Which statement about prions is true?

Prepare for the PLTW Biomedical Science Test. Study with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question comes with hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Which statement about prions is true?

Explanation:
Prions are infectious proteins that propagate by changing the shape of normal cellular proteins. A prion starts as a normal protein, but when it misfolds into an abnormal form, it can induce other normal proteins to misfold as well, spreading disease without any DNA or RNA involvement. This explains why the statement describing prions as infectious proteins that are abnormal forms of normal cellular proteins is true. The other options would require prions to be DNA, RNA-dependent, or algae, which is not the case; prions lack nucleic acids and rely on protein misfolding to propagate.

Prions are infectious proteins that propagate by changing the shape of normal cellular proteins. A prion starts as a normal protein, but when it misfolds into an abnormal form, it can induce other normal proteins to misfold as well, spreading disease without any DNA or RNA involvement. This explains why the statement describing prions as infectious proteins that are abnormal forms of normal cellular proteins is true. The other options would require prions to be DNA, RNA-dependent, or algae, which is not the case; prions lack nucleic acids and rely on protein misfolding to propagate.

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