Key Definitions Flashcards
A non-living feature of an ecosystem
Abiotic condition
Attachment of an acetyl group to something (e.g. a histone)
Acetylation
A type of neurotransmitter that binds to receptors on sodium channels across the Synaptic Cleft
Acetylcholine (ACh)
A mutation you develop during your lifetime
Acquired mutation
The thin myofilament protein in muscle fibres
Actin
The energy that needs to be supplied before a chemical reaction will start
Activation energy
A transcription factor that increases the rate of transcription
Activator
A characteristic that increases an organisms chances of survival and reproduction
Adaptation
A hormone secreted from the adrenal glands that has many effects including increases blood glucose concentration
Adrenaline
The tendency a molecule has to bind with oxygen
Affinity for oxygen
A condition caused by HIV, in which the immune system deteriorates
AIDS
Allele..
one or more alternative versions of the same gene
Where speciation occurs as a result of geographic isolation (different places)
Allopatric Speciation
The process in which nitrogen compounds from dead organisms or waste material are turned into ammonium compounds by saprobionts
Ammonification
A protein produced by B-cells in response to the presence of a pathogen
Antibody
A hormone that regulates water potential of the blood by controlling the permeability of cell
Antidiuretic hormone
A mechanism that restores a level back to normal in a system
Negative Feedback
The likelihood of water molecules to diffuse out of or into a solution
Water Potential
A technique used prevent the unwanted growth or transfer of microorganisms
Aseptic technique
A fibrous plague caused by the build up and hardening of white blood cells, lipids and connective tissue
Atheroma
A system that generates ATP very quickly by phosphorylating ADP using a phosphate group from phosphocreatine
ATP-phosphocreatine (PCr) system
A protein on the surface of a virus that lets the virus cling onto a suitable host cell
Attachment protein (virus)
A division of the peripheral nervous system that controls unconscious activities, e.g heart rate
Autonomic nervous system
When two genes are located on the same autosome and are inherited by the offspring together
Autosomal linkage
A technique that reveals the location of radioactive tracers
Autoradiography
A type of white blood cell that produces antibodies
B-cells
A non-cancerous tumour
Benign Tumour
A cancerous tumour - invades and destroys surrounding cells
Malignant Tumour
aAliving feature of an ecosystem
Biotic factor
A type of salt produced by the liver to aid digestion of lipids
Bile Salts
An effect by which an increase of CO2 in the blood results in a reduction of haemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen
Bohr effect
The protein coat surrounding a virus’s genetic material
Capsid
The maximum stable population size of a species that an ecosystem can support
Carrying capacity
A DNA copy of mRNA made using reverse transcriptase (gene technology)
cDNA (complementary DNA)
The immune response that involves T-cells
Cellular Response
An immune response that involves B-cells
Humoral response
A polysaccharide made of long unbranched chains of Beta glucose
Cellulose
The process of electrons flowing down the ETC and creating a proton gradient across a membrane to drive ATP synthesis
Chemiosmosis
A thread like structure made up of one long DNA molecule
Chromosome
The largest and most complex community of plants and animals an ecosystem can support
Climax community
An allele whose characteristic appears together with another allele in the phenotype because neither allele is recessive
Codominant allele
A base triplet (three nucleotides) in DNA or mRNA that codes for an amino acid
Codon
All the populations of different species in a habitat
Community
The point at which the rate of photosynthesis in a plant exactly matches its rate of respiration
Compensation point
Part of the nervous system which formulates an appropriate response to a stimulus before sending impulses to an effector
Coordinator
A T-cell that kills abnormal or foreign cells
Cytotoxic T-cell
The process in which nitrates in the soil are converted into nitrogen gas by denitrifying bacteria
Denitrification
A decrease int he potential difference across a cell’s membrane, making it less negative than the resting potential
Depolarisation
A condition where the body doesn’t produce enough Insulin so blood glucose cannot be controlled
Type 1 diabetes
A condition where the body’s cells don’t respond properly to insulin
Type 2 diabetes
Where individuals with alleles for a single extreme phenotype are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on their alleles
Directional selection
Where individuals with alleles for phenotypes at the extreme ends of a range are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on their alleles
Disruptive selection
All the organisms living in a community plus all the abiotic conditions
Ecosystem
An organelle that processes proteins
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
An organelle that processe slipids
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
When an allele of one gene masks the expression of the alleles of other genes
Epistasis
The homeostatic mechanism that controls the water potential of the blood
Osmoregulation
A peptide hormone synthesized in the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior pituitary to be released into the bloodstream part of Osmoregulation
ADH
Large groups that are divided into progressively smaller groups with no overlap between the groups
Hierarchical system
A system based on evolutionary history and common ancestry
Phylogenetic system
Species…
A group of organisms with similar characteristics that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring
All the organism of one species in a habitat
Population
All the organisms in a habitat
Community
A detectable change in the internal or external environment of a an organism, that produces a response
Stimuli
A rapid, automatic response to a specific stimulus
a reflex action
