virino
/vɪˈriːnoʊ/
noun
- A hypothetical infectious agent, similar to a virus, that is thought to consist of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat, proposed as a cause of certain diseases.
- Researchers debated whether a virino could explain the transmission of certain brain diseases.
- The virino hypothesis has largely been replaced by the prion theory.
- Some scientists once believed that scrapie was caused by a virino rather than a prion.