The prion dilemma confounding science educators

Authors

Igor V. Zaitsev, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community CollegeFollow
Ling Chen, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community CollegeFollow
Susie Boydston-White, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College
Manita Pavel, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College
Svetlana N. Shugaeva, Irkutsk State Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education
Alla G. Petrova, Irkutsk Medical University
Oksana V. Williams, American International School of Bucharest

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2013

Abstract

In this paper, the issue of the prion hypothesis, a simmering controversy within the scientific community, is addressed. We inquire into the appropriateness of the use of certain augmentations and rhetoric approaches used during scientific debates, as well as the aptness of unequivocal statements in textbooks that indicate “abnormal prions” as a primary cause of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies.

Comments

This work was originally published in F1000Research, available at doi:10.12688/f1000research.2-4.v1.