Brahic is a French microbiologist whos been connected to the world of prions for decades.
Before diving in, he provides a clear, straightforward overview of how the nervous system and proteins function.
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A 3D illustration of prions, which contain no genetic material but can spread and cause diseases like other germs.© Love Employee via Getty
The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and grammar.
Ed Cara, Gizmodo:Youve spent your career studying how viruses and eventually prions can harm the brain.
What made you want to write a book about these mysterious proteins for a general audience?
Thats not widely known, and I want to make that known for two important reasons.
I wanted a book that says, No, they are not infectious.
But what are some of the biggest questions still left to answer about prion and prion-like proteins?
Of course, theres work going on in that field.
There are other possibilities like a sort of starvation.
Another aspect is that beside Alzheimers and Parkinsons, how many more diseases are involved with this prion protein?
So I think thats another direction that needs to be explored.
Gizmodo:Prions are most well-known for being terrifying, practically impossible to stop germs.
Brahic:Prions were discovered because of kuru, because of the exotic diseases they cause.
We now know that there are prion proteins which are essential forhuman functioning.
Will we ever be able to someday defeat prions as we can viruses or bacteria?
Gizmodo:What do you hope people most take away from this book?
How are they significant?
Whats the probability of something to be proven correct after further investigation?
Vaccine denial is, to me, a very serious problem causing a lot of harm.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
But it doesn’t have to be, some researchers argue.
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