- Jun 2019
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nicotinic receptors
These are receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.
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methylates
Introduces a methyl (CH<sub>3</sub>) group. Here, PNMT adds a CH<sub>3</sub> group onto norepinephrine creating epinephrine (also known as adrenaline).
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pituitary-adrenal axis
Refers to the connections and interactions between the pituitary gland and adrenal glands.
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caudal thoracic
Situated in the tail part of the body.
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progenitors
Precursors.
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tetrodotoxin
Sodium channel blocker. It blocks the influx of sodium into the cell.
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influx
Act of flowing in.
Example: An influx of tourists was observed over the holidays.
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catecholaminergic
Refers to the cell group that releases one of the neurotransmitters, dopamine or norepinephrine.
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tyrosine hydroxylase
An enzyme responsible for the conversion of tyrosine (an amino acid) to dopamine, a neurotransmitter.
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quantitative
Refers to the measurement of quantities, a countable amount of something. For example: A baby weighs 7 pounds and 4 ounces.
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qualitative
Refers to the measurement of qualities, a describable trait of something. For example: The girl has brown eyes.
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phenotype
Here, referring to the physical characteristics of the neurons.
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peptide putative transmitters
Widely accepted class of neurotransmitters.
Read more about the different neurotransmitters here.
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Neurotransmitters
A chemical that is released by brain cells called neurons. These chemicals aid in communication or passing messages between neurons.
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veratridine
Drug that increases the influx of sodium into the cell.
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mutability
The ability to change.
For example, think of a caterpillar, which has the ability to change to butterfly.
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thermoregulation
Maintaining the body’s temperature within the normal limits.
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basal
Normal or minimum level.
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translational
Research that can be useful to prevent or treat disease
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developmental
Relating to the growth of the individual.
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subsequent
Following.
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cocaine-induced
The response prompted by cocaine.
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nicotine-induced
Response prompted by nicotine.
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risk
Prone to; susceptible.
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pretreatment
Treatment received prior to something in advance
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assessed
Evaluate; measure.
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administered
Given.
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prompted
Pushed; urged; required.
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diminished
Reduced.
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endpoints
Outcome
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long-term synaptic potentiation
Strengthening of synapses between neurons
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prenatal
before birth; during pregnancy
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phenocopied
mimicked; acted similarly
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transient
only for a short time
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baseline
normal
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facilitation
help; make the process easy
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variant
modified
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ERK/MAPK
signaling pathways that help in gene regulation
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phosphorylates
adding phosphate residues
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concurrent
happening at the same time
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Hypoacetylated
not enough acetylation
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deacetylase
removal of acetyl groups
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hyperacetylation
increase or excessive acetylation
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promoter
DNA sequences that define where the transcription should start in a gene
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disinhibits
restrain
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simulate
prompt or trigger
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psychostimulants
drugs that cause an increased behavioral or motor response
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robust
widely used
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behavioral paradigm
a model designed to perform behavioral experiments
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acetylation
Process by which acetyl groups are added to preferred residues in a protein.
For instance, acetyl groups are added to lysine residues in a protein structure
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histone
components of chromatin that helps in gene regulation
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chromatin
DNA + histone
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FosB
it is one of the transcription factors that help in gene expression
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transcription
the process by which a copy of genetic information is made from DNA to RNA
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synaptic
A synapse is a space between the neurons that allows passage of electric or chemical signals between the neurons.
Anything that occurs between synapses is referred to as synaptic
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plasticity
the ability of the neurons (brain cells) to change and learn new things by changing their synaptic strength
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spiny neurons
Medium sized neurons that have dendritic branches
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inhibitory
slowing down, hold back, restrain, negatively affecting a response
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GABAergic
neurons that contain inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA
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prefrontal cortex
Part of the frontal cortex in the brain. Its function includes planning, organization, and decision making
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amygdala
A brain region present in the temporal lobe. It is almond In shape. It plays an important role in emotions.
Eg. When we see a lion, we immediately run due to fear. The fear response is due to the amygdala.
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ventral tegmental area
A brain region in the midbrain. Serves as a center for the origin of dopaminergic neurons
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glutamatergic
neurons that can modulate (or alter or modify) the neurotransmitter, glutamate. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter
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dopaminergic
neurons that contain neurotransmitter, dopamine. Dopamine plays a vital role in the reward pathway
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integration
to combine the similarities together
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convergence
bringing together two different concepts that share similarities
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reward
recognition of one’s work or effort
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ventral striatum
contains the brain region, nucleus accumbens
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nucleus accumbens
A brain region in the forebrain. It has two parts: core and shell
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addictive
causing someone to become dependent
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cocaine
Recreational drug. Referred as coke.
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nicotine
primary chemical present in tobacco
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addiction
dependency, craving
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modulated
modify
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enhanced
increased
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place preference
preferred choice of one place over another
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conditioned
trained or habituated
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sensitization
Repeated administration of a stimulus can cause a response to the stimulus.
Eg. If you give your cat piping hot milk the first day, the cat may not drink it as it will burn its mouth. However, if you continue to give your cat hot milk for several days in a row, the cat will eventually start drinking the milk as it is habituated to the new stimulus (hot milk) and will not complain
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Locomotor
the movement of a living being from one place to another
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sequential
one by one; logical order
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determinant
a key factor
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irrelevant
not important
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molecular genetic
study of the structure and function of genes involved in the behavior
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electrophysiological
observing the electrical properties of neurons in the mouse brain
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behavioral
observing the behavior of the mouse
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exert
influence
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gateway drugs
the substances are mild and not addictive on consumption. However, the continuous consumption of these mild substances can lead to the use of other addictive drugs. They are also known as ‘habit-forming drug.’
Eg. Alcohol, Cigarettes.
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epidemiological
Deals with incidence and distribution of diseases and societal issues
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illicit drug
Substances that are addictive to the central nervous system.
These substances are illegal to be possessed, have no documented therapeutic effect, and are referred to as drugs of abuse.
Eg. Cocaine, Heroin
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marijuana
‘weed’ or ‘pot.’
Read more about marijuana here: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-marijuana
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discipline
A specific branch of knowledge, such as physics or biology.
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z scores
A z-score is a measure of the number of standard deviations above or below the average score a raw, individual score is. The higher the z-score, the more different a data point is from the average.
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continuous
Continuous variables have an infinite number of possible values. This is in contrast to categorical variables, which have a discrete number of defined values (for example, in this study "man" or "woman" for gender).
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SD
Standard deviation, a measure of the amount of variation in data.
It can be used to quantify how far an individual's data is from the average of a data set.
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negative relation
A condition in which when the value of one variable goes up (endorsement of the gender stereotype), the value of the other variable goes down (exam scores).
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as a function of
A function defines one variable in terms of another. Here, the more strongly a woman in the control group endorsed the gender stereotype, the lower her exam scores were.
Defining y "as a function of" x means that y varies based on the level of x.
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χ2
Chi-squared, a test which tells whether there is a statistically significant difference between the distribution of two categorical variables (for example, gender).
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SE
Refers to standard error, which is a measure of how far away the mean of your data is likely to be from the true mean of the population.
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P
The P value is a measure of how likely it is that your null hypothesis (that values affirmation has no effect) is true.
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outcome measure
Tools used to assess a subject's performance.
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condition
Assigned group, either the intervention group or the control group. In this case, the control group contained students who did not participate in the values affirmation intervention.
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social-psychological
Effects that result from interactions within groups, and between both groups and individuals.
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randomized
Participants are randomly assigned to different test conditions.
In this case, participants are equally likely to end up in the control group and the values affirmation test group.
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binary
Binary calculations are a straightforward form of measurement that states the presence or absence of an interaction.
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biotic factors
Living parts of an ecosystem, in this case, invasive species on the island
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trophic downgrading
Impacts from the loss of the top-level consumers.
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pervasive
Widely felt.
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trophic
Feeding relationships.
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function
How a system works.
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resilience
How quickly a community is able to recover from a change in the environment.
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empirical
Based on data.
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mass extinction events
Periods of Earth's history when vast numbers of species went extinct in a short period of time.
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herbivory
Eating only vegetation for food.
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abundance
Number.
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distribution
Location.
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topology
Structure.
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basins of attraction
Conditions that allow for stability in an ecosystem.
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flux
Change.
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perturbed
Altered.
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extirpated
Removed.
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weakly motile
Not able to move far.
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autotrophs
Self-feeding organisms such as plants, algae, many protists, and some bacteria.
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regime shifts
Changes in abundance or dominance of species within an ecosystem.
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“natural experiments”
Data collected from unintended consequences seen in nature.
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mesopredators
Predators found in the middle of the food web—that is, they both eat prey and are eaten as prey.
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megaherbivores
Large, plant-eating organisms.
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aggregate
Collective.
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alternative stable states
A different persistent community structure from the original in an ecosystem, typically resulting from a disturbance.
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recruitment failure
Inability of seeds to germinate.
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trophic cascades
Also known as top-down controls, these refer to the effects of predators that propagate downward through food webs across multiple trophic levels—where trophic level refers to an organism's position in the food chain.
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zona incerta (ZI)
A part of the brain.
The function of this area is poorly understood but is thought to regulate behavior of an animal in response to internal (such as hunger) and external (such as pain) sensory cues.
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γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
An inhibitory neurotransmitter. Neurons communicate with each other by releasing neurotransmitters. Neurons respond to inhibitory neurotransmitters by reducing their activity.
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type A GABA (GABAA) receptor antagonist bicuculline (Bic)
A light-sensitive competitive agonist of GABA<sub>A</sub> receptors. It was originally isolated and identified over 40 years ago in the Dicentra cucullaria plant.
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Parkinson's disease
A progressive degenerative disorder primarily impacting motor control that can lead to tremors or stiffness. Pathologically characterized by the loss of dopamine-secreting neurons in two parts of the brain (the substantia nigra pars compacta and basal ganglia), as well as the presence of Lewy bodies—aggregates of a protein called alpha synuclein contained within the neuron.
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- May 2019
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motivational valence
The degree to which something is perceived as pleasurable (positive valence) or unpleasant (negative valence).
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excited by
Activated by.
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Anterograde
Occurring along the nerve processes away from the neuron body, as opposed to retrograde.
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lateral hypothalamic neurons
A region of the brain in close proximity to ZI known to promote food intake.
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glutamate
An excitatory neurotransmitter, which causes neurons to become activated.
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parasubthalamic nucleus
A part of the brain located below the thalamus, which functions in motor control.
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ghrelin
A hormone produced in the gut in response to food deprivation.
Also known as the "hunger hormone," ghrelin increases appetite and food intake and energy storage.
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excitatory
Neurons that express excitatory neurotransmitters cause downstream neurons to become activated.
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germinal center
Germinal centers are areas in the lymph nodes and spleen where B cells reside. Within these centers B cells replicate, mature and prepare to create antibodies.
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epitopes
An antigen on the surface of the virus that antibodies can attach to.
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effector phenotypes
The characteristics that are representative of activated T cells.
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T follicular helper (TFH
This subset of T cells that aid in the production of antibodies by activating B cells.
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antigen
An antigen is a part of a pathogen that stimulates an immune response. This may be a protein, lipid, or a carbohydrate.
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B cells
B cells are immune cells that produce antibodies.
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induced
In molecular genetics when a gene is induced, it means the amount of mRNA transcripts from that gene is increased.
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elucidated
Elucidated is another way of saying explained or investigated.
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cytokines
Cytokines are proteins that are released by immune cells to activate the immune response in other cells.
Example: When a cell is infected with a virus, it can release the cytokine interferon to signal neighboring cells of an incoming viral attack. This allows the neighboring cells to increase production of anti-viral proteins.
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choline acetyltransferase (ChAT),
Choline acetyltransferase is a protein that is responsible for the creation of acetylcholine.
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prototypic
Prototypic means the original model in which further knowledge is based off of.
Since acetylcholine was the first neurotransmitter discovered, its function/ behavior is what all other neurotransmitters are based off of.
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vasodilation
Vasodilation in when blood vessels expand. This is an important response to viral infection because it allows immune cells to reach the site of infection.
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ablated
Ablated in this context means that mice did not have vasodilation in response to viral infection.
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IL-21
IL-21 is a protein released by CD4 T cells that activates cytotoxic T cells and NK cells.
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CD8+
A CD8 positive T cell (referred to as a cytotoxic T cell) is responsible for killing intracellular pathogens, cancer cells and other damaged cells.
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CD4+
A CD4 positive T cell (referred to as a helper T cell) is a subset of T cells responsible for activating and directing different types of immune cells.
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lymphocyte
T cells, B cells and Natural Killer (NK) cells are immune cells that are referred to as lymphocytes.
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T cell
A T cell is a type of immune cell responsible for directing the adaptive immune system's response to infection, allergy and cancer.
- note: think of the T cell as a general of an army.
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neurotransmitter
A neurotransmitter is a molecule released by nerves to communicate with other nerves, muscles fibers, or organ systems.
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catalysis
Catalysis is the initiation and acceleration of a chemical reaction.
In this case, the authors point to KDM6B as the catalyst for Dmrt1 expression and thus male sex development.
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testicular Sertoli cell
Male sex cells that are required to form testes and sperm.
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primordial germ cells
Progenitor sex cells that go on to make all the reproductive cells in an organism.
Tags
Annotators
URL
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will stand for no amino acid—that is, will be nonsense
As a general rule, there are four kinds of codons: codons that initiate the reading frame, codons that stop the reading frame, codons that code for amino acids to make proteins, and codons that don't code for anything at all (called nonsense codons).
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rII locus
A locus is a specific location or section of genetic material. The r<sub>II</sub> locus is one of three loci composing the genetic material of bacteriophage T4 (described below).
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protein synthesis
The process of making proteins.
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RNA
Ribonucleic acid, or RNA for short, is one class of genetic material. It is an example of a nucleic acid molecule.
RNA is composed of three chemical building blocks: a sugar (called ribose), a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
RNA has many functions in a cell, and scientists are still studying RNA today. Some hope that RNA might be the key to disease prevention.
https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/decade-RNA/97/web/2019/01
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enzyme
A special class of proteins which catalyze (i.e., cause or speed up) a chemical reaction in biological systems.
Remember, that a protein is a chain of amino acids.
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amino acid
The chemical building blocks of proteins. All amino acids contain an amine group (-NH<sub>2</sub>) and a carboxylic acid group (-COOH).
https://www.neb.com/tools-and-resources/usage-guidelines/amino-acid-structures
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Deductions
Crick relies on deductive reasoning to make his argument for the nature of the genetic code.
Deductive reasoning draws specific conclusions from general principles or premises, whereas inductive reasoning infers general principles from specific instances.
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2',3' hydroxyls on the sugar.
Hydroxyls are -OH groups and are found on the sugar ribose on the second and third carbon. In RNA, only one chemical unit in the entire strand has a hydroxyl on both the second and third (2' and 3') carbon.
Check out this image to identify the hydroxyls found on second and third carbon.
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"right-hand" end
Just as your left and right hands are distinct mirror images, certain molecules have distinct mirror images, too. When a molecule has a distinct mirror image, we say the molecule is chiral.
All sugars in the body are "right handed." On a strand of genetic material, the sugars are linked together such that only one end of the chain is "handed."
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poly (U,C)
Crick defines poly(Y, Z) as a DNA strand with equal amounts of two bases "Y" and "Z" in random order. Here, poly(U, C) is then a strand of genetic material with equal amounts of uracil and cytosine in random order.
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polyuridylic acid
An RNA molecule in which every base is uracil.
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synthetic RNA
RNA that is made in the lab as opposed to natural RNA found in a cell.
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acridines
An organic molecule that is not naturally found in cells, as they are substituted derivatives of the parent ring.
Acridines were previously used in some dyes and many have antiseptic properties, but usage largely stopped since acridines are also a skin irritant.
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bacteriophage T4
A bacteriophage is a type of virus that infects bacteria. The T4 bacteriophage is a specific bacteriophage that infects E coli. Bacteriophages—like all living organisms—have genetic material.
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A and B cistrons
A section of DNA or RNA that codes for a specific chain of amino acids, or "polypeptide chain." Cistron is synonymous with gene, meaning A and B cistrons are two different genes. The term cistron has largely fallen out of favor.
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cistron
A section of DNA or RNA that codes for a specific chain of amino acids, or "polypeptide chain." Cistron is another word for gene. As such, it's not normally used much nowadays.
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the amino end
Imagine kids lined up holding hands: The line leader will have no one to hold her left hand and the caboose will have no one to hold her right hand.
Amino acids on a protein have a similar feature. The first amino acid will have an amine group exposed and the last amino acid will have an acid group exposed. The "amino end" refers to the end of the strand where the amine group is exposed.
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Gamow's
George Gamow (1904–1968) was a theoretical physicist. Curious about the natural world, he was often in contact with scientific giants outside of physics, such as Crick. Despite his inexperience in chemistry and biology, Gamow learned about these fields and ultimately influenced their progress. Gamow is just one of many historical examples of an outside, non-expert perspective having a profound influence on a difficult problem.
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Watson
James Watson (1928–) co-discovered the structure of DNA with Francis Crick (the author of this paper).
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1962/watson/biographical/
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Beadle
George Beadle (1903-1989) was a Nobel Prize-winning scientist credited with discovering the inherent connection between genes (DNA) and enzymes (proteins).
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1958/beadle/biographical/
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F
Another measure of statistical difference between the means of different groups.
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Cohen’s d
A statistical measure of effect size.
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t
The t statistic is used with the T test, which determines if there is a difference between the average result of two different groups.
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gateway courses
Classes that students are required to take before taking more advanced courses in the field.
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snowballing effect
A process that may start small, but build on itself becoming larger and more serious.
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interactive engagement approaches
Teaching strategies in which students are challenged to think about the material on their own and with other students, while the instructor acts as a guide.
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residual
Amount left unexplained by other variables.
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grand mean
The mean of the mean of several sub-samples.
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moderation effect
Moderating variables are variables that affect the direction of strength of a relationship between dependent and independent variables (in this case, the level of endorsement of stereotype threat is the moderating variable).
A moderating effect is the result of the influence of a moderating variable.
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main
A main effect is the effect of one independent variable (in this case gender) on the dependent variable (in this case beginning-of-semester FMCE scores), and ignores the effects of other independent variables.
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nationally normed standardized test
A standardized test that is given across the country so that an average performance can be determined for the country.
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orthologs
Orthologs are derived from a common ancestor gene and have some degree of sequence similarity
Image credit: https://www3.beacon-center.org/blog/2015/03/23/beacon-researchers-at-work-same-behavior-same-genes/
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fidelity
How specifically an enzyme carries out its function. We can say that Cas13b has high fidelity because it produced very few off-targets in the knockdown experiment (see Figures 1E, 1F, and 1G).
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structure-guided protein engineering
When researchers want to modify a protein to improve a particular feature, they can use the knowledge of the protein's 3D structure to identify and modify key amino acids in the sequence.
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coverage
When you sequence a genome, you do it in pieces rather than in a single, continuous stretch. This is similar to cutting the genome up and then putting it back together again, like a puzzle. Each base may be read multiple times and be a part of multiple sequences—comparing pieces to see where they overlap is how the full genome is reconstructed. The number of times a base is read is called the "coverage," and higher coverage leads to a more accurate sequence.
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adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a human virus that is present in 80% - 90% of the adult population but does not cause any disease. This virus has been extensively used as a biomolecular tool because it is small and has low risk of genome integration and causing unwanted mutations.
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