Chapter 15

Question 1

biotechnology

Answer 1

the use of technology to control biological processes as a means of meeting societal needs

Question 2

blastocyst

Answer 2

hollow, fluid-filled ball of cells that is formed in the early stages of the embryonic development of humans and other mammals. In non-mammalian animals, the blastocyst is known as the blastula

Question 3

clone

Answer 3

an exact genetic copy. Also, used as a verb to make one of these copies. A single gene or a whole, complex organism can be cloned.

Question 4

cloning vector

Answer 4

a self-replicating agent that, in the cloning process, serves to transfer genetic material.

Question 5

embryonic stem cell (ESC)

Answer 5

a cell from the blastocyst stage of a human embryo that is capable of giving rise to all the types of cells in the adult body

Question 6

induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS cell)

Answer 6

a cell that has been induced to a state of pluripotency through the introduction of genes from outside its genome. In humans, a pluripotent cell is a cell that can give rise to all the types of cells found in the body

Question 7

plasmid

Answer 7

a ring of DNA that lies outside the chromosome in bacteria. Plasmids can move into bacterial cells in the process called transformation, thus making them a valuable tool in biotechnology

Question 8

polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

Answer 8

a technique for generating many copies of a DNA sequence from a small starting sample

Question 9

recombinant DNA

Answer 9

two or more segments of DNA that have been combined by humans into a sequence that does not exist in nature

Question 10

reproductive cloning

Answer 10

cloning intended to produce adult mammals of a defined genotype

Question 11

restriction enzyme

Answer 11

a type of enzyme, occurring naturally in bacteria, that recognizes a specific sequence of DNA bases and cuts DNA strands at a specific location within the sequence. Restriction enzymes are used in biotechnology to cut DNA in specific places

Question 12

somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)

Answer 12

a means of cloning animals through fusion of one somatic (non-sex) cell with an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed (“an enucleated” cell)

Question 13

stem cell

Answer 13

any cell that can give rise to more cells of its kind, along with at least one variety of specialized cell

Question 14

transformation

Answer 14

a cell’s incorporation of genetic material from outside its boundary. Some bacteria readily undergo this process, and others can be induced to for uses in biotechnology

Question 15

transgenic organism

Answer 15

an organism whose genome has stably incorporated one or more genes from another species