A prion is a misfolded form of the cellular prion protein, PrP^C.  Although the role of PrP in neurodegeneration was established over 30 years ago, there is little understanding of the protein’s normal function, and how misfolding leads to profound disease.  Recent work shows that PrP^C coordinates Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ cofactors, and regulates the distribution of these essential metal ions in the brain.  Moreover, these metals stabilize a previously unseen fold in PrP^C, the observation of which provides new insight into the mechanism of prion disease, and perhaps other neurodegenerative diseases.  I will provide a brief background on prion diseases and discuss physiology and magnetic resonance experiments that reveal a new PrP^C fold feature promoted by metal ions.