News Finding: Gut worms may hinder the spread of prions to the brain
  
  A study of an infectious brain condition that destroys nerve cells helps to explain why some individuals may be at more risk than others.
Paper Finding: These data are essential for the identification of important factors can that influence the risk of oral prion disease transmission and to help design effective intervention and control strategies.
News Context: Gut worms may hinder the spread of prions to the brain
  
  A study of an infectious brain condition that destroys nerve cells helps to explain why some individuals may be at more risk than others. The study shows how the progression of prion diseases to the brain is slowed if animals have previously been infected with a gut worm. The study showed that in animals that had previously been infected with a gut worm, the spread of the prions to the brain was reduced, delaying the onset of disease.
Paper Context: This parasite is an excellent model for the study of gastrointestinal helminth infections in livestock and humans 39 , being phylogenetically similar to the ruminant parasites Haemonchus contortus and Teladorsagia circumcincta, and human hookworms Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus 40 . These data are essential for the identification of important factors can that influence the risk of oral prion disease transmission and to help design effective intervention and control strategies. As anticipated, maximum egg production was observed by 18 days post-infection (dpi) with H. polygyrus and had declined by 32 dpi (Fig.