My feeling? Prions are not alive but viruses are alive.
The essence of life is the replication of coded information. According
to my understanding of prions, they are proteins which are folded into a
useless state but they induce like proteins (of the same composition)
into folding into the same useless state. In prions, mutations affect
this pseudo-replication. I consider it like a chain of Dominoes. The
prions do not really replicate, they undergo a chain reaction.
Mike L.
http://home.earthlink.net/~mikejonlamb
Marnix L. Bosch, Ph.D.
Dept. of Pathobiology and
Regional Primate Research Center
University of Washington
Box 357238
Seattle, WA 98195-7238
tel. (206) 543 7619
fax. (206) 543 3873
