

How a history of eating human brains protected this tribe from brain disease - acdanger
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/11/how-a-history-of-eating-human-brains-protected-this-tribe-from-brain-disease/?tid=hp_mm

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sushid
The comments on the article address this concern, but what actually happened
was eating human brains led to the kuru endemic. This left behind the
individuals genetically resistant to various forms of brain diseases including
kuru, mad cow disease, and dementia.

The title makes it sound as if eating brains led to some health benefit, which
is simply not the case.

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msandford
To be fair it says "this tribe" which can be read "the collective" and for the
collective to survive it is only required that enough members survive. It
doesn't specify any particular individuals.

Of course this is a fairly nuanced reading of the title and I initially
thought the same as you.

It's kind-of the same as saying "lions keep the antelope herds healthy" which
is technically true, but only because they are the mechanism by which the less
healthy antelopes stop being a part of the herd.

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xacaxulu
Prions are the stuff of nightmares. Imagining these folding proteins running
haywire in my brain scares the hell out of me. Time to go vegan?

