Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery

Kuru: The Science and the Sorcery (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
52 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2010 and produced in:
Australia ( Australia, New Zealand )

Directed By:
Rob Bygott

Written By:
Rob Bygott

Actors:
Russ Harris ..... Himself - Narrator
Michael Alpers ..... Himself - Medical Researcher
Pako Ombeya ..... Himself
Atenamu Bavasa ..... Himself
Kasam Uvinda ..... Himself
Taiyabu Tavi ..... Himself
Shirley Lindenbaum ..... Herself - Anthropologist
Carleton Gajdusek ..... Himself - Virologist
Agusa Utigi ..... Herself
Stanley Prusiner ..... Himself - Biochemist
John Collinge ..... Himself - MRC PRION Unit, London
Judy Davis ..... Narrator

Synopsis:

KURU: THE SCIENCE AND THE SORCERY follows Australian scientist, Michael Alpers, into the jungles of Papua New Guinea and a mysterious world of sorcery, cannibalism and tribal conflict. The research into kuru reveals discoveries which turned scientific understandings upside down. Its a medical detective story that links strange animal diseases to fatal human diseases and links all humans to a remote past of cannibal practices.

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?

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 05 December, 2014.