the environment that cause copper levels to decrease and manganese levels to rise. . . Brown's research has given a boost to the controversial theories of Mark Purdey, a farmer turned amateur scientist who has been challenging the conventional view of mad cow disease and vCJD from the start. He has provided detailed reports to the British government's hearings on mad cow disease and has published several peer-reviewed scientific papers on the subject, including data on how manganese in the environment may play a role in both mad cow disease and vCJD. BBC, MARCH 21, 20001 - The Phillips Inquiry into BSE confirmed that the pesticides could make animals more susceptible to the disease. Not for the first time, Mark Purdey had made a connection that the official scientists had missed. Edward Stourton The man from the Ministry had come with an order for the treatment of Warble Fly - a parasite which lays its eggs under the skin of cattle. Like all beef and dairy farmers in the area, Mark Purdey was told he had to use an organophosphate pesticide on his livestock to eradicate the infestation. But he fought the order in court - and he won. When BSE was identified two years later Mark Purdey noticed that the areas where the disease was emerging more or less correlated with those where the organophosphates had been used against Warble Fly. His conclusion that the pesticide caused BSE turned out to be mistaken. But nearly twenty years later the Phillips Inquiry into BSE confirmed that it could make animals more susceptible to the disease. Not for the first time, Mark Purdey had made a connection that the official scientists had missed. . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/correspondent/europe/1205915.stm www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om