5,090 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2015
    1. DNA

      Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a double stranded helix (coiled in a spiral) of proteins which form a sort of "alphabet" to encode genetic information. The "letters" of this alphabet consist of adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.

      Adenine always pairs with thymine, and cytosine always pairs with guanine, thus, when the two strands are divided the complete DNA molecule can be exactly reproduced. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna

    2. plasmid

      Plasmids are circular double stranded DNA fragments which can insert themselves in a cell and thenceforth be reproduced in cell divisions even while staying apart from the cell's own DNA. Plasmids can spread resistance to antibiotics from one strain of bacteria to another. They are also important for genetic engineering because they can be used for targeted DNA changes. http://www.nature.com/scitable/definition/plasmid-plasmids-28

    3. viral

      Viruses are submicroscopic parasites with a simple structure. Their main parts are a strand of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and an surrounding protein shell called a capsid. Some viruses also have an outer viral envelope surrounding their capsid. Viruses are not capable of reproducing on their own, but rather must invade a cell and commandeer that cell's resources to reproduce themselves http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21523/

    4. CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins

      CRISPR associated proteins are proteins which act in concert with the rest of the CRISPR system to mediate its activities. These proteins are grouped in families. The types of proteins present characterize the distinction between type I, type II, and type III CRISPR systems http://www.biologydirect.com/content/6/1/38

    5. CRISPR RNAs

      CRISPR RNAs are short strands of RNA transcribed from the CRISPR loci which play an important role in targeting foreign DNA https://www.neb.com/tools-and-resources/feature-articles/crispr-cas9-and-targeted-genome-editing-a-new-era-in-molecular-biology

    6. induced pluripotent stem cells

      Induced pluripotent stem cells are cells derived from adult tissue which have been artificially made to act like stem cells. In other words, they have been forced to be capable expressing the full range of their gene capacities instead of specializing as adult cells normally do http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics10.aspx

    7. K562 cells

      293T cells were originally derived from the kidney tissue of a human embryo. They have been modified to contain the SV40 T antigen, thus giving this cell line advantages for work with retroviruses. http://www.atcc.org/products/all/CRL-3216.aspx#characteristics

      SV40 T antigen is associated with Simian Virus 40, a tumor producing virus which is in the Polyomavridae family http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v24/n52/full/1209046a.html

    8. guide RNA

      Guide RNA is a genetically engineered fusion of crRNA and tracrRNA. It targets the RNA sequence of interest and enables it to bind with the Cas9 nuclease https://www.addgene.org/CRISPR/guide/

    9. type II bacterial CRISPR system

      There are three types of CRISPR systems: Type I, II, and III. Type II is the simplest type and is characterized by an operon (functional DNA unit) of only four genes: cas9, cas1, cas2, and either cas4 or csn2. https://dpb.carnegiescience.edu/sites/dpb.carnegiescience.edu/files/Bhaya_ARG.pdf

    10. clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats

      Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) are strands of DNA with repeating sequences (repeats) interspersed with other sequences which don't repeat (spacers).

    11. archaea

      Like bacteria, archaea are also prokaryotes. Archaea have similar appearance and behavior to bacteria but differ greatly from bacteria in their genetic structure. Many archaea live in extreme environments such as extremely hot or cold areas or areas with high salt concentrations http://www.microbeworld.org/types-of-microbes/archaea/42-what-is-a-microbe-sp-828/types-of-microbes/149-archaea

    12. Bacteria

      Bacteria are prokaryotes. This means that they don't have a nucleus to contain their DNA. In contrast, eukaryotes have a nucleus which contains their DNA. http://www.microbeworld.org/types-of-microbes/bacteria

    13. fully defined

      Fully defined systems are standardized. Individual variations are minimized, thus enabling to system to yield predictable results.

    14. in vitro

      In vitro means "in glass". This is used to refer to an experiment conducted in laboratory containers rather than in a natural environment

    1. racial profiling

      The use of race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin to determine on which people law enforcement agencies conduct stops, searches, and other investigative procedures. Racial profiling is based on the false assumption that one race is more likely to commit crimes than another.

      Click here for more information on racial profiling

    2. rapid-eye-movement sleep

      Also known as REM. This period of sleep is when most dreams are thought to occur.

    3. slow-wave sleep

      Also known as 'deep sleep.'

    4. implicit

      Unconscious, outside of awareness and control

    5. egalitarianism

      The idea that all people are equal and deserve equal treatment

  2. Aug 2015
    1. most clearly seen1 in sites with
    2. critical state

      Near the threshold for fault slip and earthquakes

    1. corona

      The outside of a micelle.

    2. core

      The center of a micelle.

    3. turbid

      This term is used to describe solutions that have limited to no transparency; cloudy, opaque.

    4. epitaxial

      The growth of one crystalline material on the surface of another crystalline.

      In this case, the crystalline surface upon which epitaxial growth occurs is the exposed crystalline core of the cylindrical micelle. The exposed core can continue to elongate as more block copolymers are added to the solution.

    5. colloidal dispersions

      A solution that has evenly dispersed particles that are 1 nm to 1000 nm. The particles are in solution and do not settle out. An example of a colloidal dispersion is milk.

    6. contour length

      Maximum end-to-end distance of a linear polymer chain.

    7. coil block

      In a block copolymer, a block which lacks crystallinity and has great freedom of rotation due to its flexible nature.

    8. ring-opening metathesis polymerization

      A type of polymerization mechanism that uses strained cyclic olefins (alkene) as the monomer source to produce polymer chains.

    9. amphiphilic

      A chemical compound that has a hydrophilic (water-loving) component and lipophilic (fat-loving) component.

    10. cross-linking

      A cross-link bonds together different polymer chains together at a specific site (i.e., double bonds, sulfur atoms) to form a larger polymer network.

    11. non-centrosymmetric

      Glossary: Molecules have different degrees of molecular symmetry. A molecule that is noncentrosymmetric will not contain an inversion center or a center of symmetry. An example of a molecule that is centrosymmetric is a benzene ring (C6H6) where the inversion center is the center of the ring.

    12. shape anisotropy

      Anisotropy is defined as having a directional dependence. In the case of shape, anisotropy it is referring to an object that is not spherical.

    13. nanoparticles

      Particles of any shape that have at least one dimension less than 100 nm or less in size.

    14. hierarchical assemblies

      The formation of complex structures from a bottom-up approach.

    15. unidirectionally

      From one direction or side.

    16. micelle corona

      A micelle is an aggregate comprised of amphiphilic molecules. A micelle will have a core (inside-lipophilic) and a corona (outside-hydrophilic).

      The individual components that make up this aggregate are referred to as unimers.

      Although most micelles are have hydrophobic cores and hydrophilic corona, these micelles don't fit this classification. The corona is PI (hydrophobic) and the core is PFS (also hydrophobic). Self-assembly is induced because hexane/decane are poor solvents for PFS but good for PI .

    17. self-assembly

      Molecular self-assembly is the process in which a disordered group of molecules occupy some organized arrangement without direction from an outside source.

    18. block copolymers

      A block copolymer is a polymer chain comprised of homopolymer subunits linked by a covalent bond.

      For example:

      Homopolymer (where A is the monomer unit) : A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A

      Block copolymer (where A and B are monomer units): A-A-A-A-B-B-B-B

    19. Abstract

      As the field of nanotechnology continues to grow, the ability to carefully control nanoparticle size, shape, and composition still remains a challenge. Most nanoparticles exhibit a great deal of symmetry. The authors of this paper focused on developing a method to create block copolymer micelles that had very little symmetry (i.e., noncentrosymmetric). They were able to achieve their goal through unidirectional micelle growth. The authors later used this same strategy to synthesize a "supermicelle."

  3. Jul 2015
    1. cytoskeleton

      Cytoskeleton is a network of fibers composed of proteins (microfilaments made of actin and microtubules made of tubulin) contained within a cell's cytoplasm.

    2. coimmunoprecipitated

      Coimmunoprecipitation (Co-IP) is the immunoprecipitation of intact protein complexes. Co-IP works by selecting an antibody that targets a known protein that is believed to be a member of a larger complex of proteins. By targeting this known member with an antibody it may become possible to pull the entire protein complex out of solution and thereby identify unknown members of the complex.

      Immunoprecipitation (IP) is the technique of precipitating a protein antigen out of solution using an antibody that specifically binds to that particular protein. This process can be used to isolate and concentrate a particular protein from a sample containing many thousands of different proteins.

    3. Western blot

      Western blot is an analytical technique used to detect specific proteins in a sample of tissue homogenate or extract.

    4. n vitro pull-down assay

      The pull-down assay is an in vitro method used to determine a physical interaction between two or more proteins.

    5. Triton X-100

      Triton X-100 is a detergent widely used to lyse cells to extract protein or organelles, or to permeabilize the membranes of living cells.

    6. point mutations

      Point mutation is a technique in which a single base nucleotide is replaced with another nucleotide. As a result, the mutant protein has a different primary sequence with respect to the wild-type protein.

    7. zinc-finger

      Zinc finger is any small, functional, independently folded protein domain that requires coordination of one or more zinc ions to stabilize its structure and is essential for DNA- or RNA-binding protein-protein interactions and membrane association. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11179890

    8. viral titers

      Viral titer is a way to express concentration. It refers to the concentration of viruses in a sample.

    9. intratracheally

      IAV was introduced into the trachea of mice.

    10. RNA interference (RNAi)

      RNAi is a biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression, typically by causing the destruction of specific mRNA molecules. The final result is the depletion of specific target proteins.

    11. aggresome

      Aggresomes are dynamic structures, formed of improperly folded proteins.

    12. ubiquitin

      Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that has been found in almost all eukaryotic cells. Ubiquitin binds to proteins and labels them for destruction.

    13. tubulin

      Tubulin is the protein that polymerizes into long chains or filaments that form microtubules, hollow fibers which serve as a skeletal system for living cells.

    14. hemagglutinin

      Hemagglutinin is a glycoprotein found on the surface of the influenza viruses. It is responsible for binding the virus to cells.

    15. conformational change

      A conformational change is a change in the shape of a macromolecule, often induced by environmental factors.

    16. endosomes

      Endosomes are membrane-bound vesicles, formed via a complex family of processes collectively known as endocytosis, and found in the cytoplasm of virtually every animal cell.

    17. host cell

      A host cell is a living cell invaded by or capable of being invaded by an infectious agent (as a bacterium or a virus).

    18. helical viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs)

      The genome of influenza A viruses consists of eight segments of single-stranded, negative-sense RNA that are encapsidated as individual rod-shaped ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs). Each RNP contains a viral RNA, a viral polymerase and multiple copies of the viral nucleoprotein (NP).

    19. supramacromolecular

      A supramolecular complex is a well-defined assembly of molecules held together by noncovalent bonds. While a supramolecular assembly can be simply composed of two molecules (e.g., a DNA double helix), it is more often used to denote larger complexes of molecules that form sphere-, rod-, or sheetlike species.

    20. capsid

      A capsid is the protein shell of a virus. The capsid encloses the genetic material of the virus.

    21. single-stranded, negative-sense RNA genome

      Viral RNA with a base sequence complementary to that of mRNA; during replication it serves as a template for the transcription of viral complementary RNA. Negative-sense (3' to 5') viral RNA cannot be translated into protein directly. Instead, it must first be transcribed into a positive-sense RNA (5' to 3') which acts as an mRNA. Some viruses (influenza, for example) have negative-sense genomes and so must carry an RNA polymerase inside the virion.

    1. coalescence

      Coalescence is a merging of two units. For example, here the authors consider that Middle East or China are unlikely centers of dog origin because such a scenario would require that ancient wolves and dogs from these areas are united by a common ancestor.

    2. two-phase bottleneck

      A population bottleneck is the reduction of the population size, followed by an expansion, e.g. a small group leaves the first population and immigrates elsewhere.

      This reduction often leads to the loss of genetic diversity in the population; it is called the founder effect.

    3. tochastic effects

      Stochasticity is randomness; in this context, the fact that several lineages mixed resulted in different offspring but each did not recapitulate all the characteristics of its ancestors.

    4. phylogenetically

      A phylogeny is the method to resolve the evolutionary history of a group of species. The relationship between these species can be inferred from various statistical analyses that estimate the genetic relatedness of each species to one another, depending on their differences either in DNA or protein material.

    5. mitochondrialgenomes

      DNA located in the mitochondria. All animal mitochondrial genomes, with a few exceptions, contain the same 37 genes, making them useful as a model for genome evolution.

      Specifically, the comparison of mitochondrial gene arrangements in animals has been critical to inferring ancient evolutionary relationships.

    6. phenotypic variation

      Phenotypic variation is the variability of all observable or measurable characteristics of the individual animals.

    1. phenotypic variation

      Phenotypic variation is the variability of all observable or measurable characteristics of the individual animals.

    2. putative

      Commonly accepted.

    3. tochastic effects

      Stochasticity is randomness; in this context, the fact that several lineages mixed resulted in different offspring but each did not recapitulate all the characteristics of its ancestors.

    4. phenotypic variation

      Phenotypic variation is the variability of all observable or measurable characteristics of the individual animals.

    5. Molecular dating

      Molecular dating is a technique that allows biologists to determine the divergence time for two genes or for two species. It is based on the theory of the molecular clock stating that mutations accumulate in organisms at a stable speed.

      Thus, if you compare genes or protein sequences in different species, you can, assuming you know the speed of variation for these sequences, estimate the age of the last common ancestor.

    6. phylogenetically

      A phylogeny is the method to resolve the evolutionary history of a group of species. The relationship between these species can be inferred from various statistical analyses that estimate the genetic relatedness of each species to one another, depending on their differences either in DNA or protein material.

    7. mitochondrial genomes

      DNA located in the mitochondria. All animal mitochondrial genomes, with a few exceptions, contain the same 37 genes, making them useful as a model for genome evolution.

      Specifically, the comparison of mitochondrial gene arrangements in animals has been critical to inferring ancient evolutionary relationships.

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  4. Feb 2014
    1. Citators- A set of books and online sources that provide the subsequent judicial history and interpretation of reported cases or lists of cases and legislative enactments construing, applying, or affecting statutes. In America, the most widely used citators are Shepard's citations and Keycite.

      Definition of citators.