Dr Steven Whatley is testing whether organophospates - compulsorily used for years in England as a pesticide for warblefly - are the cause of BSE.

Preliminary results show that human and mouse cells exposed to phosmet, the alleged danger factor, reacted dramatically. Proteins moved from the outside of the cells to the inside, a typical pattern in BSE.

"This represents the first evidence that links PrP with OPs", Whatley reports, though he said that due to lack of interest from funding bodies there has not been enough research.

The UK government's theory is that the disease came from cattle eating sheep remains infected with scrapie in the early 1980s. But the US had a similar rendering system to the UK, and had scrapie in sheep for years before there was any BSE.

If the organophosphate theory is true, then the chemical companies who make it are in a lot of trouble. By a total coincidence, ICI - who made the pesticide for years - sold the business to an obscure company in the Arizona desert, although ICI continue to market the product.

Mark Purdey is an organic farmer who is part funding the £11,000 research costs. He didn't want to use organophosphates on his herd, so he took the state to court and won. Like all organic farmers, he has had no cases of BSE on home bred cattle, though he has found it in bought in cattle.

He points out that Ireland used much lower doses of organophosphates in warble fly elimination, and had much fewer BSE cases. He noted that since several companies started selling heavier doses of phosmet as a cure for lice, the incidence of BSE has risen.

The Department of Agriculture disagrees with the OP theory, not surprisingly. But in its own documentation (Information Note on BSE, page 6) it admits that one of the factors it studies in herds that have BSE is...."use of organophosphates."

When asked why they studied use of OPs if they knew it had nothing to do with BSE, a spokeswoman replied: "Well we'd look pretty stupid if we didn't study it." Go figure... Other items looked at in the "detailed epidemiological investigation" include: type and profile of herd, husbandry methods used, presence of sheep, herd nutrition, use of fertilisers, use of pig or poultry manure and access to compund feedingstuffs/meat and bone meal.

Since Purdey won his case, he and his family suffered a campaign of abuse - his house was burnt down, his medical library destroyed and he and other campaigners have been visited by people claiming to be journalists, who instead have attempted to silence coverage of the story. It seems clear where they are coming from.

Purdey may yet have the last laugh. He has been invited to a meeting in April of the government's top BSE advisory committee (SEAC). The committe has been asked to look again at the possibility of a link between BSE and the use of certain organophosphates.

Organophosphates are also used as pesticides for food crops.....