Protein: Prion
Artist: Dan Cheung
What’s the difference between a prion and a mystery box? The box. Prion (pronounced pre-on) is a protein found throughout the body, but its function to the organism is still a mystery to the scientific community. In their misfolded state, however, prions act like cults: They convert normal prions into pathogenic forms, causing deadly neural diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans and the more notorious mad cow disease. Unfortunately, there is no cure for prion diseases.