prion

Definitions

1. A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.
2. A petrel of the genera Pachyptila and Halobaena.

Equivalents

Examples

“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 worker who handled prions in the past was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the most common prion disease in humans.”

CEFR level