Magnetic monopole?

[Koen1]

This is probably even more irrelevant...

This may seem irrelevant ...however,

Mad cow disease is a protein disorder whereby infected proteins cause non infected proteins to align ...even in the absence of the infected proteins, the affected proteins remain aligned and dysfunctional.

As I understood it, the prions responsible for BSE "infect" other protein molecules by "bumping into them", which causes the affected protein molecule
to change shape and turn into a copy of the prion protein molecule that it came into contact with. After the "collision"/"interaction", there are two prions.
This is a cascade effect and that is why it causes Spongiform Encephalitis: the prions are not of a form that our human metabolism can break down,
so they never get filtered out of the bloodstream. In places where there's a lot of the "target" proteins, like the brain, the prions encounter lots of susceptible
protein molecules, and form a lot more prions, which becomes a fairly steady process of prion production. Since none get filtered out, more and
more of the prions are produced and start to "rain down" on the nerve cells untill they are completely smothered by a thick blanket of prions and basically
choke to death. They can no longer absorb enough nutrients through the thick prion blanket and die. The prions however remain and blanket the next
cell, and the next, and the next, untill sponge-like cavities remain in the brain tissue.
There is never an absence of "infected protein", they turn other proteins into prions.
According to the documentation I received on it and what I read in Cell Biology, at least.


As for electrons really being monopoles, I don't know...
But Hand Coler did say something similar... He said they're South pole monopoles, if I recall correctly.

Regards,
Koen

[SomedayIsle]

They can no longer absorb enough nutrients through the thick prion blanket and die. The prions however remain and blanket the next
cell, and the next, and the next, untill sponge-like cavities remain in the brain tissue.
There is never an absence of "infected protein", they turn other proteins into prions.
According to the documentation I received on it and what I read in Cell Biology, at least

.


Indeed, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.


God bless

[Koen1]

Well, too little knowledge is more dangerous than a little.

[broli]

The problem with knowledge is that it's boundless. Sure 100 km might seem far but astrologically it's nothing. Knowledge can only be measured between peers.

[Koen1]

Now that's a nice epistemological remark Broli

Let me just throw up a thought here,
sure, astrologically speaking 100 km is nothing...
... but then again we can traverse 100 km and we can't even put a man on Mars.
(sure we could, but for some reason we don't, just like we proved we
could put men on the moon but for some odd reason haven't been back there
for half a century.)

Nevertheless, there was something about monopoles, wasn't there? 

Regards,
Koen