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