prion

[Charles Doyle]

Pondering the (probable) proverb "Rename it and claim it," I encountered a limerick that is said to have satirized Stanley B. Prusiner's coining of the term _prion_ (OED n.2). It appears in Kurt Link, _Understanding New, Resurgent, and Resistant Diseases_ (Westport CT: Praeger, 2007) 163 (endnote 4; the limerick is printed as prose):  "There was a young Turk named Stan who embarked on a devious plan. 'If I simply rename it, I'm sure I can claim it,' said Stan as he pondered his scam."

--Charlie

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