prion
1any of several petrels of the genus Pachyptila, located in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere and having serrated edges on the bill.
Origin of prion
1Words Nearby prion
Other definitions for prion (2 of 2)
a tiny proteinaceous particle, likened to viruses and viroids, but having no genetic component, thought to be an infectious agent in bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and similar encephalopathies.
Origin of prion
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use prion in a sentence
In 2019, another lab worker in the country died of a prion disease at the age of 33.
Second lab worker with deadly prion disease prompts research pause in France | Beth Mole | July 29, 2021 | Ars TechnicaWhen a misfolded prion enters the mix, it can corrupt the normal prion proteins around them, prompting them to misfold as well, clump together, and corrupt others.
Second lab worker with deadly prion disease prompts research pause in France | Beth Mole | July 29, 2021 | Ars TechnicaWhat prion proteins do normally is still unclear, but they're readily found in the human brain.
Second lab worker with deadly prion disease prompts research pause in France | Beth Mole | July 29, 2021 | Ars TechnicaThe other disease is a prion disease such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which has not yet been shown to be destroyed by composting.
The startup turning human bodies into compost | Katie McLean | October 21, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewOnset is typically during middle age, which is characteristic of the long incubation periods most prion diseases show.
Necrotizing Fasciitis, Blinding Larvae & More Scary Diseases | Casey Schwartz | May 18, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Caused by a deformed protein known as a prion, the disease attacks and destroys the brain and spinal cord in cattle.
The mountain prion was called Lepre Acta; it overhangs the present city, and has on it a portion of the wall.
Even now the farms at the back of the prion retain the name in the term Opistholepria.
prion lui donc merci seurement se diable nus uout enconbrer .
British Dictionary definitions for prion (1 of 2)
/ (ˈpraɪən) /
any of various dovelike petrels of the genus Pachyptila of the southern oceans that have a serrated bill
Origin of prion
1British Dictionary definitions for prion (2 of 2)
/ (ˈpriːɒn) /
a protein in the brain, an abnormal form of which is thought to be the transmissable agent responsible for certain spongiform encephalopathies, such as BSE, scrapie, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and kuru
Origin of prion
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for prion
[ prē′ŏn, prī′- ]
A particle of protein that is thought to be able to self-replicate and to be the agent of infection in a variety of diseases of the nervous system, such as mad cow disease. Prion replication (in which strings of amino acids are reproduced) stands as an exception to a central tenet of biology stating that only nucleic acids, such as DNA, can self-replicate. The mechanism of prion replication is not clearly understood.
a closer look
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for prion
[ (pree-on) ]
A protein that not only folds into an unusual shape itself, but also seems to have the ability to cause other proteins to change their shape as well. For a long time, scientists were skeptical that prions existed, but now most accept them.
Notes for prion
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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