What are prions?

Prions are unique infectious agents composed entirely of protein. They are not viral particles, bacteria, or fungi, and do not contain any nucleic acids like DNA or RNA, which distinguishes them from other infectious agents. Prions are misfolded proteins that can induce other normal proteins in the brain to also misfold, leading to brain damage and severe neurodegenerative diseases, known collectively as prion diseases.

These diseases include conditions such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly known as mad cow disease). The ability of prions to propagate by prompting normal proteins to misfold is what makes them particularly dangerous, as they are resistant to standard methods of sterilization and disinfection that would ordinarily eliminate other pathogens.

Understanding prions is important in the field of biology and medicine due to their unique properties and the serious health issues they can cause.