| 释义 |
▪ I. ‖ prion Ornith.|ˈpraɪən|
[mod.L. (Comte B. G. E. de la V. Lacépède Tableaux Méthodiques des Mammifères et des Oiseaux (1799) 14), a. Gr. πρίων a saw.]
A small saw-billed petrel belonging to the genus once so called, now included in the genus Pachyptila of the family Procellariidæ and found in southern seas.
1848J. Gould Birds Austral. VII. 54 (heading) Dove-like Prion. 1862Proc. Zool. Soc. 125 In form and colouring it is precisely similar to the other Priones. 1901A. J. Campbell Nests & Eggs Austral. Birds II. 917 Mr Travers frequently found these Prions caught in the branches of scrubby trees. 1937Discovery May 141/2 The prion is a ghost. A fluttering thing of pale grey-blue and white. 1959New Biol. XXIX. 112 Some small bird species such as the prions owe their survival to the fact that they are only active at night, thereby avoiding the skuas' attack. 1972K. Simpson Birds in Bass Strait 71/2 The Dove or Antarctic Prion is perhaps one of the most numerous of all southern seabirds.
▪ II. prion, n.2 Microbiol.|ˈpriːɒn|
[f. by rearrangement of the initial letters of ‘proteinaceous infectious particle’: cf. virion n.]
A hypothetical infectious particle consisting only of protein, and thought to be the cause of some diseases.
1982Daily Tel. 22 Feb. 15/7 Dr Prusiner..believes the prion may be the cause of illnesses formerly blamed on ‘slow viruses’... Diseases in this category..include Parkinson's disease, diabetes melitus and rheumatoid arthritis. 1982S. B. Prusiner in Science 9 Apr. 141/3 Because the dominant characteristics of the scrapie agent resemble those of a protein, an acronym is introduced to emphasize this feature. In place of such terms as ‘unconventional virus’ or ‘unusual slow virus-like agent’, the term ‘prion’ (pronounced pree-on) is suggested. 1985Sci. Amer. July 50/1 If the protein alone is found to transmit scrapie, the workers will have determined what a prion is by making one. 1987C. A. Clarke Human Genetics & Med. (ed. 3) xii. 99 Scrapie..is caused by an organism containing neither DNA nor RNA and called a prion. |