Re:Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada
by giantg2 on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @07:27AM
(#27048563)
Actually, there is some good news. Many types of prions diseases do not spread from animals to humans (so far). There have been some studies around this with CWD, but also Scapie has been around for hundreds or even thousands of years and never made the jump. Even in areas with CWD, we see that herd numbers do typically rebound. It's believed that there is some genetic factor that prevents the onset of the symptoms, like the body's proteins are less likely to fold in that way, so you only accumulate what you eat, or that the body can clean up the misfolded proteins. So it's not like it would wipe out everyone. I think I remember reading that some people are also researching prion treatments with some limited sucess. I would imagine they would come up with something even more quickly if there was a epidemic type of situation, similar to how medical researchers around the world focused on covid.
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Re:Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada
by throwaway316943 on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @08:30AM
(#27049038)
Not to be a doomer but there are scenarios where neither genetic variation nor research would solve the problem. The correct mix of virality, incubation and lethality would do it. Pneumonic plague is terrifyingly close. I wish there was a bigger interest and investment in biology, I think it’s the only viable path forward for humanity.
Re:Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada
by giantg2 on Wednesday May 05, 2021 @10:36AM
(#27050387)
I was just discussing prions. Other pathogens do seem to present a bigger risk. I don't think anything would have 100% kill rate. Even weaponized microbes have like 99.8% or something. That still leaves about 16 million people. Plus there's all those preppers with their bunkers, some uncontacted tribes, people who live in isolated areas. Then it becomes more of a matter of how to organize, do they have the knowledge to survive in those types of conditions, etc. The species will survive, but it will be a very different world.