[UA] cannibalism and stuff.

[Greg Stolze]

>This seems so strangely ironic to me.  A cannibal eats Stuff that exists in
>the brain only to have that same brain stuff to damage the eater's brain.
>
>Maybe it isn't so ironic.  Maybe it's the victim's brain's last attempt at
>fighting back, some sort of last ditch survival instinct kicking in.  There
>could be much more to this than 'simple' prions and hormones.

The kuru story I remember is that the anthropologists couldn't figure out
why it was cropping back up in one tribe where the natives had taken to
cooking: Usually, it only occurs from eating raw brains, if I recall
correctly.

They noticed that only the women were getting it, and eventually figured
out how: While cooking the soup, the women would dip their fingers in and
taste it to see if it was done.  Since the illness only strikes BEFORE it's
done, the women were the only ones at risk.

-G.

Pretty sure it was kuru.



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