Mad Cow Disease: Eradicating a Killer Cow Author ID: 3688 Word Count: Proposed Species: Mad Cow Disease Proposed Action: Eradication What is Mad Cow Disease crazy? Mad cow disease is caused by prions, “strange mutant proteins found in the brain and spinal tissue”1. Another name for mad cow disease is called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and the definition is "a progressive neurological disease of cattle resulting from infection by an unusual transmissible agent called a prion"2. It started from what's called a prion protein, then it turned into a pathogen, and then it started damaging the brains of livestock. There is another name for this disease and it is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease "a form of progressive dementia characterized by the loss of nerve cells and degeneration of nerve cell membranes leading to the production of small holes in the brain. It is rare, degenerative and invariably fatal"3. This disease manifests itself in humans by causing memory lapses, depression-like mood swings, lack of interest and social withdrawal3. It is said that this disease has no tr...