Questions tagged [terminology]
How terms are used or the meaning of words as used in scientific literature. Questions should ideally include a link or quote as context for where the term was encountered.
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29 views
What do the acronyms in C.elegans neuron names stand for?
In this site, I see a variety of acronymic names for C.elegans neurons but what do these names mean (for example AVAL, AVAR)?
3
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1answer
29 views
Difference between crossover rate and recombination rate?
I am not a biology student and therefore, need clarification if crossover rate and recombination rate are the same thing. So if the text says 'recombination rate per base pair per generation' or '...
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0answers
7 views
What exactly is a reducing equivalent and what does it do? [migrated]
I've encountered this term in the context of cellular metabolism, but I can't seem to find an explanation of what a reducing equivalent is or why it is named this way. Wikipedia was not really helpful,...
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1answer
23 views
The reproduction patterns of fungi: what’s the difference between them?
I am going to take TOEFL, and am getting perplexed by the difference between cell division and budding and fragmentation of fungi.
Those three terms seem like all the same all to me, so could anyone ...
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1answer
26 views
What does 'proper' mean in the anatomical context?
I've seen the word 'proper' in websites, lectures, etc., in the context of human anatomy. But I'm unsure as to what its definition is. For example, the 'oral cavity proper'.
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11 views
Veins in Plant Leaves (terminology)
Why do we call the vascular bundles in plant leaves "veins"? I think its probably because the xylem and pholem serve circulatory function analogous to the human body's circulatory system with arteries ...
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2answers
552 views
What is a synonym of the word design that can be used in context of evolution?
For example let's take two sentences; "engineer made a design for camera", "evolution made an X for eye". What is the best X that could be used?
I need it for an essay about evolution.
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1answer
57 views
Is there a name for the use of sunlight in metabolic processes?
"Photosynthesis" is what is used to describe how plants use sunlight to synthesize sugars, but, I also heard some animals like humans use sunlight in the process of creating vitamin D. Is there a ...
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1answer
30 views
Is studying chemical and physical properties of chemical substances that make up organisms really a task of molecular biology?
I have read in a high school textbook that (translated into English by myself): "Branch of science that concerns itself with studying chemical and physical properties of substances that make up ...
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1answer
45 views
Are cell biology and cytology the same science?
According to Wikipedia, the terms can be used interchangeably, but according to my college professors, cytology is exclusively the study of chromosomes and identification of their abnormalities.
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2answers
47 views
Loss of function in inflammation
The Wikipedia-article about Inflammation says
The five classical signs of inflammation are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin calor, dolor, rubor, tumor, and functio laesa).
...
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2answers
74 views
What is the meaning of 'state of nature' in On the Origin of species by Charles Darwin?
I have started reading "On the origin of species" by Charles Darwin.
The beginning paragraph is:
When we look to the individuals of the same variety or sub-variety of our older cultivated plants ...
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1answer
25 views
What is the term for a given interpretation of a fossil record?
There exists a term, that I have heard and forgotten it appears, for taking a described species in paleontology and creating a version of what it was like in life.
For example, a prior ...
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1answer
33 views
How to tell petiole apart from stem?
How to tell petiole apart from stem? Is it by the rule that there is usually a pair of stipules at the base of a petiole?
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4answers
3k views
Why do both the mango and the bee have “Indica” in their binomial name?
In my textbook, it is written that the binomial name of mango is Mangifera indica and the binomial name of a bee is Apis indica. Now in the name the second part is the name of species. But mango and ...
3
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1answer
273 views
What does the acronym ‘PIN’ stand for referring to PIN proteins in plants?
There are so called PIN proteins, or PIN-formed proteins, in plants. What does this acronym mean?
Wikipedia briefly explains the function of the protein but not the origin of the name. It's not ...
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1answer
33 views
Common english name for tissues which are separated from the blood by blood-tissue barriers
Which general term is used to denote such organs/tissues as: brain, testis, thymus etc., which are separated from the blood by blood-tissue barriers?
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1answer
65 views
What means a vírus prototype strain?
Whats means the term (prototype vírus strain)is a first virus isolated and without mutations?
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51 views
an umbrella term for homeolog and ohnolog?
Is there a word that refer to homologous chromosomes within a polyploid species? If I have AABB species, what is A to B?
The words "homeolog" and "ohnolog" are reserved for the cases if the ...
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0answers
25 views
Why plant tissues end in -enchyma?
Many plant tissue types end in the affix -enchyma.
Etymology: enkhyma "infusion," from en- "in" + khein "to pour"
Examples are parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma
(meaning "to pour beside," ...
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1answer
67 views
Who are Ursprungliche Eukaryoten?
The school textbook of my daughter (the textbook is written in German) describes the five kingdoms of life: prokaryota, plants, fungi, animals and "Ursprungliche Eukaryoten". These are defined as "...
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1answer
75 views
Exact terminology of natural selection
You don't need to explain to me what the theory of evolution is, or how it works. This question is purely about what exact meaning the word "natural selection" is ascribed to.
There seem to be ...
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1answer
472 views
Is there logic in this sentence? “Authors discovered a gene as one of the genes evolved through natural selection”
From a news report:
PhD candidate Daiki Sato and Professor Masakado Kawata have discovered SLC18A1 (VMAT1), which encodes vesicular monoamine transporter 1, as one of the genes evolved through ...
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2answers
85 views
A synthetic sieve organ known as kliver?
in this video at 5:28, the narrator talks about a "vat-grown all-purpose sieve organ" called Kliver that would do away with both liver and kidney transplant. But i don't seem to find online resources ...
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1answer
121 views
Is there a specific suffix for “within a cell”? i.e. in a similar manner to how -aemia refers to within the blood
Words like hyperglycemia and hyponatremia refer to the relative level of each component in the blood, not in the cell. Is there a suffix for within the cell? For reference I would like one word as an ...
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1answer
89 views
What to call a trait that has current utility but unclear evolutionary origin?
I'm looking for a commonly used term to describe a trait that has clear current utility but an evolutionary origin that is uncertain and that we do not necessarily wish to emphasize in our description ...
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0answers
15 views
What does “operationally soluble” mean, re. Tax10 enzyme?
I am trying to work out whether the enzyme Tax10 is soluble or insoluble. I need to know if some buffers won't work with Tax10. I am trying to confirm Tax10 activity, having confirmed protein ...
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2answers
101 views
Is there any kind of antibiotic effective against fungi?
I know that antibiotics usually have properties affecting specifically bacterial cells, like by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis. but do any antibiotics exist affecting eukaryotic cells, like yeast ...
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0answers
13 views
What are the scientific terms for seeds that bear the same fruit as the original and seeds that produce a different fruit than the original?
I have no links but am specifically referring to mangoes and avocados.
4
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1answer
90 views
Hormonal terms Somatotrophin or somatotropin?
Are Somatotropin and Somatotrophin hormones the same? It's confusing because when you type in Somatotrophin in google, it says, "a growth hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland.", but there'...
3
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0answers
102 views
Is hydrothorax considered as edema?
In _Robbins Basic Pathology 9th ed., edema is defined as
[E]dema is an accumulation of interstitial fluid within tissues. Extravascular fluid can also
collect in body cavities such as the ...
3
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1answer
41 views
What is it called when an animal only has one type/variation of dentition?
An example would be alligators that only have one type/shape of tooth. Not the variation in function and shape like seen in humans, which have canines, molars, incisors, etc
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2answers
458 views
What is the difference between silent and synonymous mutations?
Several sources all caution that silent mutations and synonymous substitutions are not the same thing and should not be confused. But they seem to draw different actual distinctions between the terms:
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1answer
44 views
Why is there a carbon atom without a greek letter in protein residues?
For protein residues I know that $C\alpha$ denotes the first carbon atom attached to a functional group. Each subsequent carbon is given a corresponding greek letter ($\beta, \gamma, \delta$) except ...
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4answers
1k views
What is the difference between a protein and a factor?
In terms of nomenclature/semantics, why are some proteins named proteins, and some named factors?
I've been revising on eukaryotic DNA, and I've come across some proteins that seem to serve roughly ...
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1answer
48 views
What is the difference between infected and infectious in epidemiology?
I am studying the SIR model and in the infected class I, both infectious and infected individuals are included, as stated here
I know that the model uses the assumption that the disease has an ...
5
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1answer
61 views
What is the meaning of “leukemic cell recovery” in an abstract?
An article abstract:
Significant predictors of treatment outcome are poorly defined for patients with T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). A high WBC at diagnosis, which has ...
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2answers
59 views
Lack of skin in a certain area of the body — hypo[what]? [closed]
Lack of skin in a certain area of the body. How shell I name this?
Hypocutaneousis?
Hypo[somethingElse]?
What is the correct term?
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0answers
23 views
Why has the term “natural history” been used to denote the study of nature, and more recently, of life?
The term "natural history" is a translation of the Latin phrase historia naturalis meaning "the story of nature". Nowadays denoting the study of life, it originally also covered astronomy.
Why has ...
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2answers
611 views
Definitions of hermaphroditism, dioecious and monoecious?
What is the difference between these terms "monoecious","Hermaphrodite".
my lecturer says hermaphrodite is a zoological term and monoecious is botanical term, but in contrary to it, in my textbook ...
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0answers
611 views
What does the “G” and “V” in penicillin V and penicillin G stand for?
I've been looking for a convincing explanation for the designation penicillin G and V. The answers I've found includes G as in "gold standard" and "V" as in "viscus" but they're not sourced and not ...
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2answers
35 views
Is there a term for the group of individual organisms whose matrilineally descended female ancestors all share a common ancestor?
A group of individual organisms that are all descended from a common ancestor is a clade. Is there a term for a group of individuals whose matrilineally descended ancestors (mothers, maternal ...
3
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2answers
50 views
Gene terminology - is one gene a concrete, single physical sequence?
Suppose you have two identical copies of the same, coding nucleotide sequence (e.g. two copies of BCL2 - a random gene I found on Wikipedia).
Could you say that these are two genes (i.e. the name "...
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2answers
81 views
How do I name a binding antibody? “Binding antibody to”, “binding antibody against”, or “anti-[antigen] binding antibody”?
I'm translating a text that describes how an immunogenicity of a drug is measured by assaying the levels of binding antibodies to the drug. Or is it "against the drug"? I'm wondering how to name these ...
3
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1answer
157 views
How can epigenetic changes be erased if they are inherited?
I’m a little bit confused about DNA methlyation reprogramming and about the nature of an epigenetic phenomenon. According to Wikipedia:
After fertilization the paternal and maternal genomes are ...
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1answer
108 views
What is a reflex pathway?
I know that the pathway of nerve impulses during a reflex action is called a reflex arc. However, I want to know whether the term reflex arc can be called either a reflex path or simple reflex?
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77 views
Which word is used to indicate that a vessel is “blood-filled” during a necropsy?
I'm translating a necropsy report, and one sentence says:
Синусоиды полнокровные. Портальные тракты сохранены, сосуды умеренно полнокровные.
The sinusoids are plethoric. The portal tracts are ...
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22 views
Myocardial edema or myocardial stromal edema?
I'm translating a paper in which a drug is tested in rabbits, and one sentence says that "oedema of the myocardial stroma" was observed:
Были отмечены изменения [...] в виде отеков стромы миокарда. ...
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1answer
717 views
Are mesophyll cells the same as parenchyma cells?
I read in my biology textbook that ground tissue is constituted by parenchyma, collenchyma and sclerenchyma.It was also mentioned that, in leaves the ground tissue was made up of thin walled ...
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3answers
633 views
What defines a microbial species?
I know that microbes are not capable of sexual reproduction, thus sorting them into species according to "groups that can interbreed and generate fertile offspring" should not apply.
