2010 Annual Report - Institute for Molecular Bioscience - University ...

99 glossary
Glossary of terms
Actin A protein, along with myosin,
responsible for muscle contraction.
Adipose Fat or fatty tissue.
Agonist A molecule that interacts with a
receptor, triggering a cellular response.
Agrochemicals Chemicals used in
agriculture.
Allele Different varieties of a gene that
produce different traits.
Allosteric A site on a protein that isn’t
active.
AMPK An enzyme involved in the
maintenance of cellular energy.
Amyloid A type of protein deposited in
organs in certain diseases. eg. amyloid
deposits are found in the brain of
Alzheimer’s patients.
Antagonist A molecule that blocks a
chemical from binding to its receptor.
Apoptosis Programmed cell death.
Aromatase An enzyme that causes
testosterone to transform into estrogen.
Arrays An ordering of samples on a slide.
Assay Qualitative or quantitative analyses
of a substance performed in order to
determine its components.
Atherosclerosis A disease in which
cholesterol builds up on artery walls,
causing the arteries to narrow.
BAC recombineering A method of
introducing genetic material into an
organism through a bacterial vector.
Beta-adrenergic Receptors in the
nervous system that sense hormones
such as adrenaline.
Bioactive Has an effect on a living
organism.
Bioinformatics The use of
computational resources in the study of
biological information.
Biomolecule Molecules containing
carbon found in living organisms.
Biophysical The intersection between
physics and biology.
Bioprobes A probe containing
biomolecules that measures some type of
biological phenomena.
Biosynthesis The production of material
from living organisms.
Chondrogenesis The development of
cartilage.
Chromatin The complex of DNA and
proteins that form a chromosome.
Chromosome A long coiled strand of
DNA, wound around a protein.
Chromotographic Involving the
separation of compounds into their
constituent parts.
CNV Copy number variant. A sequence of
DNA that is repeated a different number of
times in different genomes.
Coculture A culture (preparation) in
which more than one type of cell is grown.
Conotoxins Toxic peptides from marine
cone snail venom.
Covalent A bond in which electrons are
shared between atoms.
Crystallography The use of X-rays to
determine the structure of crystallised
molecules.
Cytokines Small proteins released by
cells that affect the behaviour of other
cells.
Cytoplasm All the contents of a cell,
excepting the nucleus.
Cytoskeleton The protein framework of
a cell.
Cytotoxicity Toxic to cells.
De novo Not previously present.
Differentiation The process by which
cells become more specialised.
Diffraction The scattering of light waves
as they pass through or around an object.
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid. The chemical
chain that carries the genetic instructions
for making a living organism.
Dyslipidemia A disorder that occurs
when there is an excess of lipids in the
blood.
Effector complexes A molecule that
alters the activity of a protein by binding
to it.
Electron tomography A microscopy
technique that samples a specimen at
different angles and builds the resulting
information into a 3D image.
Embryogenesis The development of an
embryo.
Endocrine A system of glands that
secrete hormones directly into the
bloodstream.
Endocytosis Uptake of material into a
cell.
Endogenous Within the body.
Endosomes An organelle involved in
protein trafficking.
Enzymes A protein produced by living
organisms that catalyses chemical
reactions of other substances without
being altered itself by the reactions.
Epifluorescence A type of microscopy
using a very bright light source. This light
is used to energise the sample into reemitting
light (or “fluorescing”) at various
wavelengths, which allows researchers to
produce an image of the sample.
Epigenetic The changes in phenotype
that occur without a corresponding
change in genotype.
Epigenomic A cataloguing of the nongenetic
changes that occur in the genome
that affect gene expression.
Epithelial Of the membranous cellular
tissue that covers the internal and external
surfaces of the body.
Epitopes The site on the surface of
a foreign substance that triggers the
production of antibodies, and to which
these antibodies bind.
Erythropoiesis The development of
mature red blood cells.
Eukaryotes Organisms whose genetic
material is enclosed in a membranebound
nucleus. Includes all organisms
except viruses and bacteria.
Ex vivo Taking place outside an
organism.
Exocytosis The discharge of material
from the cell.
FACS Fluorescent-activated cell sorting. A
method of sorting a heterogeneous group
of cells using the light scattering and
fluorescent characteristics of each cell.
Flavivirus One of a family of small RNA
viruses that are often transmitted by
mosquitoes and ticks.
Gastrulation An embryonic stage of
development where the embryo turns from
a blastula (ball of cells) into three layers of
cells, from which organs develop.
Gene Considered the basic unit of
heredity, a gene is a region of DNA that
encodes all of the information to make a
protein.
Genome All DNA contained in an
organism or cell.
Genotype The specific set of alleles
possessed by an individual, either in
whole or at one loci.
Globin The protein component of
haemoglobin.