The most recent figures released by the British government on the latest tally of deaths from new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD), the human form of mad cow disease released on April 6th, show that just one more person has died this year, bringing the total to 24 in Britain and one in France. Meanwhile the public inquiry into the origins and handling of the BSE epidemic has concluded the first page of its hearings. For the most part, this has consisted of hours of testimony from doctors and scientists who were, one or another, involved in the BSE epidemic from early on.