> In our own bodies, there are speculative theories of non-genetic
> replicators, called prions...I don't believe this theory has ever
> been validated.
I think the general consensus among doctors today is that the prion model is correct, and that it causes BSE, CJD, Kuru, and Scrapie (in sheep). It was controversial as late as 1995, but Nobel prizes and good test results can be pretty convincing.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC