Glossary
Adenine-A compound which is one of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids. A purine derivative, it is paired with thymine in double-stranded DNA.
Agriculture-The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
Bacterial infections-An infection caused by bacteria.
Cancerous-Something affected by or showing abnormalities characteristic of cancer.
Cell-The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, which is typically microscopic and consists of cytoplasm and a nucleus enclosed in a membrane.
Colour Blindness-The inability to distinguish the differences between certain colours
Congenital disability-A congenital disorder is a medical condition that is present at or before birth. These conditions, also referred to as birth defects, can be acquired during the fetal stage of development or from the genetic make-up of the parents.
CRISPR Cas-9-A family of DNA sequences found within the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea.
Cytosine-A compound found in living tissue as a constituent base of DNA. It is paired with guanine in double-stranded DNA.
Dengue virus-An acute infectious disease caused by a flavivirus (speciesDengue virus of the genus Flavivirus), transmitted by aedes mosquitoes, and characterized by headache, severe joint pain, and a rash.
DNA repeat-Repeated sequences (also known as repetitive elements,repeating units orrepeats) are patterns of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) that occur in multiple copies throughout the genome.
DNA-Deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
Downs Syndrome-A genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21
Endonuclease-An enzyme which cleaves a polynucleotide chain by separating nucleotides other than the two end ones.
Enzyme-A substance produced by a living organism which acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction.
Ethics-The moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
Gene editing-The manipulation of the genetic material of a living organism by deleting, replacing, or inserting a DNA sequence, typically with the aim of improving a crop or farmed animal, or correcting a genetic disorder.
Gene manipulation-The direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. A construct is usually created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism.
Genes-A distinct sequence of nucleotides forming part of a chromosome, the order of which determines the order of monomers in a polypeptide or nucleic acid molecule which a cell (or virus) may synthesize.
Genomes-The haploid set of chromosomes in a gamete or microorganism, or in each cell of a multicellular organism.
Guanine-A compound that occurs in guano and fish scales, and is one of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids. A pure derivative, it is paired with cytosine in double-stranded DNA.
Haemophilia-A medical condition in which the ability of the blood to clot is severely reduced, causing the sufferer to bleed severely from even a slight injury.
HIV-The virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, orAIDS, if not treated.
Immune system-The organs and processes of the body that provide resistance to infection and toxins. Organs include the thymus, bone marrow, and lymph nodes.
Influenza-A highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever, severe aching, and catarrh, and often occurring in epidemics.
Malaria parasite-An intermittent and remittent fever caused by a protozoan parasite which invades the red blood cells and is transmitted by mosquitoes in many tropical and subtropical regions.
Mutation- the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or rearrangement of larger sections of genes or chromosomes.
Nitrogenous-Containing nitrogen in chemical combination
Nucleotides-A compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group.
Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA.
Nucleus-The positively charged central core of an atom, consisting of protons and neutrons and containing nearly all its mass.
Organism-An individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.
Phosphates-A salt or ester of phosphoric acid.
Radiation-The emission of a dangerous energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles which cause ionization.
Retroviruses-A retrovirus is a type of RNA virus that inserts a copy of its genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell.
RNA spacer-Spacer DNA or intergenicspacer (IGS) is a region of non-coding DNA between genes. The term is used particularly for the spacer DNA between the many tandemly repeated copies of the ribosomal RNA genes.
TALENs-Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) are restriction enzymes that can be engineered to cut specific sequences of DNA.
Thymine-A compound which is one of the four constituent bases of nucleic acids. A pyrimidine derivative, it is paired with adenine in double-stranded DNA.
Vaccine-A substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.
Viral diseases-They invade living, normal cells and use those cells to multiply and produce other viruses like themselves.
ZFNs-Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are synthetic proteins used for gene targeting.
Zika virus-A virus transmitted by mosquitoes which typically causes asymptomatic or mild infection (fever and rash) in humans, identified originally in Africa and later in other tropical regions, including South America, where it may be associated with an increased incidence of microcephaly in babies born to mothers infected during pregnancy.