/ˈpɹiːɒn/, /ˈpɹaɪən/
OriginFrom (a reordering of) the initial letters of proteinaceous infectious particle. Coined by American neurologist and biochemist Stanley B. Prusiner in 1982.
- A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.
“Prions retain deep mysteries, the foremost of which is what on earth they exist for.”
“Five public research institutions in France have imposed a 3-month moratorium on the study of prions—a class of misfolding, infectious proteins that cause fatal brain diseases—after a retired lab work”
- A petrel of the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena.
Formsprions(plural)