Prions, once dismissed as an impossibility, have now
gained wide recognition as extraordinary agents that
cause anumber of infectious, genetic and spontaneous disorders
STANLEY B. PRUSINER is professor of neurology and biochemistry at the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has won many awards for his research into prions, most recently the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award and the Paul Ehrlich Award. This is his second article for Scientific American.
