Should people be tested for mad cow disease? (New Scientist) Would you want to know if you were a carrier of vCJD - the human form of BSE - even though there is currently no cure? [News Source]

Gene silencing fights mad cow disease (New Scientist) A type of gene silencing known as RNA interference slows the progression of prion disease in mice by more than 30% [News Source]

CDC: Saudi-born US Citizen Has Human Form Of Mad-Cow (CattleNetwork.com) Virginia Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the third case of   variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, also known as the human form of “mad-cow“ disease, in a Saudi Arabian-born U.S. citizen. [News Source]

Saudi man is third US mad cow case, CDC says. A Saudi-born man living in Virginia has been identified as the third reported U.S. case of a human form of mad cow disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [News Source]

Mad cow protein may play role in diabetes. Ottawa researchers have found a protein that causes Creutzfeld-Jakob disease might play a part in regulating blood sugar and could possibly affect the development of juvenile (Type 1) diabetes. [News Source]

South Korea bans third US beef shipment (AFP via Yahoo! News) South Korea banned a third consecutive US beef shipment after discovering tiny bone fragments in the consignment, citing a bilateral accord to combat mad cow disease. [News Source]

‘Child’s Christmas’ has holiday magic (Orlando Sentinel) Mad Cow's show is short, and it feels a bit padded, but it sweetly takes us back to holidays of yore. Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales" is a little smidgen of a thing -- a sketch, not even a story, a piece that had its roots in radio and demands to be read aloud. [News Source]