Fatal Flaws

Although prions are much less well-known as agents of disease than viruses or bacteria, they are responsible for a slow, but steady epidemic of a disease that threatens deer and elk populations across North America. That’s Chronic Wasting Disease; they’re also the agents of Mad Cow Disease. Two strange diseases caused by a mysterious entity: that alone would qualify prions for status in biology and medicine, as would the fact that they have no DNA/RNA, yet they infect. But all of these might not be as important as the insight that misfolded proteins, prions and others, may play a crucial role in the most serious neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.