The same protein that, in an altered shape, causes mad cow disease and other neurodegenerative disorders maintains the body’s cache of blood-producing stem cells, a new study suggests.
Called the prion protein, or PrP, it’s scattered throughout the body in mammals. When, in rare occurrences, PrP becomes misshapen, it causes neurodegenerative diseases in cows (SN: 1/10/04, p.
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