prion

Etymology 1

From (a reordering of) the initial letters of proteinaceous infectious particle. Coined by American neurologist Stanley B. Prusiner in 1982.

noun

1. (molecular biology) A self-propagating misfolded conformer of a protein that is responsible for a number of diseases that affect the brain and other neural tissue.
   Prions retain deep mysteries, the foremost of which is what on earth they exist for. 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 277
   Five public research institutions in France have imposed a 3-month moratorium on the study of prions—a class of misfolding, infectious proteins that cause fatal brain diseases—after a retired lab worker who handled prions in the past was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), the most common prion disease in humans. 2021-07-28, Barbara Casassus, “France issues moratorium on prion research after fatal brain disease strikes two lab workers”, in Science

Etymology 2

From Prion (former genus name), from Ancient Greek πρίων (príōn, “saw”).

noun

1. A petrel of the genus Pachyptila.