Yo.. your comment made me think of prions. But prions fold proteins.. there's a scratch in my brain making me wonder if there can be a connection somewhere?
It was just a random question because prions were the most terrifying thing I was taught about in that class and there wasn't much information on the topic.. so it's always floating in the back of my head with questions.
It's been a few years since I learned about them so I could be wrong. You could be right about how they work- I was thinking prions can CAUSE the folding of proteins?
I wasn't trying to say there was a connection, I was asking if there could be one we hadn't considered?
Prions are contagious misfolded proteins. When they touch other proteins they cause them to misfold. It is indeed terrifying. Itll kill you real fast. And it can be transmitted from one person to another if you come in contact with CNS tissue!!
Thankyou. I said they were. I was just wondering if there could be connections somewhere with how that parasite survives to possibly understanding prions better..
It was just a question that acknowledged it wasn't the same thing.. I appreciate the random convos where I can learn or understand a subject better.
40
u/SpookyCrossroads Aug 04 '26
Basically yea. It survives by eating its organs and secretes proteins that destroy its nervous system.