Proteins are produced as a string (either literally as a chain molecule, or in the computer science sense of a string of characters/amino acids).
Once a protein is formed in the body, it naturally folds into its useful, functional shape with the purpose it was designed for.
A 'misfolding protein' is then a folding into a stable shape which is not desired.
A 'prion' is a misfolding protein that encourages other proteins of the same type to misfold in the same way - maybe by acting as an incorrect template for folding. When this is folded in a way that is difficult for the body to break down, and somehow enabling its sibling proteins to do the same, you start to have problems.
So, a prion is a protein structure able to reproduce itself, in some way. Prions are not 'viruses', where viruses have their own DNA (or RNA) for making their own proteins.
There's an argument about whether viruses are 'alive', since they depend on others' cells to make their proteins. Prions are even less considered 'alive' - they are just inert single protein molecules folded in a particular way. But, they have the ability to reproduce, in some sense.
Once a protein is formed in the body, it naturally folds into its useful, functional shape with the purpose it was designed for.
A 'misfolding protein' is then a folding into a stable shape which is not desired.
A 'prion' is a misfolding protein that encourages other proteins of the same type to misfold in the same way - maybe by acting as an incorrect template for folding. When this is folded in a way that is difficult for the body to break down, and somehow enabling its sibling proteins to do the same, you start to have problems.
So, a prion is a protein structure able to reproduce itself, in some way. Prions are not 'viruses', where viruses have their own DNA (or RNA) for making their own proteins.
There's an argument about whether viruses are 'alive', since they depend on others' cells to make their proteins. Prions are even less considered 'alive' - they are just inert single protein molecules folded in a particular way. But, they have the ability to reproduce, in some sense.