Misfolded proteins known as prions caused the devastating health and food crisis in Europe due to the infectious mad cow disease. An EU-supported project studied prions to prevent a recurrence of mad cow disease or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also called mad cow disease, decimated European cow populations over 20 years ago and caused major food scares across Europe. It even leapt across the species barrier to infect some humans with vCJD, killing around 200 people.
Further details: Protection from prions