The prion hypotheses

Authors: McManus K
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 44, Issue 3, pp 119, Jun 1996
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock
Subject Terms: Nervous system/neurology, Spongiform encephalopathies, Disease/defect
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: I read with interest the letter by P.R. Wills (New Zealand Veterinary Journal 44, 33-36, 1996). I hope someone more learned than I will reply, because I think a reply is necessary. Some post-modem science seems to be bypassing basic scientific principles. Isn`t science all about analysis of observations, the measurement of entities that can be quantitated data, finding, etc. not just intuition? The article may be brilliant fantasy, but it is not science. At the moment the prion hypotheses are just that, speculation. So the essay carries such words as “may” (three times), “could” (twice), and “might”, “no-one can guarantee” and “risks of unknown magnitude”. Is it any wonder that the author is “extremely wary of analyses based on the sort of reasonable common sense” and “the validation method” is stoned. While there may be…

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