NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -– Viruses and bacteria are microorganisms that contain genetic material. They do not generate spontaneously. In contrast, Prion Disease is caused by a change in shape of a cellular protein. The resulting pathogenic prion proteins begin to recruit and change normal proteins into an abnormal shape.

Detailed explanation-2: -Prions – novel infectious agents differing from all other known pathogenic agents. Prions are simple proteins that are much smaller than viruses. They are unique since they lack a genome. All other known infectious agents contain genetic material.

Detailed explanation-3: -Prion diseases are transmissible, untreatable, and fatal brain diseases of mammals. Their cause is highly unusual: The host’s normal prion protein can, for unknown reasons, malfunction and assemble into structured aggregates called prions that cause infectious brain disease.

Detailed explanation-4: -The term “prions” refers to abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins called prion proteins that are found most abundantly in the brain. The functions of these normal prion proteins are still not completely understood.