BIOTECHNOLOGY.1. Absorption: a process during which molecules enter the bulk phase of

the substance.

2. Activator: A substance or physical agent that stimulates transcription of a specific gene or operon

3. Active site: A site on the surface of a catalyst at which activity occurs.

4. Adaptation: Adjustment of a population to changed environment over generations, associated with genetic changes resulting from selection imposed by the changed environment.

5. Adenosine triphospate: ATP.

6. Adenovirus: A group of DNA viruses which cause diseases in animals. In man, they produce acute respiratory tract infections with symptoms resembling common cold. They are used in gene cloning, as vectors for expressing large amounts of recombinant proteins in animal cells. They are also used to make live-virus vaccines against more dangerous pathogens.

7. Adhesión: The attraction of dissimilar molecules for each other. A sticking together of unlike substances, such as soil and wáter.

8. Adiabatic: a thermodynamic process in which no heat is transferred to or from the working fluid.

9. Adsorption: The formation of a layer of gas, liquid or solid on the surface of a solid. cf absorption

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10.Aerobic bacteria: Bacteria that can live in the presence of oxygen.

11.Aerobic: Active in the presence of free oxygen.

12.Agar: A polysaccharide solidifying agent used in nutrient media preparations and obtained from certain types of red algae (Rhodophyta).

13.Agarose: The main constituent of agar.

14.Agonist: A drug, hormone or transmitter substance that forms a complex with a receptor site that is capable of triggering an active response from a cell.

15.Agricultural biological diversity: agrobiodiversity

16.Allometric: When the growth rate of one part of an organism differs from that of another part or of the rest of the body.

17.Amino acid: The basic building block of a protein.

18.Andrenarche: an increase in the production of androgens by the adrenal cortex that usually occurs during the eighth or ninth year of life.

19.Antibiosis: The prevention of growth or development of an organism by a substance or another organism.

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20.Antibiotic: A class of natural and synthetic compounds that inhibit the growth of or kill some micro-organisms.

21.Antigen: A foreign substance such as a pathogen that stimulates the body’s immune system to produce antibodies.

22.Antioxidant: Compound that slows the rate of oxidation reactions.

23.Antiseptic: Any substance that kills or inhibits the growth of disease-causing micro-organism but is essentially non-toxic to cells of the body.

24.Antiserum: The fluid portion of the blood of an animal containing antibodies.

25.Artificial insemination: The deposition of semen, using a syringe, at the mouth of the uterus to make conception possible.

26.Ascospore: One of the spores contained in the ascus of certain fungi.

27.Asexual: Any type of reproduction not involving meiosis or the unión of gametes.

28.Assess: To determine the importance, size, or value of <assess a problem>.

29.Autocatalysis: process carried out with the help of an autocatalyst.

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30.Autolisis: The process of self destruction of a cell, cell organelle, or tissue. It occurs by the action of lysosomic enzymes.

31.Avogadro’s law: at constant t and p, equal volumes of gases contain equal numbers of atoms, molecules (entities).

32.Bacillus: A rod-shaped bacterium.

33.Bactericidal: Term used to describe a drug that kills microorganisms.

34.Bacteriochlorophyll: A Magnesium-containing porphyrin that resembles but is not identical to the chlorophull of cyanobacteria, eucaryotic algae, and green plants. It occurs in anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria.

35.Balanced polymorphism: Two or more types of individuals maintained in the same breeding population

36.Base substitution: Replacement of one base by another in a DNA molecule

37.Biodegradation: The breakdown by living organisms of a compound to its chemical constituents. Materials that can be easily biodegraded

38.Biodiversity: The variety of species (species diversity) or other taxa of animals, micro-organisms and plants in a natural community or habitat, or of communities in a particular environment (ecological diversity), or of genetic variation in a species

39.Bio-energetics: The study of the flow and the transformations of energy that occur in living organisms

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40.Bio-engineering: The use of artificial tissues, organs and organ components to replace parts of the body that are damaged, lost or malfunctioning.

41.Biofilm: Microbial colonies encased in an adhesive, usually polysaccharide material, and attached to a surface.

42.Biogás: A mixture of methane and carbon dioxide resulting from the anaerobic decomposition of waste such as domestic

43.Biological containment: Restricting the movement of (genetically engineered) organisms by arranging barriers to prevent them from growing outside the laboratory.

44.Biomass concentration: The amount of biological material in a specific volume.

45.Biomass: A general term to indicate the total weight (usually dry weight) of a microorganism in a culture or an environment.

46.Biopsy: Removal of tissue from a living body for diagnostic purposes.

47.Bioremediation: The use of microbes to break down toxic or unwanted substances.

48.Boltzmann factor (pi): the e(-e/kt) factor in Maxwell Boltzmann distribution.

49.Bose-Einstein Distribution: bosons with the same energy can occupy the same state.

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50.Bosons: elementary particle with integer spin.

51.Branching step: is a reaction in which the number of chain carrier increases.

52.Budding: A type of asexual reproduction in which an outgrowth forms from the parent cell. It then usually pinches off to form a separate independent cell.

53.Buffer: A solution that resists change in pH when an acid or alkali is added, or when solutions are diluted.

54.Cáncer: Uncontrolled growth of the cells of a tissue or an organ in a multicellular organism

55.Capsid: The protein coat surrounding a virus.

56.Carbohydrate: An organic compound based on the general formula Cx (H2O)y, performing many vital roles in living organisms.

57.Casein: A group of proteins found in milk

58.Catabolism: The metabolic breakdown of large molecules in living organism, with accompanying release of energy.

59.Catalysis: is a process carried out with the help of a catalyst.

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60.Catalyst: is a substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself being consumed.

61.Cell división: Formation of two or more daughter cells from a single mother cell. The nucleus divides first, followed by the formation of a cell membrane between the daughter nuclei. Division of cytoplasm and nucleus into two or more parts by formation of a cell plate.

62.Cell hybridization: The fusion of two or more dissimilar cells leading to the formation of a somatic hybrid.

63.Cell membrane: The membrane that separates the cell wall and the cytoplasm, and regulates the flow of material into and out of the cell.

64.Cell: The smallest structural unit of living matter capable of functioning independently.

65.Centrifugation: Separating molecules by size or density using centrifugal forces generated by a spinning rotor. G-forces of several hundred thousand times gravity are generated in ultracentrifugation.

66.Centrifuge: A device in which solid or liquid particles of different densities are separated by rotating them in a tube in a horizontal circle. The denser particles tend to move along the length of the tube to a greater radius of rotation, displacing the lighter particles to the other end.

67.Centromere: The portion of the chromosome to which the spindle fibres attach during mitotic and meiotic division. It appears as a constriction when chromosomes contract during cell division. After chromosomal duplication, which occurs at the beginning of every mitotic and meiotic division, the two resultant chromatids are joined at the centromere.

68.Chain carrier: is an intermediate responsible for the propagation of a chain.

69.Chromosome: A long continuous pieces of DNA that carries genetic information.

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70.Closed systems: exchange energy but not matter with the environment.

71.Coding: The specification of a peptide sequence, by the code contained in DNA molecules

72.Colligative properties: are properties independent of the nature of the compounds and depend on the numbers of the solute particles only. E.g. Osmosis, boiling point elevation, freezing point depression, vapor pressure lowering.

73.Condensation nuclei: are airborne particles (aerosols) composed of soluble salts such as ammonium sulphate or sea-salt.

74.Consecutive reactions: are reactions taking place in sequence, i.e., the product in one system may be a reactant in the other.

75.Convection: is the flow of heat or matter by the macroscopic movement of the fluid.

76.Critical point: also called a critical state, specifies the conditions (temperature, pressure and sometimes composition) at which a phase boundary ceases to exist.

77.Critical Radius: the minimum size that must be formed before a droplet is stable and begins to grow.

78.Deletion: A mutation involving the removal of one or more base pairs in DNA sequence. Large deletions are visible as the lack of chromosomal segments.

79.Desorption: is a process where a substance is released from the surface.

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80.Diffusion: is the movement of substance induced by concentration gradient.

81.Disinfectation: Full elimination of internal micro-organisms from a culture; disinfectation is rarely obtained.

82.Distal: located away from the centre of the body <the distal  end of a bone>

83.Disturbance: the state of being emotionally disturbed.

84.Electrolyte: is a compound which in its liquid form behaves as an electrically conducting medium.

85.Elementary step: is a reaction step that represents the reaction at the molecular level.

86.Endothermic process: is a process where heat is absorbed from the surroundings.

87.Energy (e, j): is the capacity to do work or to produce change.

88.Enhancer: a nucleotide sequence that increases the rate of genetic transcription by increasing the activity of the nearest promoter on the same DNA molecule.

89.Enthalpy of reaction: is the change in the enthalpy during a reaction.

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90.Enzymatic: produced by an enzyme.

91.Equilibrium: is characterized by a minimum in Free Energy and maximum Entropy.

92.Exothermic process: is a process where heat is released to the surroundings.

93.Fermi-Dirac Distribution: no two fermions can occupy the same state.

94.Fermions: elementary particle with half-integer spin.

95.Fluorescence: is the emission of electromagnetic radiation by a substance in singlet state while the substance is illuminated. The process can be described by first-order kinetics.

96.Flux (J): is the amount of the property passing through unit area per unit time.

97.Fold: to become doubled or pleated.

98.Fugacity (f): of a real gas is an effective pressure which replaces the true mechanical pressure in accurate chemical equilibrium calculations.

99.Fungi: plural of fungus.

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100. Fungus: any of the kingdom Fungi of saprophytic and parasitic spore-producing eukaryotic typically filamentous organisms formerly classified as plants that lack chlorophyll.

101. Gamete: In eukaryotes, the haploid cell analogous to sperm and egg, results from meiosis.

102. Gel: An inert polymer, usually made of agarose or polyacrylamide, used for separating macromolecules such as nucleic acids or proteins by electrophoresis.

103. Genome: The complete set of genes present in an organism.

104. Halotolerant: Organism capable of growing in the presence of NaCl but not requiring it.

105. Haploid: Having n or reduced number of chromosomes.

106.Heat (q, j): is an energy transfer induced by temperature difference.

107.Hess’ law: states that the change in the enthalpy of a reaction is the sum of the enthalpies of reactions from which the reaction can be built.

108.Ideal dilute solution: a solution in which the solvent obeys Raoult’s law and the solute obeys Henry’s law.

109. Immune: When a human or animal body is able to resist infectious disease because of either previous infection.

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110. In vitro: Literally means "in glass", away from a living organism; it is used to describe whatever happens in a test tube or other receptacle.

111. In vivo: In the body; when a study or an experiment is done in the living organism.

112.Initiation step: is a reaction step where the first chain carriers are formed.

113. Karyotypic: the chromosomes themselves or a representation of them.

114. Lack: deficiency or absence of something needed, desirable, or customary.

115. Layer:  one thickness, course, or fold laid or lying over or under another.

116.Lechatelier’s principle: states that if an external stress is applied to a system at equilibrium, the system adjusts in such a way to decrease the effect of the stress.

117. Lignin: amorphous polymeric substance related to cellulose, together with cellulose forms the woody cell walls of plants and the cementing material between them.

118. Linker: anything serving to connect one part or thing with another; a bond or tie.

119. Liver: a large, reddish-brown, glandular organ located in the upper right side of the abdominal cavity. Functioning in the secretion of bile and metabolic processes.

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120. Lysis: The physical rupture of a cell.

121.Migration: is the movement of ions induced by the external electric potential applied.

122. Mildew: a superficial usually whitish growth produced especially on organic matter or living plants by fungi.

123. Mold: a cavity in which a fluid or malleable substance is shaped.

124. Nitrogenase: The enzyme complex catalyzing the reaction of nitrogen fixation.

125. Nucleus:  the control centre of the cell containing chromosomes.

126. Onset: the initial existence or symptoms of a disease.

127.Osmosis: movement of the solvent through a semipermeable membrane from a dilute solution to a more concentrated one.

128.Parallel reactions: are reactions taking place at the same time.

129.Partition: is the dissolution of a substance in two immiscible liquids.

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130.Phosphorescence: is the emission of electromagnetic radiation by a substance in triplet state while the substance is illuminated. The process can be described by first-order kinetics.

131.Photochemistry: is the study of the absorption of radiation and the reactions of excited particles

132. Photosynthesis: Process that occurs in plants, algae and cyanobacteria that traps the sun’s light energy and uses it to fix carbon dioxide into organic compounds.

133.Propagation: step is a reaction in which the number of chain carriers is constant.

134.Reaction: mechanism is the sequence of elementary steps describing the time evolution of the system.

135. Rust: destructive diseases of plants produced by fungi (order Uredinales) and characterized by reddish brown pustular lesions.

136. Saprophytic: obtaining food by absorbing dissolved organic material.

137.Second law of thermodynamics: states that in isolated systems the entropy increases in spontaneous processes, i.e., ∆s > 0; in reversible process at equilibrium it is constant, i.e., ∆s = 0. Or it is impossible to convert heat completely into work, or heat cannot spontaneously flow from a material at lower temperature to a material at higher temperature.

138. Smut: destructive diseases especially of cereal grasses caused by parasitic fungie.

139.Spectroscopy: is the study of the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter.

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140.Standard molar enthalpy: of formation the enthalpy changes when 1 mole of a compound is synthesized from its elements in their standard states of one bar at some temperature.

141. Strains: a group of presumed common ancestry with clear-cut physiological but usually not morphological distinctions.

142. Straw: a single stalk or stem, especially of certain species of grain.

143. Substrate: the base on which an organism lives.

144.Transport process: is the flow of matter, energy or momentum from one place to the other.

145. Wheat Germ: the embryo of the wheat kernel separated in milling and used especially as a source of vitamins and protein.

146. Yeast: a unicellular chiefly ascomycetous fungus, that has usually little or no mycelium, that typically reproduces asexually by budding.

147. Zymogram: an electrophoretic strip (as of starch gel) or a representation of it exhibiting the pattern of separated enzymes and isoenzymes after electrophoresis.

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