{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T22:44:43Z","timestamp":1791326683548,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)","issue":"5619","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Science"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2003,4,25]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Kuru is an acquired prion disease largely restricted to the Fore linguistic group of the Papua New Guinea Highlands, which was transmitted during endocannibalistic feasts. Heterozygosity for a common polymorphism in the human prion protein gene (\n                    <jats:italic>PRNP<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) confers relative resistance to prion diseases. Elderly survivors of the kuru epidemic, who had multiple exposures at mortuary feasts, are, in marked contrast to younger unexposed Fore, predominantly\n                    <jats:italic>PRNP<\/jats:italic>\n                    129 heterozygotes. Kuru imposed strong balancing selection on the Fore, essentially eliminating\n                    <jats:italic>PRNP<\/jats:italic>\n                    129 homozygotes. Worldwide\n                    <jats:italic>PRNP<\/jats:italic>\n                    haplotype diversity and coding allele frequencies suggest that strong balancing selection at this locus occurred during the evolution of modern humans.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1083320","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2003,4,25]],"date-time":"2003-04-25T08:15:25Z","timestamp":1051258525000},"page":"640-643","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":302,"title":["Balancing Selection at the Prion Protein Gene Consistent with Prehistoric Kurulike Epidemics"],"prefix":"10.1126","volume":"300","author":[{"given":"Simon","family":"Mead","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael P. H.","family":"Stumpf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jerome","family":"Whitfield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jonathan A.","family":"Beck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mark","family":"Poulter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tracy","family":"Campbell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"James B.","family":"Uphill","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Goldstein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Alpers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth M. C.","family":"Fisher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Collinge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Research Council Prion Unit, and Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK."},{"name":"Department of Biology (Galton Laboratory), University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK."},{"name":"Institute of Medical Research, Goroka, EHP, Papua New Guinea."},{"name":"Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"221","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_1_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.6801762"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/209794a0"},{"key":"e_1_3_1_4_2","first-page":"7","volume":"8","year":"1971","unstructured":"M. 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