AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Prions are also unique in that they do not contain nucleic acid, unlike bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other pathogens. Prions are therefore resistant to procedures that destroy pathogens by breaking down nucleic acid.

Detailed explanation-2: -Prions form abnormal aggregates of proteins called amyloids, which accumulate in infected tissue and are associated with tissue damage and cell death. Amyloids are also responsible for several other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Detailed explanation-3: -In contrast to viruses or bacteria, unprecedentedly, prions consist of amino acids but lack nucleic acids.

Detailed explanation-4: -A prion is a type of protein that can trigger normal proteins in the brain to fold abnormally. Prion diseases can affect both humans and animals and are sometimes spread to humans by infected meat products. The most common form of prion disease that affects humans is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

Detailed explanation-5: -Prions are misfolded proteins with the unique ability to do what most other proteins cannot: they can transmit their misfolded shape onto the correctly folded versions of the same protein.