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Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
Many of the Talking Glossary terms are commonly used today in news reports, by researchers and medical professionals, in classrooms and, increasingly, as part of daily conversation. In this light, the Glossary was designed to enable people without a formal scientific background to better understand the terms and concepts behind genetic research.
Affinity (taxonomy) – mainly in life sciences or natural history – refers to resemblance suggesting a common descent, phylogenetic relationship, or type. [1] The term does, however, have broader application, such as in geology (for example, in descriptive and theoretical works [2] [3]), and similarly in astronomy (for example, see "Centaur object" in the context of 2060 Chiron's close ...
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...
2. In molecular biology, any laboratory technique by which one or more genetic mutations are deliberately engineered in order to produce a mutant gene, regulatory element, gene product, or genetically modified organism so that the functions of a genetic locus, process, or product can be studied in detail. mutant
Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a speciation event (orthologs), or a duplication event (paralogs), or else a horizontal (or lateral) gene ...
3' untranslated region (3'-UTR). Also three-prime untranslated region, 3' non-translated region (3'-NTR), and trailer sequence.. 3'-end. Also three-prime end.. One of two ends of a single linear strand of DNA or RNA, specifically the end at which the chain of nucleotides terminates at the third carbon atom in the furanose ring of deoxyribose or ribose (i.e. the terminus at which the 3' carbon ...
The term was first applied to biology in a non-evolutionary context by the anatomist Richard Owen in 1843. Homology was later explained by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in 1859, but had been observed before this from Aristotle's biology onwards, and it was explicitly analysed by Pierre Belon in 1555.