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Prions are not considered alive under any reasonable definition of life. They're infectious, but you can't really call it replication as they just trigger a con
by fabian2k 12y ago
Prions are not considered alive under any reasonable definition of life. They're infectious, but you can't really call it replication as they just trigger a conformational change in the correctly folded prion protein
- TheSpiceIsLife 12y agoYes, that's true. I should not have included the word 'self' with regard to prions. Are viruses considered 'alive'?
- lepton 12y agoNo. Viruses require a live host in order to replicate. That sounds tautological, but I'm not sure how else to say it briefly.
- xkcd-sucks 12y agoIt's begging the question... every 'living' organism also requires a favorable environment in order to replicate