Mad cow and Brain research

This comes courtesy of Annik L.:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=proteins-behind-mad-cow-disease-also-help-brain-develop

 

The brain is a huge contributing factor to the fascinating mystery that makes us human. It's interesting how one object can be both beneficial and malignant to us.  Scientists found that the same prions that trigger mad cow disease, and in humans the Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease, are also involved in insulating nerves, maintaining the myelin sheath, and communicating between nerves.