Originally from: Bill
                        
Mark

The man most likely to know best is Peter Vollhardt, Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He specialises in Organic and Organometallic Chemistry and benzene compounds are one of his specialities.

Unfortunately if you mention BSE the shutters come slamming down. Don't know if that has anything to do with whoever he gets his research funding from (Oil Companies?) or of course he might well know Prusiner who is just up the road at UCSF.

Call me an old conspiracy theorist but I have a distinctly uneasy feeling about this one.

All the best,
Bill.