The article From Prion Disease to Prion-Like Propogation Mechanisms of Neurodegenerative Diseases clearly set out some of the types of prion disease (scrapie and bovine spongine encephalopathy), discovery of prions, the protein only hypothesis. But the part of the article I found most interesting was Section 5, which discussed how there are common mechanisms I prion disease and other diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. After conducting research on these other diseases, I enjoyed thinking about them from the new perspective of cell to cell propagation that is similar to prion mechanisms. Hopefully, the conclusion drawn that a deeper understanding of prion diseases and how they function will lead to “new strategies” in diagnosing and treating various neurological diseases will turn out to be accurate. The article was dense and a bit difficult to read because of the heavy scientific details, but it made me want to ask more questions about how we might go about thinking about neurodegeneration and the methods of looking for therapies and cures.
As a student who has enjoyed making films to express scientific ideas, I found the various approaches of the four movie clips on prions instructive for various reasons, and it helped me reevaluate tools that I would like to use in future films. I think it is really important to consider audience for the films, as different people would be more or less attracted to particular film styles. However, I found all of the clips actually reinforced different prion tidbits, making the overall learning experience memorable.
The short film Kuru- A Prion disease provided interesting facts combined with graphic pictures, a bit of humor, and intense, upbeat music. I found the combination to be very effective in making me want to read all of the facts on the written frames of the screen. The pictures broke it up enough to keep me interested and wanting to read more, while the music was energetic even though it was not pleasant music. The “quiz time” at the end was a fun way to reinforce some of the key facts. A terrific clip all around! The under two-minute, short movie clip Prions was much more dry, and provided much more scientific-detail facts. Although the voice talking about prions, their origin, their structure, and their function was quite monotone, the visual images were helpful in allowing me to visualize Prion facts. It is the type of clip that would have to be watched several times to remember all the details learned, and it was less entertaining that the Kuru clip. I found the short film Prions the Real Zombie Maker fascinating, in that it drew me in with an elementary level and funny presentation that had a good deal of irrelevant information, but then ended up providing a large amount of valuable information about prions, how they work, and how they cause disease. I really enjoyed the film and learned a lot at the same time. The explanation about the genetic protection from Kuru disease by some of the female Kurus was particularly intriguing. Finally, the clip Prions What are They, was cute, and a fun reinforcement of the few, very basic prion facts that it described.