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Any of a class of 20 molecules that are combined to form proteins in living things. The sequence of amino acids in a protein, and hence protein function.
Blood vessel formation, which usually accompanies the growth of malignant tissue.
Drugs used to treat infection.
A protein produced by certain white blood cells in response to a foreign substance (antigen). Each antibody can bind only to a specific antigen.
Any foreign or "non-self" substance that, when introduced into the body, causes the immune system to create an antibody.
A normal cellular process involving a genetically programmed series of events leading to the death of a cell.
Infect bacteria by way of lytic cycle (virions released by cell lysis) or lysogenic cycle (viruses integrate their genomes into host cell).
White blood cells that develop in the bone marrow and are the source of antibodies. Also known as B lymphocytes.
Not cancerous; does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body.
A set of biological techniques developed through basic research and now applied to research and product development.
Diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissue and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system.
Small, watery, membrane-bound compartment filled with chemicals; the basic unit of any living thing.
Structures found in the nucleus of a cell, which contain the genes. Chromosomes come in pairs, and a normal human cell contains 46 chromosomes, 22 pairs
Research studies that involve patients. Each study is designed to find better ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, or treat disease.
A group of identical genes, cells, or organisms derived from a single ancestor.
In cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumour. Differentiated tumour cells resemble normal cells and grow at a slower rate than undifferentiated tumour.
The substance of heredity; a linear molecule that carries the genetic information that cells need to replicate and to produce proteins and DNA.
Facilitates isolation and manipulation of fragments of an organisms genome by replicating them as part of an independent vector.
Most common form of DNA. Two separate and antiparallel chains of DNA are wound around each other in a right - handed helical path, with sugar phosphate backbones on the outside and bases connected by hydrogen bonds on the inside. A (Adenine) pairs with T (Thymine); G (Guanine) pairs with C (Cytosine). The two chains are complementary.
Hybridizing Southern blots of genomic DNA with probes that recognise simple nucleotide repeats gives a pattern that is unique to the individual and can be used as a fingerprint.
Consist of sets of random cloned fragments of either genomic or cDNA, each in a separate vector molecule. Are used in isolation of unknown genes.
A nucleic acid sequence of bases A,C,G,T/U in the DNA/RNA chain. Usually written from 5 to 3 end of molecule e.g. 5-ATAAGCTC-3 (DNA) or 5-AUAGCUUGA-3 (RNA).
The widely used Sangers enzymic method uses dideoxynucleotides as chain terminators to produce a ladder of molecules generated by polymerase extension of a primer.
Any chemical compound that may be used on humans to help in diagnosis, treatment, cure, mitigation, or prevention of disease or other abnormal conditions.
Common bacterium that has been studied intensively by geneticists because of its small genome size, normal lack of pathogenicity, and ease of growth in the laboratory.
A protein that acts as a catalyst, affecting the rate at which chemical reactions occur in cells.
The study of the causes of abnormal condition or disease.
When a test wrongly shows an effect or condition to be absent (e.g., that a woman is not pregnant when, in fact, she is).
When a test wrongly shows an effect or condition to be present (e.g. that is woman is pregnant when, in fact, she is not).
Mature male or female reproductive cell (sperm or ovum) with a haploid set of chromosomes (23 for humans).
A unit of inheritance; a working subunit of DNA. Each of the body's 50,000 to 100,000 genes contains the code for a specific product, typically, a protein such as an gene's coded information is translated into the structures present and operating in the cell (either proteins or RNAs).
Treatment that alters genes - the basic units of heredity found in all cells in the body.
The sequence of nucleotides, coded in triplets (codons) along the mRNA, that determines the sequence of amino acids in protein synthesis.
The scientific study of heredity how particular qualities or traits are transmitted from parents to offspring.
Introducing a foreign gene into an organism which can propagate creates a genetically modified organism.
Result from base changes (mutations) in a gene or a chromosomal locus that create multiple forms (polymorphs) of that locus. Common types are Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs).
All the genetic material in the chromosomes of a particular organism; its size is generally given as its total number of base pairs.
Genetic constitution of an organism.
Chemicals produced by glands in the body and circulate in the bloodstream. Hormones control the actions of certain cells or organs.
Most routine manipulations in gene cloning use Eschericha coli (E.coli) as the host organism. Plasmids and bacteriophages may be used as cloning vectors in E.coli.
The complex group of cells and organs that defends the body against infection and disease.
Outside a living organism.
Latin phrase meaning "in life"; in the living organism as opposed to in vitro.
The study of the application of computer and statistical techniques to the management of information.
The tissues and organs, including the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes, that produce and store cells that fight infection..
A diagnostic or therapeutic article that does not work by chemical action.
The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. Cells in the metastatic (secondary) tumour are like those in the original (primary) tumour.
The process of nuclear division in cells that produces daughter cells that are genetically identical to each other and to the parent cell.
A change in the number, arrangement, or molecular sequence of a gene.
DNA in eukaryotic cells that does not code for protein. At the gene level these can be large intron sequences of unknown function. Much of this DNA consists of multiple repeats, sometimes thousands or hundreds of thousands of copies, of a few relatively short sequence elements.
A large molecule composed of nucleotide subunits.
A molecule consisting of a nucleoside with one or more phosphate groups.
A unit of DNA that normally directs cell growth, but which can also promote or allow the uncontrolled growth of cancer if damaged (mutated) by an environmental exposure to carcinogens
A discrete subcellular structure that has a specialised function (eg, nucleus, mitochondrion).
The Polymerase Chain Reaction is used to amplify a sequence of DNA using a pair of oligonucleotide primers each complementary to one end of the DNA target sequence. These are extended towards each other by a thermostable DNA Polymerase in a reaction cycle of 3 steps: denaturation, primer annealing and polymerisation.
A molecule consisting of 2 to approximately 20 amino acids connected by peptide bonds; a short segment of a larger protein or a completely functional molecule unto itself.
"Potency of hydrogen"; a measure of acidity or alkalinity.
Observable characteristics of an organism produced by the organism's genotype interacting with the environment.
Autonomously replicating, extrachromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome and nonessential for cell survival.
A large, complex molecule composed of amino acids. Wide variety of functions e.g. enzymes catalysing biochemical reactions, membrane receptors in cell signalling, transport and storage, antibody proteins, nutritional proteins, contractile muscle fibers (actin and myosin) etc.
The identification and analysis of the total protein complement expressed by any given cell type under defined conditions.
A protein or group of associated proteins in a cell or on its surface that selectively binds a specific substance (called a ligand).
A gene that is phenotypically manifest in the homozygous state but is masked in the heterozygote by the presence of a dominant allele.
The natural process of breaking and rejoining DNA strands to produce new combinations of genes and, thus, generate genetic variation.
Cells that carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Also called erythrocytes.
A chemical found in the nucleus and cytoplasm of cells; it plays an important role in protein synthesis and other chemical activities of the cells from which all blood cells develop.
A set of four RNases that cleave 3 to specific nucleotides are used to produce a ladder of fragments from end-labelled RNA. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis allows the sequence to be read
The simple transfer of of a cloned fragment of DNA from one vector to another.
White blood cell critical to the immune response.
The ends of chromosomes. These specialized structures are involved in the replication and stability of linear DNA molecules. See DNA replication.
The process of copying information from DNA into new strands of messenger RNA (mRNA).
A class of RNA having structures with triplet nucleotide sequences that are complementary to the triplet nucleotide coding sequences of mRNA.
The process of turning instructions from mRNA, base by base, into chains of amino acids that then fold into proteins.
A type of biological response modifier (a substance that can improve the body's natural response to disease).
Genes that normally restrain cell growth but, when missing or inactivated by mutation, allow cells to grow uncontrolled. The P53 gene is an example.
The fraction of DNA that comes together again most slowly is unique sequence, essentially composed of of single copy genes, or those repeated a few times. Escherichia coli DNA is mostly all unique sequence.
A self-replicating DNA molecule that transfers a DNA segment between host cells.
Cells that help the body fight infection and disease.
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