June 16, 2005
DAVIS, Calif. -- Researchers at the University of California, Davis are trying to explain how mad cow disease acts so frighteningly fast using an unconventional tool -- mathematical modeling.
The disease is caused when proteins in the body bend into misfolded shapes called "prions," eventually forming clumps that kill brain cells and leave spongy holes in the brain.
It takes years to incubate in an infected animal or human. But once it becomes active, the researchers found the flawed proteins grow exponentially and replicate in two dimensions, not merely growing end-to-end as previously thought. They're still studying why the disease acts as it does.
Most research into mad cow disease is being conducted through experiments on animal tissue, not computer modeling.
"Certainly, this research could help to answer some of the key questions we have about the disease," says Benjamin Higgins, executive vice president of the California Cattlemen's Association. "We know the disease is dormant in that animal somewhere. We know that later in life, something causes an exponential growth in those prions in that animal."
UC Davis physicists have been studying the disease at the molecular level for nearly five years, including investigating the role -- and possible preventive measures -- that metal ions play in bonding to the proteins. Their findings, some drawn from mathematical simulations using Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's supercomputer, dovetail with what other scientists are discovering through laboratory experimentation.