The Medical Research Council may fund scientists at Imperial College, London Pounds 1 million to research into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A final decision on funding awaits the science budget allocations in January.
The funds would allow a team led by John Collinge of St Mary's Hospital school of medicine to expand their study of prion diseases such as CJD. The researchers will also investigate evidence that there may be a genetic predisposition to CJD in humans.
The funding would be made available over three years and would enable Professor Collinge to develop detailed proposals for a research unit dedicated to prion research. The location of the unit has not yet been decided.
Both CJD and BSE are neurodegenerative diseases belonging to a group called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Abnormal prion proteins accumulate in affected brains. In October Professor Collinge revealed the first direct evidence appearing to show that mad cow disease has been transmitted to humans.
The MRC may also fund research by the controversial Newcastle-based scientist Harash Narang who claims to have developed a urine test for BSE and CJD. The funding would enable Dr Narang to set up a laboratory at Leeds University. The council, however, is likely to insist that he comes up with a detailed protocol within a year for the evaluation of his test so that it can be verified by other researchers before extending the support.
The MRC's funding of BSE research is likely to be influenced by the Office of Science and Technology's own response to the crisis.
Sources say that the OST is considering top-slicing the science budget by around Pounds 7 million a year over three years for scientific efforts in BSE and CJD research.