--- description: A new study shows some members of a tribe that ate human brains have developed genetic resistance to brain diseases. title: Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 11, 2015 7:57 PM CUT  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 11, 2015 7:57 PM CUT It turns out eating human brains can kill you. But it could also save you from brain disease. The Fore, a tribe in Papua New Guinea, used to eat the dead at funerals, [the Washington _Post_ reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/11/how-a-history-of-eating-human-brains-protected-this-tribe-from-brain-disease/ "undefined"); the men would eat the flesh, and the women and children would eat the brains. But about 2% of the population was dying each year from a disease caused by a molecule in the brain, so in the 1950s the cannibalism was outlawed. However, a [new study](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14510.html "undefined") published in _Nature_ has isolated what is perhaps a positive side effect of human brain consumption: some Fore have developed a gene that protects them from prions, a form of protein that is related to brain diseases including mad cow and forms of dementia. The authors of the study say that learning more about this gene could contribute to greater understanding of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/"},"headline":"Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains","datePublished":"2015-06-11T19:57:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:08:31.881Z","description":"It protected some people from forms of dementia","url":"https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/","keywords":["Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/","name":"Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How $1,000 Could Help Your Health","description":"From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EILRa37f/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-22T16:19:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/","duration":"PT2M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```