Crazy cow (Mad cow)

Thousands of people took to the streets in a candle light vigil to oppose US beef imports that many fear may be tainted with mad cow disease. The demonstrations targeted South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, self-declared “CEO of the Korea, Inc.,” who recently met with US President Bush to swallow a $20 billion free trade deal.

And here's a video of South Korea Demonstrations Against US Mad Cow Disease entitled Crazy Cow, Crazy Corn, Crazy S.Korea President



What Is Mad Cow Disease and How Do People Get It?

Mad cow disease is an incurable, fatal brain disease that affects cattle and possibly some other animals, such as goats and sheep. The medical name for mad cow disease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (pronounced: bo-vine spun-jih-form en-seh-fah-la-puh-thee), or BSE for short. It's called mad cow disease because it affects a cow's nervous system, causing a cow to act strangely and lose control of its ability to do normal things, such as walk.

Only certain animals can get BSE — people don't actually get mad cow disease. However, experts have found a link between BSE and a rare brain condition that affects people, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Researchers believe that people who eat beef from cows that have BSE are at risk of developing a form of CJD.

CJD is caused by an abnormal type of protein in the brain called a prion. When people have CJD, cells in the brain die until the brain eventually has a "sponge-like" appearance. During this time, people with the disease gradually lose control of their mental and physical capabilities.

Source: kidshealth