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Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery

8/10 2010 4K 52 min
Documentary

Australian scientist Michael Alpers dedicated over 50 years to researching Kuru, an obscure and incurable brain disease unique to the Fore people of New Guinea. Kuru was once thought to be a psychosomatic illness, an infection, a genetic disorder, even a sorcerer's curse, but Alpers' findings pointed to cannibalism as the culprit. Yet a recent discovery has proven to be even more disturbing: the malady is linked to mad cow disease and its human equivalent, variant CJD. With a decades-long incubation period, could a larger outbreak be on its way?

Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery
Top Cast
Judy Davis
Judy Davis
Self - Narrator (voice)
Michael Alpers
Michael Alpers
Self
Russ Harris
Russ Harris
Self
Pako Ombeya
Pako Ombeya
Self