Provides an in-depth study of the science and scientists behind the research into prions, enigmatic brain proteins, and their influence on human life, examining the case of an Italian family victimized for two centuries by a fatal familial insomnia, as well as the link between prions and kuru, Mad Cow disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and other brain maladies. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.