What was Gajdusek's most notable career accomplishment?
Discovering the nucleus
Winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Discovering the DNA double helix
Inventing the EKG machine
Answer
In 1976, Gajdusek won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on kuru, a neurological disorder that is found in the Fore people of Papua New Guinea. He discovered that the disease is caused by a prion, a protein that can transmit its infectious state to other proteins. This was the first time that a prion had been identified as the cause of a disease.
Unraveling the Extraordinary: The Daniel Carleton Gajdusek Quiz
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