Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
Copy number analysis is the process of analyzing data produced by a test for DNA copy number variation in an organism's sample. One application of such analysis is the detection of chromosomal copy number variation that may cause or may increase risks of various critical disorders.
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 ...
In the first stage of sexual reproduction, meiosis, the number of chromosomes is reduced from a diploid number (2n) to a haploid number (n). During fertilisation, haploid gametes come together to form a diploid zygote, and the original number of chromosomes is restored.
Human diploid cells have 46 chromosomes (the somatic number, 2n) and human haploid gametes (egg and sperm) have 23 chromosomes (n). Retroviruses that contain two copies of their RNA genome in each viral particle are also said to be diploid. Examples include human foamy virus, human T-lymphotropic virus, and HIV. [30]
It is helpful to be able to understand the source of scientific names. Although the Latin names do not always correspond to the current English common names, they are often related, and if their meanings are understood, they are easier to recall. The binomial name often reflects limited knowledge or hearsay about a species at the time it was named.
They tend to be unstable and to lose further chromosomes during subsequent mitotic divisions, until the 2n+1 and 2n-1 nuclei progressively revert to n. Consistent with this, in E. nidulans (where normally, n=8) nuclei have been found with 17 (2n+1), 16 (2n), 15 (2n–1), 12, 11, 10, and 9 chromosomes.
refer to something about biology itself; for instance, not a branch of biology; are broadly applicable terms, not specific to a small subset of organisms; do not fit well into any other more specific existing terminology category; Anatomical terms are not included here and appear in sub-categories of the main Anatomy category.