(1) Crutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD), Kuru, nvCJD. (also Gerstmann syndrome -- no relation)
(2) Ovine scrapie; Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE); transmissible mink encephalopathy
(3) Cannibalism.
(4) Foray men got the choicest cuts of meat from the muscle tissue of dead relatives. Women and children were compelled to eat some nervous tissue.
(5) Cannibalism (through feed supplements).
(6) CJD tends to affect people in middle age. nvCJD affects younger people, in their teens, 20s, and 30s. Yes, this implies that a different agent is involved.
(7) Oral.
(8) PrP stands for Prion Protein. There are two distinct forms of PrP. Normal PrP is a normal constituent of the brain. Rogue PrP is a pathogenic prion capable of converting normal PrP to its pathogenic form.
(9) They lack genetic material in the form of nucleic acid.
(10) The "protein only" theory suggests rogue PrP converts normal PrP to pathogenic PrP through conversion (not reproduction).
(11) Prions are resistant to neutralization by chemical, heat, and radiation because they have a very stable protein structure and lack genetic material (can't be denatured and nothing genetically to neutralize).
(12) Stanley Prussner from UCSF, for his work with prions.
(13) (a) nvCJD has a younger age at onset (b) nvCJD cases lack the typical spikes on the electoencephalogram, and (c) nvCJD brain lesions show large rounded plaques surrounded by a halo.
(14) To prevent being nicked by sharp instruments or bones. A break in the skin could provide a portal of entry for the prion agent!
(15) About two dozen.
(16) None.
(17) This is the "million dollar question." No one knows the answer to this question. It is possible there are susceptibility factors involved or that a massive exposure dose is needed for transmission. Also, it is possible that we are at the beginning of the "epidemic curve" and more cases will emerge as the incubation period ensues (unlikely, but still possible).
(18) Personal choice.