Chapter 18, Problem 30A

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The correctness of the statement ‘prions are the viruses that lack a capsid’.

Introduction:

The viruses are the small pathogen having nucleic acids and a protein capsule around it. Th prions are the misfolded that can hamper the cell’s performance.

Explanation of Solution

The viruses consist of two major components nucleic acid and protein capsule. They are freely present out of the cells, but can reproduce in the host cell. The prions are the misfolded protein, they cannot be present freely, but can be transferred from one cell to another. They cannot reproduce. They are unlike virus in many ways, they do not have any genetic material. However, they can hamper the normal functioning of cells because of the change in certain functions of the proteins.