News Chemistry Prions are common, at least in yeast Study suggests these proteins may not be rare in other organisms either By Tina Hesman Saey April 2, 2009 at 1:07 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Prions are not rare, usually are not harmful and may even help organisms adapt, a new study in yeast suggests. Prions are shape-shifting proteins that change function along with their shapes, and can convert other proteins of the same type to the new shape.