1.   It had an abnormally shaped tail that arced out and a greenish hue.

2.   Physicians must first rule out any other gynecologic problems, such as fibroids, an abnormally shaped uterus, or a cancerous condition.

3.   Both drugs have shown promise in mouse cells infected with prions, abnormally shaped proteins that cause variants of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

4.   Infectious prions, which are abnormally shaped proteins, are thought to cause the brain-destroying mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

5.   Mad cow disease and a related disease in humans are caused by abnormally shaped proteins, known as prions, that prompt healthy brain proteins to assume their shape.