Prions Jan 7, 2020

Prions are extremely unusual agents of infection, now known to be proteins belonging to the host animal that have misfolded and become deadly. The mad Cow epidemic in the UK in the 1980s and 1990s killed many thousands of cattle and more than 200 humans. The only prion disease that exists in the world is right here in Alberta, Chronic Wasting Disease. It’s spreading, and no one knows how to stop it. And prions might be the fundamental process underlying other neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s.

Speaker: Jay Ingram, CM (Order of Canada Member) has hosted two national science programs in Canada, Quirks and Quarks on CBC radio and Daily Planet on Discovery Channel Canada. He has written 17 books, which have been translated into 15 languages, has six honorary degrees, is a member of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. From 2005-2015, he was Chair of the Science Communications Program at the Banff Centre. He is also co-founder and chair of the arts and engineering smashup called Beakerhead, which began in September 2013 in Calgary.