Internal organs within the main cavities of the body RS

Sciatic nerve

The sciatic nerve is a long nerve in the body that runs from the bottom of the spine to the back of the leg and above the knee joint.

(ABE)

Transdifferentiate

Transdifferentiation is when a cell, other than a stem cell, differentiates into a different type of cell

(ABE)

Contact Inhibition

Contact inhibition is a process in the body that regulates cell growth. For example, when the cells come in contact with each other, its a sign that its time to stop growing, hence the name contact inhibition.

(ABE)

in vitro

in vitro refers to a study that took place outside of the living organism, so in a test tube or culture dish, etc. The opposite would be an in vivo experiment that takes pace inside the organism.

(ABE)

Dorsolateral

A dorsolateral pathway is one that is on the dorsal and lateral surfaces. Lateral refers to something away from the mid line of the body and dorsal refers to the upper back of an animal.

(ABE)

Chemotactic

A chemotactic response is a response to a chemical stimulus that results in the movement of the body.

(ABE)

Endogenous

Endogenous refers to something that originates from within an organism, or something that has an internal cause or origin. A promoter that is endogenous originates from within.

(ABE)

Aganglionosis

Aganglionosis is characteristic in megacolon and it means that there are no ganglia present. Ganglia, or ganglion cells, are a type of nerve cell responsible for moving food in the colon. As a result, their absence can lead to constipation.

(ABE)

Megacolon

Megacolon is an abnormal dilation of the colon. So, the colon widens and oftentimes the movement of the bowels can stop.

(ABE)

Melanogenic

Melanin is the skin-darkening pigment produced in melanocytes. Therefore, melanogenic refers to a melanocytes ability to produce melanin. If a substance is melanogenic it stimulates a cell to produce melanin.

(ABE)

Mitogenic

Mitogenic refers to stimulating a cell to start dividing through mitosis. For example, a mitogen is a chemical that stimulates division in a cell, so it has mitogenic properties.

(ABE)

Kinases

A kinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to a desired molecule. For example, a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase is in charge of transferring a phosphate group from ATP to tyrosine in proteins. Tyrosine is one of the 20 amino acids found in proteins.

(ABE)

Adenyl cyclase

An enzyme that is in charge of catalyzing the formation of cyclic AMP into ATP. To catalyze means to increase the rate of the reaction, so this enzymes speeds up the rate at which ATP is produced from cyclic AMP. ATP is the energy molecule of the body.

(ABE)

Phospholipase

Phospholipase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes, or breaks down, phospholipids into fatty acids. There are four types of these enzymes: A, B, C, and D.

(ABE)

Cardiomyocytes

Cardiomyocytes are cardiac muscle cells.For example, the heart is made up of cardiac muscle, and thus these cells.

(ABE)

Heterotrimetic

Refers to a macromolecule that is made up of at least three subunits where one of the subunits of the molecule differs from the other two. A G-Protein is an example, because it is made up of an alpha, beta, and gamma subunits.

(ABE)

G-Protein Coupled Receptors

G-Protein Coupled Receptors are located in the cell membrane of eukaryotes. Their function is to receive signals from the outside, that will then produce a cellular response. There are many different types of these receptors talked about in the paper.

(ABE)

Paracrine Factors

Paracrine Factors are produced by certain cells in order to communicate with adjacent cells around them. They are a form of signaling between cells to alter the behavior of cells around them.

(ABE)

Antagonist

A receptor antagonist functions by blocking a biological response by binding to the receptor that would have previously stimulated this response. For example, for the endothilin receptor type b (Ednrb) discussed in this paper, an antagonist would bind to it and block the response that would have been produced originally. So they function as biological blockers.

(ABE)

Metastases

Metastases refers to when a malignant tumor grows at a site away from the original site. For example, if you say that lung cancer metastasized to the liver it means that the lung cancer is now also found in the liver. It developed at a site away from the original, in this case from the lungs to the liver.

(ABE)

Differentiation

In cells, differentiation refers to a cell that is less specialized becoming more specialized. This occurs during development, so a melanocyte differentiation is when developing cells specialize into melanocytes.

(ABE)

Precursor

A precursor is something that happens before something else. So in terms of biology it refers to a cell or tissue that will give rise to another cell or tissue that is more specialized, or mature. In this paper, a melanocyte precursor are cells that came before and will differentiate into melanocytes.

(ABE)

Neural Crest (NC)

The neural crest is an embryonic structure in vertebrates that gives rise to many types of cells, primarily cells of the peripheral nervous system. So during embryonic development, the neural crest differentiates and migrates to give rise to specialized cell types. They also give rise to melanocytes which will be further discussed in the paper.

(ABE)

Endothelin (Edn)

Endothelin is a vasoconstrictive peptide produced in endothelial cells. Vasoconstriction means that these peptides constrict blood vessels, increasing blood pressure as a result. These peptides are composed of 21 amino acids and three are three types: endothelin 1, endothelin 2, and endothelin 3.

(ABE)

This is organic carbon that can be dissolved in water and run through a filter; it is smaller compared to particulate organic carbon.

These forests shed annually and litter the streams, giving them an organic carbon source.

Co-limitation is the limiting of growth caused by two factors, both must be present in a set ratio to have an effect.

There is further visualization in figure 2, where the co-limitation of nitrogen and phosphorus are presented.

Sequestration is the collection and storage of carbon dioxide.

In this case, the carbon is being removed from the water and depletes the riverine food webs.

The classic allopatric model is also known as geographic speciation or the dumbbell model. Classic allopatric model is a kind of speciation that occurs when biological populations of the same species become isolated from each other. This isolation is what will prevent genetic exchange between the separated populations. ~S.Z.

"Intra" means within. Divergence is when something separates. Thus, this word could mean how species diverge from each other from within the same oceanic community. ~J.D.A.

Strombinid refers to the taxa Strombidae. It's a family of medium-sized conch sea snails. Gastropods is also another term used to describe the Mollusca phylum. ~J.D.A.

The word shoal describes a shallow body of water. This is synonymous to sandbars or elevated sand in beaches. Therefore, something that "shoals" means that it doesn't have much depth. ~J.D.A.

Concordant means to agree. A variation of this word would be "concor", which has the same meaning. For this paper, the word may be used to describe how data collected seem to show the same variation or consistency. ~J.D.A.

Tenable is defined as something that can be "holdable". It could mean that something must have enough support for it to be upheld. In other words, if someone has an argument against an idea, the explanation should be enough to defend the concept. ~J.D.A.

Staggered suggests that the occurrence or arrangement of events did not happen at the same time. Staggered isolation is the thought of organisms become genetically isolated at different events or moments in time, therefore leading to speciation of these organisms. (DV)

Parsimony analysis deals with simplicity. In regards to science, there will be various explanations to certain phenomenon. According to parsimony analysis, the simplest explanation is the best one. ~J.D.A.

Conspecific is also like heterospecific as it pertains to classifying species. In the sentence it seems to be an opposing word to heterospecific. If heterospecific means organisms of differ species, then conspecfics must mean the opposite--must mean organisms of same species. ~J.D.A.

Heterospecific is used to classify organisms. "Hetero" means differ, and "specific" pertains to a particular subject/concept. Heterospecific means organisms that aren't the same species. ~J.D.A.

Isthmus is a stretch of narrow land that connects two large landmasses and separates two bodies of water.

The Isthmus of Panama formed 3 million years ago connecting North America and South America, while separating the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. (DV)

The snapping shrimp (Alpheus) is a species of shrimp well known for their asymmetrical claws which when closed produce a loud snapping noise. They borrow in the sand and attack their prey by quickly reaching out with their larger claw to capture it. (DV)

Small molecular weight tracers are small, and can therefore diffuse easily.

The tracer used here, FITC, is only 30% smaller than the protein the scientists later examine, beta amyloid.

FITC's ability to diffuse and penetrate into the interstitial space should, therefore, be similar to beta amyloid, making this a powerful experiment.

The tracer will travel through the brain just as beta amyloid would.

The decrease of heart rate while the fish dive to deep waters. WT & YS

A technique used to determine which proteins are present in a sample.

Genetic changes that do not involve a change in DNA sequence and involve external or environmental factors.

A genetic disease in which tumors develop on nerve tissue (including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves).

Substances that naturally occur in a cell.

The process of genetic material being incorporated into a cell through the use of a virus.

Lentiviruses are a group of viruses that incorporate their own RNA into the DNA of the host cell they infect. They can infect both dividing and nondividing cells.

Modified lentiviruses that carry experimental RNA molecules are called "lentiviral vectors." Researchers can use them to insert, modify, or delete genetic material in an organism.

Short DNA or RNA molecules that form a chain of approximately 20 nucleotides.

A synthetic RNA that guides Cas9 to a specific spot on a DNA molecule.

A process that uses RNA molecules to inhibit genes, usually by destroying specific messenger RNA.

A type of drug used to treat cancers. These drugs help regulate genes that are disrupted by cancer.

A cancer in the pigment-producing cells of the skin.

Compilation of DNA fragments which can be used to determine which genes in a genome to alter and knock out.

Investigate.

A technique that allows for targeted changes in the genome by cutting, replacing, and adding gene sequences.

Tonic immobility is a state of paralysis that occurs in animals. They become immobile and appear dead. In sharks, tonic immobility may be achievable by flipping the sharks onto their back.

The orbital path along which the species is studied. -Sindy

To prevent from occuring -Sindy

Also known as a key, a caye is a low level island topical to a reef. -Sindy

Native or confined to a certain area -Sindy

A distribution of normally displayed logarithms. A logarithm is a mathematical formulation. -Mohammad

A body cavity that is lined on one side by the body wall and the other by a main body system such as the intestinal tract. -Mohammad

A type of fishing gear that is harmful to species that are supposed to be protected. -Mohammad

Determines the Quality of a set of data. -Alejandro

Irregularly occurring -Mohammad

A net that traps fish in it by their gills. -Emily

How common or rare a species is compared to other species in its community. -Emily

Index of fish abundance. -Emily

A period of rest, usually during or after an action requiring maximal effort. -Alejandro

The recordings of information gathered by a particular machine. -Alejandro

Having to do with the development from initial location to final location. -Alejandro

Inhabitants. in this case animals, belonging to a specific area. -Alejandro

Linear Regression is a statistical way to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variable displayed as a straight line on a graph to indicate a set of real data values. -Sindy

Not being what it claims or appears to be. -Sindy

Undesirable -Sindy

Organisms that share the same genus -Sindy

Reserves that restrict human activity. -Sindy

Spearman's rank correlation is a nonparametric measure of rank correlation. This measure whether data sets are linear or not linear by assuming that the data set does not follow a normal distribution. A higher r value signifies more linearity. This measure demonstrates a relationship between two variables. (JP)

The molecular clock is a hypothesis that states that DNA and protein sequences evolve at the same rate over time across different organisms. The molecular clock uses the mutation rate of biomolecules to estimate the time in prehistory when two or more life forms diverge. By using the molecular clock model, researchers are able to determine when an organism diverged from its ancestor. (JP)

These are two methods the scientists used to ensure the mice were awake or sleeping.

Electrocorticography measures brain activity

Electromyography measures muscle activity

If both were high, the mouse was considered awake

If both were low, the mouse was considered sleeping

"in vivo" is Latin for "within the living."

Here, it indicates that the experiment was done in a living mouse.

It has always been challenging to perform experiments on living animals; there are many technological, practical, and ethical concerns which generally limit the precision with which experiments can be conducted.

For example, in order to see beyond the surface of mouse's brain, we have always needed to cut the brain into thin sections, and therefore need to euthanize the mouse.

With the invention of two-photon imaging, it became possible to image noninvasively (without the need to euthanize) deep into a mouse's brain, unlocking powerful experiments such as those performed in this paper.

This is the convective exchange described in the abstract.

Convective exchange of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with interstitial fluid (ISF) is the basic mechanism by which the glymphatic system clears metabolites from the interstitial fluid.

ISF enters the brain along arteries, and flows into the interstitial space, replenishing CSF.

CSF flows into interstitial vessels along veins, carrying waste metabolites and proteins with it.

These two processes create net flows of CSF — in essence, small rivers of CSF flow, beginning with an ISF-to-CSF exchange near arteries, and ending with a CSF to ISF exchange near veins.

The combination of these rivers and the exchanges are called convective exchange.

Peripheral tissue refers to the entire body outside of the brain.

The body has the highly specialized lymphatic system for transporting interstitial metabolites (waste) and proteins to the liver.

The brain uses a different mechanism, recently discovered and dubbed the "glymphatic system." The glymphatic system is basically a cleaning system for the brain.

space between individual brain cells

Additional proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases.

Beta amyloid (Aβ) is a small protein involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Large clumps of Aβ protein (called plaques) are very prevalent in Alzheimer's disease, and are thus the focus of an enormous amount of research.

It remains unclear what, if any, the causal connection is between Aβ and Alzheimer's disease, but clinical trials are under way to attempt to treat Alzheimer's disease by directly targeting Aβ plaques.

Neurodegenerative disease refers to several different diseases that impact the brain. Examples of neurodegenerative diseases include:

• Parkinson’s
• Alzheimer’s
• Huntington’s disease.

In all neurodegenerative diseases, there is a progressive degeneration and/or death of brain cells.

Beta amyloid (Aβ) is a small protein involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Large clumps of Aβ protein (called plaques) are very prevalent in Alzheimer's disease, and are thus the focus of an enormous amount of research.

It remains unclear what, if any, the causal connection is between Aβ and Alzheimer's disease, but clinical trials are under way to attempt to treat Alzheimer's disease by directly targeting Aβ plaques.

Interstitial fluid (ISF) is the fluid responsible for carrying waste and proteins out of the CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) and away from the brain.

ISF flows in vessels surrounding arteries and veins, transporting waste away from the interstitial space (space between individual brain cells) for degradation.

ISF is continually exchanged for CSF near arteries and then replenished by CSF removal near veins, establishing a flow throughout the brain.

Cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, is the fluid which circulates through the brain and spine.

It is the extracellular solution (fluid) surrounding all neurons in the central nervous system (brain and spine), so its composition must be carefully controlled to maintain proper function of neurons and brain cells.

Convective exchange of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with interstitial fluid (ISF) is the basic mechanism by which the glymphatic system clears metabolites from the interstitial fluid.

ISF enters the brain along arteries, and flows into the interstitial space, replenishing CSF.

CSF flows into interstitial vessels along veins, carrying waste metabolites and proteins with it.

These two processes create net flows of CSF — in essence, small rivers of CSF flow, beginning with an ISF-to-CSF exchange near arteries, and ending with a CSF to ISF exchange near veins.

The combination of these rivers and the exchanges are called convective exchange.

Interstitial space in this paper refers to the space surrounding cells in the brain, and the space between the brain and the thin layers (meninges) which surround it.

Damaged proteins and metabolic waste may be secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), where they accumulate in the interstitial space.

These waste products are meant to be cleared, or removed, by fluid exchange through the glymphatic system.

A larger interstitial space would be expected to clear waste products faster, since there would be less resistance to diffusion and fluid motion.

Diffusion is the random movement of particles, which, on average, causes high-density pockets of particles to spread out into areas of lower density.

The final concentration of the particles after diffusion depends on the size of the container in which they diffuse: Cut an onion in a small kitchen and the fumes may be felt by everyone, but cut it in a sports arena and nobody will notice as the odor diffuses harmlessly.

In this paper, the authors inject small amounts of a substance, tetramethylammonium (TMA), into the interstitial space.

By measuring the concentration of TMA after diffusion, they can estimate the volume of the space in which the TMA is diffusing.

Metabolic processes like the production and use of energy, protein creation, and degradation, etc., all involve the generation of by-products, some of which can be harmful.

Metabolic homeostasis refers to the active process of maintaining proper, nonharmful levels of molecules produced during cell metabolism.

Disorders caused by a single gene.

Deletions in which the genetic information is missing on both chromosomes.

Observe this Protium, a species of flowering plants [(https://www.kew.org/science/tropamerica/imagedatabase/large1/cat_single1-3438.htm)

-Luisa Bermeo

Having to do something to both side, the bearing or binding of 2 parties equally.

-Otniel Gonzalez

Describes different sides in comparison to each-other, a gradient can be in reference to water pressure as well as many other things.

-Otniel Gonzalez

Relating to the form or structure of things, having to do with somethings physical appearance/structure.

-Otniel Gonzalez

Pubescence in this context means small hairs or short down on the leaves and stems of various plants.

-Otniel Gonzalez

Referring to something's qualities, not numerical but categorical. Can be described with words, not numbers.

-Otniel Gonzalez

A genotypes ability to change as an adaptation to the environment. This refers to the plant's distribution of resources.

• Carolina Jimenez-Pinilla

Regression analysis is a statistical model made up up of a series of processes used to understand how the dependent variable changes when any of the independent variables are modified.

• Carolina Jimenez-Pinilla

Habitat-mediated speciation is the emergence of different species throughout evolution, brought about by the natural environment and its effects.

• Carolina Jimenez-Pinilla

incipient meaning the beginning of a process and speciation is the diverging of similar species into two or more differing species due to evolution

-Luisa Bermeo

describes a state of being different in character in this case in reference to the environment

-Luisa Bermeo

Bioenergetics is a field in biochemistry and cell biology that concerns energy flow through living systems. This bioenergetics model is showing how much energy sharks require.

• D.N.B.

Type of sonar used to map the seabed. RLS

A microphone that detects sound waves underwater. RLS

a visual figure and/or explanation of the distribution of biomass through an ecosystem. -MSars

A metric unit equal to 10,000 square meters. Used commonly for large areas of land. -ASR

See this article in Metric Views for help to visual this size: http://metricviews.org.uk/2007/11/how-big-hectare/

The formation of an organism's structures and features.

Homologous properties in biology have the same evolutionary origins, but not necessarily the same function. A common example is the human arm and a bat's wing.

Bumps found in the area of tissue that joins the epidermal (outer) layer and the dermal (middle) layers of the skin.

The phenomenon in which one gene is affected by the presence of other genes. The phenotypic effect of one gene is being masked by another gene. -Elder

The process by which genes after duplication shift in function. -Eri-Ray

A homologous gene is a gene inherited from a common ancestor. Homo- is a prefix for "same", implying that the genes are similar in sequence and may have similar functions. -Eri-Ray

A regulatory cascade is a system of signal-transducer proteins that relay signals from receptors to the proteins that carry out cellular responses. -Eri-Ray

pleiotropy can be defined as the production by a single gene of two or more unrelated effects. -Eri-Ray

Dipterans are insects of the order diptera. They are considered "true" flies, as they can undergo rapid and radical metamorphosis. Flies are commonly used for experiments due to their availability and ease to breed. -Eri-Ray

The mechanism of choosing the most beneficial trait for survival in an environment, the other traits that are not needed are kept in small reserves, but not wiped out. The rest die off due to having less relative fitness. -Elder

Changes in the population's genome based on the traits that are being favored by the environment. -Elder

restraints on adaptive evolution, a.k.a. restraints on natural selection. -Elder

The mechanism in which genes are regulated to be expressed or not expressed. (to be "turned on" or "turned off") -Elder

Specific genes that regulate distant genes, also known as DNA sequences that code for transcription factors. - Elder

The resistance of an electric circuit towards a current that is different from which it usually interacts with.

-Kierra Hobdy

Perturbations in this instance are disturbances in the surroundings of the fish, such as a duck swimming or a fly landing in the water. Small-field refers to the small range in which the fish can detect movements or perturbations in its environment.

-Kierra Hobdy

'Derma" refers to skin and in this case, "Trans" means through; so transdermal means the electroreceptors are being emitted through the skin of the fish.

-Kierra Hobdy

To quantify means to organize into a numerical format . -Kierra Hobdy

fortaler

sørgeligt

stige / skala

gav / ydede

helt slået ud

Meritokrati, præstationssamfund

indstillinger / synspunkter / følelser

Årti

Fabriksarbejder

Dødelighed

Spændstig

Ikke lade sig slå ud

for tidligt, tidligere end forventet

Ulighed

af latinamerikansk

Tilfredshed

fattigdom

give, yde

undgå

præstationssamfund

Undgå

Præstationssamfund

pjalter: udtryk for fattigdom

Filantrop: en, der uselvisk arbejder på at hjælpe ringere stillede medmennesker

Pga.

The aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others.

This refers to results of studies that go into detail on a specific area, without covering a wide range of different topics.

Innovation refers to coming up with new ideas for research—in other words, generating new hypotheses. Verification refers to checking if a certain idea holds up in subsequent research—in other words, confirming hypotheses.

A preregistration is a document in which researchers compile information on how their study will be run and analyzed before it is conducted. The document often contains information on which research question will be pursued; which hypothesis will be tested; how the data is collected and how the sample is generated; which data is excluded; and how the data will be prepared for analysis and ultimately analyzed. Documenting in advance helps separate confirmatory hypothesis testing from exploratory research.

A repeated measurement design assesses the same outcome variable at several points in time. For example, let’s say we want to find out whether jogging before class improves students’ ability to follow a class. We might ask 20 students to jog before class and 20 students not to jog before class, and then after class ask them how easy it was for them to follow the class. However, we might be unlucky and conduct our experiment on a day where a particularly difficult topic was covered in class. No one—neither the joggers nor the nonjoggers—could understand the lecture, so all our subjects report they absolutely couldn’t follow the class.

This problem could be ameliorated if we used a repeated measurement design instead. We would ask our 20 joggers and 20 nonjoggers to either jog nor not jog before class on five days in a row, and then ask them for their ability to follow the class each time. Now, we would have not only one point of measurement from each student, but five points of measurement of their ability to follow the class at several points in time.

Within-subjects manipulations refer to situations in experiments where the same person is assigned to multiple experimental conditions.

For example, let’s say we want to find out which of two different learning techniques (A and B) is more effective in helping students prepare for a vocabulary test. If we conducted a within-subjects manipulation, each student would apply both learning techniques. Let’s say every student must first apply learning technique A, then take a vocabulary test, and then a week later for the next test apply learning technique B. We could now compare following which learning technique the students perform better with.

In contrast, if we conducted a between-subjects manipulation, each student would only apply one learning technique. We would split the group of students, so that half of them use learning technique A and then take the vocabulary test, while the other students use learning technique B and then take the vocabulary test. Again, we could compare which learning technique the students perform better with.

A fixed effect model is a statistical model which accounts for individual differences in the data which cannot be measured by treating them as nonrandom, or “fixed” at the individual level.

As an example, let’s say we wanted to study if drinking coffee makes people more likely to cross the street despite a red light. Our outcome variable of interest is how often each subject crosses a street despite a red light on a walk with 10 red traffic lights. The explanatory variable we manipulate for each participant is if they had a cup of coffee before the experiment or a glass of water (our control condition), and we would use this variable to try to explain ignoring red lights. However, there are several other influences on ignoring red lights which we have not accounted for. Next to random and systematic error, we have also not accounted for individual characteristics of the person such as their previous experience with ignoring red lights.

For instance, have the participants received a fine for this offense? If so, they might be less likely to walk across a red light in our experiment. Using a fixed effect model makes it possible to account for these types of characteristics that rest within each individual participant. This, in turn, gives us a better estimate of the relationship between coffee drinking and crossing red lights, cleaned from other individual-level influences.

A multivariate interaction effect is an effect that is the product of several variables working together and influencing each other.

For example, we might be interested in finding out how water temperature (warm: 38°C; cold: 15°C) affects the body temperature of humans and sea lions. We might find that humans, on average, have a higher body temperature than sea lions, and that body temperature is higher when the body is immersed in warm compared to cold water. However, we might find that a human’s body temperature shows bigger differences between the warm and cold water conditions than the sea lion’s body temperature. Because sea lions have a substantive layer of protective fat, their body temperature does not change as much when water temperature changes, compared to humans. Here, species and water temperature show an interaction effect on body temperature.

When experiments are run using a sample instead of the entire population, each sample will show slightly different estimates of the true population parameter. The standard deviation of this range of estimates is called the standard error.

For example, if we wanted to know the average body mass of Chihuahuas, we couldn’t gather data from every single Chihuahua in the world. If we sampled 20 Chihuahuas, we might find that the average is 2.5 kg. If we sample 20 other Chihuahuas, their average weight might be 2.4 kg. Repeating this process, we would find a range of different average weights in the different samples. Taken together, these means are our estimates for the true average Chihuahua body mass in the population of all Chihuahuas. The dispersion, or the amount of variation in these means, is called standard error.

The Wilcoxon signed-rank test is a statistical procedure used with two related samples. It assesses the differences between each data pair with regard to both direction and size.

For example, if we wanted to find out if students prefer pasta or salad served in the school cafeteria, we could run an experiment where on three consecutive days, we invite 20 students for lunch and observe how many of them chose pasta and how many chose the salad option. We end up with three pairs of data: On the first day, 18 students chose pasta and two chose salad; on the second day, 15 students chose pasta and four chose salad; on the third day, four students chose pasta and 16 chose salad. The test now calculates the differences between each data pair: On the first day, the difference is 18 – 2 = + 16; on the second day, the difference is 15 – 4 = + 11; on the third day, the difference is 4 – 16 = - 12. Then, the differences are sorted by their absolute size (ignoring the sign: 11, 12, 16) and assigned a rank (11 gets rank 1, 12 gets rank 2, 16 gets rank 3). The sum of the ranks of the positive differences (1 + 3 = 4) is then compared to that of the negative differences (2). The smaller of the two sums of ranks (2) is then compared against a critical value, which informs us whether it is statistically different from zero. If we find a statistically significant result, we can conclude that students have a preference for pasta over salad.

Df is an abbreviation for the term “degrees of freedom.” The degrees of freedom are an important piece of information for a statistical test, which describes the number of values in the analysis that are free to vary. It depends on how many values are considered (that means, how big the sample size is), and which statistical test is used.

The null hypothesis is the assumption that a certain effect does not exist in reality, and that any observations of this effect in data is due to unsystematic error.

Predictors are variables that the researchers identified as potentially correlated with reproducibility.

An exploratory analysis is conducted in the absence of a specific hypothesis you would like to confirm with your study. They are used to explore the data; that is, to see what data patterns can be found, without trying to prove a specific point.

A correlation coefficient describes the statistical relationship between two variables. It shows both the direction (positive coefficient: as A increases, B increases as well; negative coefficient: as A increases, B decreases), and the strength of the relationship (coefficient close to zero: weak relationship; coefficient close to +/- 1: strong relationship).

For example, there might be a positive correlation between years of attendance to school and general knowledge: the longer people have attended school, the more knowledge they acquire. On the other hand, there could be a negative correlation between hours spent watching TV and enjoyment of outdoor activities: the more time people spend watching TV, the less they might enjoy going for a hike.

Importantly, correlation coefficients do not tell us anything about causation.

When we conduct a scientific study, it is often not possible to collect data from every person in the population in the exact situation we want to study. Instead, we often have only a sample of subjects, which we observe in a certain, typical situation. For example, if we want to study adherence to red lights in traffic, we cannot check if every human being will stop at every red light, when driving cars, riding a bike, walking, skateboarding, or using any other means of transportation. We could, however, test 200 pedestrians’ behavior at the traffic light in front of a university.

Generalizability refers to whether a study’s findings, given its own restricted circumstances, can be extended to make statements about what will be true for the population in general, and for similar situations. For example, imagine we want to study adherence to red lights in traffic by observing 200 pedestrians’ behavior at the traffic light in front of a university. Given that our sample size is small and not representative (because there are mostly students in front of a university, a very specific sample of people), and that the situation we observe is only one facet of participation in traffic (we ignore driving, cycling, skateboarding, etc.), we could not make very good statements about adherence to red lights in general.

Sufficient conditions are one set of circumstances under which a specific effect can be found, but there could be many other circumstances under which the effect would occur.

For example, if a person asks you for money and you give it to them, asking for money is a sufficient condition. It's enough to make you give the person money. But there are other circumstances in which you would have done the same. For example, you may have given them money in exchange for a bouquet of flowers.

Necessary conditions are the circumstance that must be met in order to find a specific effect. If these conditions are not met, the effect cannot be found.

For example, to find the effect that prosocial people are more likely than selfish people to give change to someone asking for money, a necessary condition would be studying human subjects, not penguins.

A predictor (sometimes also called a predictor variable or an independent variable) is a variable that represents the potential reasons why we see a certain result.

For example, if we wanted to study which factors increase students’ performance in their final exams, we could consider a number of different potential reasons, or predictors, such as how often they did their homework during the past school year, how much time they spent reviewing the materials before the exam, or how well they slept the night before the exam.

There are two sources of error which can occur in scientific studies and distort their results.

Systematic errors are inaccuracies that can be reproduced. For example, imagine we wanted to measure a participant’s weight and we make our participant step on five different scales and measure her weight on each scale 10 times. Four scales report that she weighs 74 kg each time she steps on them. The last scale shows that she weighs 23 kg each time she steps on it. We would say there is a systematic error involved in our study of her weight, because the last scale consistently and erroneously reports her weight as too low.

Random errors are inaccuracies that occur because there are unknown influences in the environment. For example, imagine we wanted to measure a participant’s weight and had her step on the same scale three times in a row, within one minute. The first time, the scale reports 74.43 kg, the second time 74.34 kg, the third time 74.38 kg. We don’t think that the participant's weight has actually changed in this 1 minute, yet our measurement shows different results, which we would attribute to random errors.

The strength of an effect.

Results are referred to as statistically significant when we find the result convincing because it is extremely unlikely that the observed effects are due to random chance.

Reproducibility is a characteristic of a scientific study, stating that it can be run and run repeatedly, and will in its repetitions yield the same result.

If an experiment has been reproduced successfully, it has been conducted more than once with similar results each time. Subsequent studies are called reproducing studies, replication studies, or replications.

A study is referred to as correlational if it investigates if there is a relationship between two factors without assigning subjects to conditions manipulating a variable of interest. A causal interpretation (that changes in factor A cause changes in factor B) is not possible in correlational studies.

For example, if we wanted to study the influence of intelligence on students’ biology exam scores in a correlational study, we would first observe students’ intelligence via an IQ test, and then measure their score in the exam. Then we could judge if there was a positive relationship between IQ and exam score: Smarter students might be shown to score better on the test. However, since we did not manipulate students’ IQ to be high or low, we could not say that a higher IQ causes better test scores, only that the two variables are positively related.

Fecundity refers to the ability of an organism to produce offspring. If an organism is more fecund, this means it produces more offspring

Sea stars from the class Ophiuroidea. Brittle stars are named so for their fragile, thin arms.

Montastraea annularis (now known as Orbicella annularis) is a species of coral that can grow into boulder-shaped heads. It is commonly known as boulder star coral.

Though corals may look like plants, they are actually animals. The basic body form of a coral is called a polyp, which has a mouth surrounded by tentacles. Colonial corals consist of many tiny interconnected polyps.

Diadema antillarum is commonly known as the long-spined sea urchin. Before populations of D. antillarum died off in 1983 in massive numbers, they were a common sight in Caribbean reefs and played an important role in controlling the growth of macroalgae.

Gorgonians are part of a group of corals often called "soft corals" due to their lack of a rigid calcified skeleton. Arborescent means "treelike," referring to gorgonians that specifically have upright treelike forms.

Agaricia is a genus of corals that form flat leaf-like or plate-like structures. The "spp." means "multiple species of." So Agaricia spp. means "species of the genus Agaricia."

Acropora palmata is commonly known as Elkhorn coral for its antlerlike appearance. As a result of its complex 3D shape, A. palmata adds significant structure to coral reefs and forms an important habitat for many other marine organisms.

primarily used in laboratories. It is commonly used for sealing or protecting vessels (such as flasks or cuvettes). It is a ductile, malleable, waterproof, odorless, translucent and cohesive thermoplastic.

-Mikaela

the quality of being able to sail close to the wind with little drift to the leeward.

-Mikaela

the amount by which a single measurement differs from a fixed value such as the mean.

-Mikaela

Relating to, involving, or requiring an absence of free oxygen. -Mikaela

Of or relating to the open sea. -Mikaela

A technique that stimulates a small population of neurons by passing an electrical current through a nearby microelectrode.

The cortex is divided into layers from the surface of the brain inward. The deep-layer levels of the trunk cortex are closer the the center of the brain.

Diagram of the cortical layers of a human brain: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10870/figure/A1798/

The part of the brain that detects touch happening in certain places in the body.

The trunk region of the somatosensory cortex specifically activates when the trunk, or the main body, of the rat is stimulated.

Diagram of the human somatosensory cortex: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11153/figure/A641/?report=objectonly

Prostheses are an artificial part of a body. It can play an unconscious or conscious role in the body. For example, a titanium leg can replace a leg and adapt itself to the host walking patterns.

Double-reversal validation test tries to define and remove bias in the data. For example, consider a natural factor that could remove one parameter, and ask if you should counter this evolution to keep the status quo. If so, consider when the natural factor is about to vanish and ask if it is a good thing to act again to reverse the first intervention you made. If not, it is preferable to think that the first intervention is usefull even in the absence of the natural factor.