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THIS TOO I CAN GET THE WORST GRADE AND IT IS ABOUT TO THE REPORT CARD SO HELP ME Read the passage from When Birds Get Flu and Cows Go Mad! by John DiConsiglio. Early that morning, a tissue sample from a cow in Washington State had tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)—also known as mad cow disease. That’s a rare brain disorder that kills both animals and humans. In Europe, hundreds of thousands of cows have caught the disease. And 150 humans have died from it. The author’s purpose in structuring this passage is to create a tone. identify a problem. suggest a solution. propose a resolution.

a. Create a tone
b. Identify a problem
c. Suggest a solution
d. Propose a resolution

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Final answer:

The author's purpose in the passage from 'When Birds Get Flu and Cows Go Mad!' is to identify a problem, specifically the detection of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, which is a fatal neurodegenerative disease transmitted by prions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage from When Birds Get Flu and Cows Go Mad! by John DiConsiglio focuses on detailing the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, which is a condition that leads to a fatal brain disorder affecting both cattle and humans. The way the information is presented serves to identify a problem. The passage outlines the threat the disease poses by mentioning the number of cows and humans affected, thereby underscoring the significance and urgency of the issue without immediately discussing potential solutions or resolutions.

Mad cow disease is a result of misfolded proteins known as prions. Prions replicate by causing normally folded proteins to misfold in the same way, leading to the characteristic neurodegeneration observed in both animals and humans. This neurodegenerative disease can be transmitted between members of the same species, such as the spread from cattle to cattle through feed containing nervous tissue, or from humans to humans via ritualistic cannibalism, as seen with kuru in Papua New Guinea. Notably, BSE-associated conditions, like variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, can also be transmitted through blood transfusions, leading some countries to ban blood donations from regions with known cases of BSE.

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